by The Cowl Editor on February 14, 2019
Friar Sports
By Thomas Zinzarella ’21
Sports Staff
This past weekend, the Providence College Women’s Basketball Team returned home, where they had a two game homestand against the Seton Hall University Pirates and the St. John’s University Red Storm. The Friars had previously played both of these teams on the road earlier in the year, falling to the Pirates back on Jan. 13, 79-73. The Friars hosted Seton Hall on Friday, February 8, defeating them 82-75 in Alumni Hall.
Both teams started the game off hot by shooting over 50 percent from the floor before Seton Hall took a nine-point lead heading into halftime. The Friars were able to keep it close thanks to Kyra Spiwak ’22, who scored 11 points in 12 minutes off the bench in the first half of the game. It was all Friars in the second half, led by Maddie Jolin ’19 who scored 21 of her 25 total points in the second half. Jolin finished the game three for five from behind the arc and a perfect 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. Mary Baskerville ’22 also pulled in a strong performance for the Friars, notching her 4th career double-double, scoring 14 points, 14 rebounds, and adding three blocks. Baskerville now has 41 blocks, tying the freshman program record, with five more Big East regular season contests to come.
The Friars continued the charge with their defensive presence by holding the Big East leading scorer Shaheen Samuels to just three points in the second half after her 14-point burst in the first half. The Friars came back from a 13-point deficit to split the season series.
After the game, Head Coach Jim Crowley believed that his team was outhustled in the first half, “The last three minutes of the 3rd quarter got us believing…a couple of shots dropped, and it just got us going.” Coach Crowley emphasized his team “being able to get to the foul line” was key in the second half. The Friars shot 18 for 19 from the free throw line in the game while going 17 for 17 from the line in the second half.
On Sunday, the Friars took on St. John’s University. The Friars defeated the Red Storm in overtime back on Jan. 11 with a score of 67-66. The Friars started the game hot with a 9-0 run before St. John’s was forced to call a timeout.
The Friars continued to surge in the second quarter, when an 8-2 run put them ahead 23-12 before St. John’s closed the half on a 15-4 run. The Friars once again tried to get to the free throw line in the second half as they did on Friday night. The Friars were a perfect 10 for 10 but were unable to lift the lid off the basket. Friars shot just 1-14 from downtown in the game. The Friars were defeated in the end by a final score of 60-57. They were once again led by Jolin, who scored 14 points while Baskerville followed suit with another double-double, scoring 11 points and snatching 11 rebounds. The Friars are now 14-11 ooveralland 6-7 in the Big East.
The Friars will head out to play the Xavier University Musketeers and the Butler University Bulldogs on the road before heading back to Providence to finish their regular season with a three game homestand. You can watch the Friars take on Xavier this Friday on Fox Sports 2 at 7 p.m.