FRIARS BEGIN THREE-GAME ROAD STRETCH AT VILLANOVA... The Friars begin a three-game road stretch on Friday, Jan. 21 with a BIG EAST showdown at Villanova. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion. The Friars will remain on the road to face Georgetown (Jan. 23) before heading to Omaha, Neb. next weekend to face Creighton on Friday, Jan. 28.

FAMILIAR FOE... The Friars and Villanova Wildcats have met 80 times, marking the most games against a single opponent in Providence College women's basketball history.

ALL-TIME SERIES... Villanova leads the all-time series against Providence, 52-28. The Friars won the BIG EAST opener against 'Nova on Dec. 3 in Providence, R.I. (66-47), which halted the Friars' five-game skid against the Wildcats.

FIRST MEETING OF 2021-22... Providence opened the 2021-22 season series with a convincing 66-47 victory over the Wildcats, who were without All-BIG EAST First-Teamer Maddy Siegrist. Villanova got a team-best 20 points from Brianna Herlihy, but her supporting cast combined for just 27 points in the loss. Providence was without two key players in Mary Baskerville and Kylee Sheppard. However, Alyssa Geary paced three Friars in double figures with 18 points, while adding a career-best 13 rebounds, for her second career double-double. Janai Crooms and Lauren Sampson each chipped in 10 points. Providence shot 47.8-percent from the field (22-46), including a 6-12 performance from beyond the arc.  The Wildcats shot 27.1-percent from the floor (16-59), including a 15-percent clip from three (4-26).

A LOOK AT THE LAST DECADE... Providence and Villanova have played 21 times over the course of the last decade. The Friars have claimed just four wins against the Wildcats during that stretch, with all four of those victories coming at Alumni Hall. In breaking down the series during that 10-year span, Providence is 4-7 vs. Villanova at home and 0-10 on the road.

FRIARS AND WILDCATS IN VILLANOVA, PA. ... The Friars and Wildcats have met 34 times in Villanova, Pa.  The Wildcats lead the series on their home court, 28-6. Providence is 0-3 vs. Villanova at Finneran Pavilion.

LAST TIME PROVIDENCE DEFEATED VILLANOVA ON ITS HOME COURT... The last time Providence claimed victory on the Wildcats' home court dates back to Jan. 19, 2011. On that day, the Friars defeated Villanova, 58-53, at The Pavilion. Since then, Providence has lost 10-straight games to the Wildcats on their home court.

FRIARS AND WILDCATS IN OVERTIME... Providence and Villanova have played five overtime games during the all-time series. Providence is 4-1 all-time in those games, recording its first setback in OT vs. Villanova last season. In the second meeting between the two teams last year (Feb. 24, 2021), Villanova escaped Alumni Hall with a 63-58 overtime win. Maddy Siegrist hit a deep step-back three with 6.1-seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, 55-55. The Wildcat went on to outscore the Friars 8-3 in the extra session to take the win.

MARY BASKERVILLE REACHES 1,000-POINT MILESTONE... In her 91st career game at Providence, Mary Baskerville became the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She hit the mark against St. John's on Jan. 14 with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter on a lay-in. Baskerville currently owns 1,012 career points and ranks 33rd on the Friars' all-time scoring list (11.0 ppg).

FULL STRENGTH... Against Xavier on Jan. 11, the Friars suited an entire roster of healthy players for the first time this season. Four different players on the roster have missed seven-or-more games on the year due to injury. Providence also was at full strength this past weekend for games against St. John's and Seton Hall. The Friars are 2-1 on the year when suiting up a full roster.

DEFENSE... The Friars have held six opponents to 50 points or less this season, including three BIG EAST opponents: Villanova (47), Xavier (49) and St. John's (49). The Friars are 6-0 in those games, including a 3-0 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. 

FRIARS LEAD THE BIG EAST AND RANK 12TH IN THE NATION IN FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE... Providence leads the BIG EAST and ranks 12th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.346). The Friars have posted an 8-4 record this season when holding it's opponents below 40-percent from the field.

MAKING IT COUNT AT THE LINE... The Friars are 6-1 this season when making more free throws than their opponent. Providence's only loss when making more free throws than its opponent came against Seton Hall (Jan. 16).

CLEANING THE GLASS... Providence has recorded 40+ rebounds in 11 of its 16 games, including two games with 50+ boards. Last year, Providence only eclipsed 40 rebounds in one game (49 vs. Butler, 3/5/21). As a team, the Friars rank third in the BIG EAST in total rebounds (651) and rebounds per game (40.7 rpg). The Friars hauled in a season-best 51 rebounds against Brown. 

FRIARS RANK 8th IN THE NATION IN DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING... Providence leads the BIG EAST and ranks eighth in the nation in defensive rebounds, averaging 30.6 per game.  Tennessee leads the NCAA in defensive rebounding (33.4 drpg).

DOUBLE-TROUBLE... Janai Crooms leads the Friars and ranks second in the BIG EAST with six double-doubles. Mary Baskerville (2), Olivia Olsen (1) and Alyssa Geary (1) also have recorded double-doubles for the Friars this season. Additionally, Baskerville has 19 double-doubles in her career, which ranks third in the BIG EAST among active players.

AMONG THE TOP SHOT-BLOCKING TEAMS IN THE NATION... The Friars currently lead the BIG EAST and rank sixth in the nation in blocked shots (105) and fourth nationally in blocks per game (6.6 bpg). Mary Baskerville leads the Friars with an average of 2.7 rejections per game. Five players on the team have cracked double-digits in blocked shots and have combined for 86 of the Friars' 105 rejections overall: Baskerville (24), Crooms (20), Alyssa Geary (18), Olivia Olsen (14) and Emily Archibald (10).

MORE REJECTION... The Friars recorded a season-high 11 blocks against Xavier on Jan. 11. It marked the second time this year that the team has registered double-digit blocks. Prior to this season, the last time the Friars recorded double-digit blocks in a game was on Nov. 12, 2013 against Bryant.

MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS AMONG NCAA DIVISION I ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS IN BLOCKED SHOTS AND BLOCKS PER GAME... Mary Baskerville ranks 22nd among NCAA Division I active career leaders in blocks per game (1.78 bpg). In 92 games at Providence, Baskerville has recorded 164 blocked shots. Her career total also ranks second among active BIG EAST players, trailing only UConn's Olivia Nelson-Ododa (236).

FLIRTING WITH THE PROGRAM'S FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE... Janai Crooms has narrowly missed out on a bid for a triple-double in three games this season. On Nov. 20 against Boston College, she finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Against Hartford on Dec. 1, she logged 25 points, 11 boards and eight assists. On Dec. 8 against Brown, Crooms put up 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. In the program's 48-year existence, a Friar has never recorded a triple-double.

MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS 17th ALL-TIME AT PROVIDENCE IN CAREER REBOUNDS... Senior Mary Baskerville ranks 17th all-time in career boards at Providence with 658. Most recently, Baskerville passed Rhode Island-native and former All-BIG EAST First-Team selection Chelsea Marandola '10, who finished her career with 651 (2005-10). Baskerville's 658 rebounds also ranks fourth among active BIG EAST Conference players.

JANAI CROOMS RANKS 14TH AT PROVIDENCE CAREER ASSISTS... Janai Crooms owns 301 career assists and ranks 14th on the Friars' all-time list heading into this weekend's games against Villanova and Georgetown. Crooms leads the Friars with 4.3 assists per game.

OLIVIA OLSEN PROVIDING A SPARK... Freshman Olivia Olsen has provided a spark off the bench this season, and has done so in an efficient manner. She has played all 16 games off the bench and is averaging 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She is shooting a blistering 60.8-percent from the field (45-74).

OLSEN RECORDS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE... Freshman Olivia Olsen came off the bench to record her first career double-double on Jan. 16 against Seton Hall. She recorded 10 points and a career-high 12 boards to achieve the feat. She also dished two assists and collected one blocked shot.

ROOKIE IMPACT... Freshman point guard Kylee Sheppard missed nine of the Friars first 11 games while battling injury. She has appeared in each of the last five games for Providence and has played in seven games overall. In a small sample size of the season, she has played a key role in her rookie season. She currently ranks second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), ranks first in steals (2.1 spg) and third in assists (2.3 apg), while also contributing 3.7 rebounds per game. Sheppard is shooting 50-percent from the field (28-56), including a 12-23 clip from beyond the arc (.522). She has reach double digits in the scoring column three times, including a career-best 22 points against DePaul.

MARY BASKERVILLE NAMED TO ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM AT THE CONCLUSION OF 2020-21 SEASON... Last season, Mary Baskerville led Providence College in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg), blocked shots (1.8 bpg), steals (1.4 spg) and field-goal percentage (.538, 112-208). For her efforts, she was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. It marked her first postseason honor since earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST All-Freshman Team accolades in 2019. 

CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF... The NCAA cleared Janai Crooms to play during the 2021-22 season on Nov. 4, prior to the Friars' exhibition game against Bentley. Crooms was a four-star recruit and ranked No. 36 in 2018 class by Prospect Nation coming out of St. Andrew's (Barrington, R.I.). She played two seasons at Ohio State (2018-20) before transferring to Michigan State for the 2020-21 campaign. Crooms has two years of eligibility remaining, including the current 2021-22 seasons.

FRIARS SET TO MAKE THEIR RETURN TO THE DUNKIN' DONUTS CENTER... The Friars will host a game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center for the first time since 2010 when they welcome Connecticut on Sunday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. It marks the first time Providence has played a game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center since Feb. 6, 2010 against West Virginia.

PROVIDENCE PICKED TO FINISH EIGHTH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL... The Friars were picked to finish eighth in the 2021-22 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released at the league's annual media day at MSG in New York City. The Friars recorded 32 points in the poll and sit above Georgetown (27), Xavier (18) and Butler (17). Connecticut was a unanimous selection to win the league for a second-straight season.

JANAI CROOMS NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL FOR SECOND TIME... Janai Crooms earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades for the second time this season on Dec. 13. The junior guard averaged 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in wins over Brown and Quinnipiac. Crooms recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots at Brown on Dec. 8. She closed the week with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one blocked shot against Quinnipiac (Dec. 11). For the week, she shot an impressive 59.2-percent from the floor (16-27). Her 24 points against the Bobcats marked the second 20+ point game this season and was one-point shy of her season high.

ALYSSA GEARY NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Alyssa Geary earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades on Dec. 6, following her performance against Villanova and Georgetown in conference play. She averaged 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Geary also collected her first double-double of the season - and second of her career- against Villanova on Dec. 3 with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She combined to shoot 43-percent from the field (9-21) and 85-percent from the foul line (11-13).

JANAI CROOMS NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Janai Crooms was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Nov. 15. In two games last week to start the 2021-22 season, she averaged 18.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game. In the Friars' game against Maine (Nov. 13), Crooms exploded for 18 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and two steals.

FRIARS IN THE POSTSEASON... The Friars' last appeared in the postseason during the 2018-19 campaign, when their current senior class came on to the scene as freshmen. Providence's 2019 WNIT selection marked the program's 15th post-season appearance overall and first since 2010. In 2019-20, NCAA and WNIT Championships were canceled to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Friars did not qualify for postseason during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.  Complete post-season breakdown follows (records in parentheses):

2018-19 WNIT Round of 16 (2-1)
2009-10 WNIT Quarterfinal Round (3-1)
1991-92 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1990-91 NCAA Tournament Second Round (1-1)
1989-90 NCAA Tournament East Regional (1-1)
1988-89 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1986-87 National Women's Invitational Tournament (1-2)
1985-86 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1981-82 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1980-81 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1979-80 EAIAW National Tournament (3-1)
1978-79 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1977-78 EAIAW Regional Tournament (1-1)
1976-77 EAIAW Regional Tournament (2-2)
1975-76 EAIAW Regional Tournament (1-2)

WHAT'S NEXT... The Friars remain on the road to face Georgetown at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C. The game is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2:00 p.m.