Tag: women’s basketball
Women’s Basketball Starting to Find Stride
by The Cowl Editor on December 6, 2018
Friar Sports
Team Goes 1-1 at the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
The Providence College Women’s Basketball Team had mixed results at this year’s Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament. The tournament consisted of all four Division I teams in Rhode Island, including the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, Bryant University, and PC. This year, the tournament was held on the URI campus at the Ryan Center from Dec. 1 to Dec. 2.
PC’s women’s basketball team came into the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament with a three game winning streak and a 3-2 record overall. The previous three wins came over Sacred Heart University, Boston College, and Yale University. PC’s first test in the tournament was a first-round game against URI, a team that also boasted a 3-2 record entering the matchup. The game tipped off at 12 p.m. on Saturday. PC came out of the gates somewhat slowly, shooting just 11/28 (39.3%) from the field in the first half. Despite its low field goal percentage, PC managed to hold its own in the first quarter, trailing 23-19 at its end. PC struggled much more in the second quarter, scoring just 11 points while URI scored 18. PC’s struggles could be contributed in part to turnovers, as the team racked up 13 of them in the first half. By the end of the first half, URI led PC 41-30, with Maddie Jolin ’19 and Jovana Nogic ’19 leading PC in scoring with eight points each.
PC came back far stronger in the second half, outscoring URI 19-17 in the third quarter and 16-14 in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the team’s strong second-half effort was not enough to overcome the first-half deficit; PC eventually fell to URI by a score of 65-72. PC’s record dropped to 3-3 on the season but there were some positive takeaways for the team. Nogic finished the game with 20 points, including six three-point field goals. Forward Mary Baskerville ’22 also notched a career-high point total of 11 points and retrieved eight rebounds.
Jolin added 10 points and six rebounds for the team as well. After the loss, PC went on to play Bryant University in a consolation game on Sunday.
Sunday’s game versus Bryant also tipped off at 12 p.m. at PC. Bryant entered Sunday’s matchup with a record of 2-5. This time, PC was more than ready to play and started the game strong. The team outscored Bryant 19-10 in the first quarter and Nogic continued to play strong, scoring 10 points in the first half alone. The team boasted a 53.8 field goal percentage, shooting 14/26 from the floor. At the half, PC led Bryant by a score of 33-31.
Bryant continued to challenge PC in the second half as both teams scored 21 points in the third quarter. However, PC was ultimately able to distance itself in the fourth quarter, outscoring Bryant 18-12. PC won the game 72-64 and improved its record to 4-3 this season. The team has now won four of its last five games. Nogic continued her impressive performance in the second half, adding 12 more points for a game-high total of 22 points. Another player who helped power PC’s offensive attack was Andrea Cooper ’21, who tallied eight second-half points and finished with 14 total points. The team now looks to prepare for its next game, which is scheduled to take place Saturday, December 8 against University of Massachusetts, Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Women’s Basketball Looks To Turn The Tables
by The Cowl Editor on November 1, 2018
Friar Sports
By Sullivan Burgess ’20
Sports Staff
After having a 10-21 overall record and a 3-15 last place finish in the Big East last season, the Providence College Women’s Basketball Team looks to turn things around, and ultimately prove themselves as one of the best teams in the Big East. While tough teams are slated to face the Friars, PC has high hopes.
A few days ago, at media day in New York City, the Big East released the Women’s Preseason Coaches’ poll, a poll in which coaches vote on who will be the top team of the season. Coaches, however, are not allowed to vote for their own team. The co-leaders of the poll were none other than DePaul University and Marquette University, who tied for the number one ranking last season.
The Friars were voted in as No. 9 out of 10 teams, due to their increase in strength and bringing back most of their roster.
Not much has significantly changed on the Friar’s roster during the offseason. Only two of the players from last season were seniors and have graduated. However, the team has recruited six new freshmen for this upcoming year. These women range from guards to forwards, and can each bring their own skill set to the team in any moment of the game.
One notable returning player is guard Channell Williams ’21. Last season, Williams averaged 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists (a team best) per game. These stats ultimately earned her two-time Big East Freshman of the Week, for the weeks of Jan. 8 and Jan. 22. Her stats and overall game also earned her a unanimous selection to the Big East All-Freshman team.
Jovana “Yo Yo” Nogic ’19, the team’s leading scorer, is another player to watch. Last season, Nogic was not only named Big East Player of the Week in November, but was consistently named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll, and through her first three seasons has scored 1,240 career points ranking her 18th all time at Providence in scoring.
This season, Nogic was named to the 20-player watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, an award presented each year to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball top shooting guard.
One thing that lead to Nogic being on the watchlist is how she is just 22 three-pointers away from breaking the College’s three-point record set by Julie Wheeler ’98. She is ranked second in the Big East for three-pointers made and fourth in three point field goal percentage throughout the entire Big East Conference
On top of this, it was recently announced that Nogic was named to the 11-member Preseason All-Big East Team for the second year in a row.
The Friars’ season begins on Nov. 3 when the team looks to take on Assumption College at Mullaney Gym, and then Penn State University at University Park in Pennsylvania.
As the Friars look ahead this season, it is key that they move on from the results of last season and focus on the season ahead. The Friars are ready to put their best feet forward and turn their fortunes around.
Doris Burke Wins 2018 Curt Gowdy Award
by The Cowl Editor on March 1, 2018
Friar Sports
PC Grad Continues to Make Headlines
by Sullivan Burgess ’20
Sports staff
On Feb. 17, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that former Friar and ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke ’87 would receive the 2018 Curt Gowdy Media Award.
The award is named after American sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who served as the president of the Basketball Hall of Fame for seven consecutive years. The award is usually awarded to most outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters for all media outlets.
Past winners include Craig Sager, Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, Marv Albert, and Jim Nantz. Burke sets a great example for newcomers trying to find their way in the world of analyzing basketball.
When she played for the Providence College Women’s Basketball Team for four years, Burke led in assists during three of her four seasons and was a three-time All-Big East selection. She ranks second in all-time assists in PC history with 602 in 113 career games.
She is not only a member of the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame, with a newly retired number in Mullaney Gym, but she is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
Last year, for the first time in school history, Burke served as Master of Ceremonies for the annual PC Late Night Madness. It was a high honor to be brought back at the beginning of this year for Madness to hype up the students. She also had the opportunity to talk to Coach Cooley and Coach Crowley, as well as their respective players.
Burke’s media career began as radio analyst for PC until she eventually moved to the WNBA and began reporting for the New York Liberty. She made a name for herself and was finally hired by ESPN. She served as a sideline reporter and analyst for ESPN since 1991, Burke made headlines by being named a full-time NBA game analyst. This made her the first woman in the history of the channel to hold that role.
Burke has even appeared in the NBA 2K videogames in recent years as a sideline reporter and commentator. When discussing her career after receiving news of her nomination, she stated, “I fell into this. I thought I would be a high school teacher and coach, I started my career as an assistant basketball coach and wanted to have children and be a stay-at-home mom. I thought, Division I coaching and being a mom is sort of mutually exclusive, so I happened into the business… To be honest with you, when I was a kid, and even through college, public speaking terrified me. It still terrifies me. When I am on the air, I never think of it as, ‘Oh, millions of people could actually be watching this basketball game.’ Because if I ever thought of it in that context, I would freak out.”
While she might be nervous on screen, we certainly have never been able to notice, as Burke climbs the rankings to be one of the most popular NBA analysts of all time. As this is her first season serving as a full-time commentator for ESPN, time will only tell what else in store for Burke.
Friars Fall in Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament
by The Cowl Editor on December 7, 2017
Friar Sports
by Eileen Flynn ’20
Sports Staff
Providence College welcomed the top four women’s basketball teams of Rhode Island to Mullaney Gym Saturday, December 2. The second annual Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament allows for Brown University, Bryant University, the University of Rhode Island, and Providence College to compete in a special kind of rivalry.
Providence College matched up against Brown while Bryant faced URI in the first round of the tournament. The Friars entered the weekend with a 5-2 record and a four-game win streak, recently beating Savannah State University, Wright State University, Stetson University, and Yale University. Brown, the reigning Ocean State Tip-Off Champions, held a strong record of 5-1.
At 12 p.m., the ball was thrown into play for the two teams. Brown took off a little bit quicker than the Friars did, forcing PC to play catch-up for most of the game. The Bears jumped ahead in the first quarter after a 12-2 run, making the score 15-6. The Friars fought back and worked to reduce the deficit. At the end of half, the score left on the scoreboard read 26-24, Brown just two points ahead of PC. Maddie Jolin ’19 contributed 10 points to the Friars’ 24, labeling her as the lead scorer of the first half. For Brown, Justine Gaziano led her team in the opening 20 minutes with 12 points.
A fast start from the Bears of Brown in the second half gave the team a cushion for the remaining minutes of the match-up. After Shayna Mehta hit a three for Brown, the Friars found themselves down nine points. The home court helped PC stay in the game. The third quarter ended with Brown in the lead by just four points. The final quarter followed a similar pattern of the first three. The Bears increased a lead, and then the Friars worked hard to minimize it. Brown won the game with a final score of 64-59. Top scorers from Providencefor the Friars were Jolin with 16 points, Ny-Asia Franklin ’19 with 16 points and Jovanna Nogic ’19 with 13 points.
URI lost their first-round match-up against Bryant, joining the Friars in the consolation game on Sunday, December 3, still on Providence College’s territory. PC handed URI their second loss of the weekend with a final score of 65-41. It was a team effort from the Friars, as several teammates contributed over ten points to the overall score. The first quarter ended with the Friars in the lead, 17-11. The second quarter was even more productive for the Friars. They increased their lead to double digits, leaving URI 13 points behind after two quarters of play under way. The Friars took control of the second half, the team out-scored the Rams 30-19 in the time remaining. Nine of the 11 Providence College players who stepped on the court for the Friars contributed to the 65-41 final score.
Brown and Bryant were the top two teams that met in the championship game on Sunday. Brown out-scored Bryant 72-60 to be named back-to-back Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament Champions. Sydney Holloway and Naomi Ashley from Bryant and Taylor Will from Brown were selected for the Ocean State Tip-Off All-Tournament team. Brown’s Justine Gaziano was named Tournament MVP.
The Friars will be on the road for their next two games against Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart. While most of PC students body heads off for break, the Lady Friars will face Boston College as well as Big East rivals Georgetown, and Villanova.
Women’s Basketball Preview
by The Cowl Editor on November 2, 2017
Friar Sports
Team Looks to Previous Season Highlights as Guides for Upcoming Season
By Ethan Ticehurst ’18
Sports Staff
Basketball season is right around the corner in Friartown. Crowds will be pouring into the Dunkin Donuts Center to see the Providence College Men’s Basketball Team play this season, but fans will also head to Mullaney Gymnasium to see the Women’s Team try to improve upon last season.
Last year, the Friar Family saw a rebound in women’s basketball, as the team put together their first season with more than 10 wins in five years. The team came roaring back from a tough time with a winning record in their non-conference games, which helped them reach a 12-18 record overall.
Last season, the Friars were lucky enough to play under first year coach Jim Crowley, who previously spent 20 years as the head coach of women’s basketball at St. Bonaventure, where he led the team to the NCAA tournament five times. His first year at the helm of the Friars, and the subsequent improvement of the team, continued to show his strong abilities as a coach. If last year was any indication, Coach Crowley will hopefully continue to improve the team and lead them to a NCAA tournament in the future.
A successful coach is not the only thing that the Friars have going for them going in to the season. Topping the list of advantages is the play of Jovana “YoYo” Nogic ’19. After averaging 14.5 points per game last year, she only looks to get better this year. Nogic has already been named to the Preseason All-Big East Team, an honor that puts her in the upper echelon of Big East players. She started all 30 games for the Friars last year and looks to do the same again this year.
Other bright spots for the Friars include the play of both Clara Che ’19 and Allegra Botteghi ’18, the only other returning players to have played in all 30 games last season. Both of them add over five points per game each, numbers which should improve this season as both of them have gained more experience playing college basketball and everyone tends to become a better player when they have more experience.
Fans should look to be in Mullaney Gym on Nov.10, when the Friars kick off their season against Columbia University. Given their successes against non-conference teams last year, the Friars are likely to have another strong start to the season this year. One big date to be excited for is Dec. 2, when the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament gets started right here on campus, with teams from Brown University, Bryant University, and the University of Rhode Island visiting Friartown for two days. The biggest date of the year for the Friars, however, will be three days after Christmas, on Dec. 28, when they kick off conference play against Georgetown at home. After hopefully having a strong start to the season in non-conference games, the game against Georgetown is when the going gets tough for the Friars and they will have to put their hearts fully into the game.
Women’s Basketball Improves Under Crowley
by The Cowl Editor on March 16, 2017
Sports
by Eileen Flynn ’20
With a score of 73-60 left on the scoreboard as the final buzzer echoed in the gym, the Providence College Women’s Basketball Team was forced to end their season. The Lady Friars faced the Seton Hall Pirates for the third time this year, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 4, for the first round of the Big East Tournament. Splitting the regular season face-off, the Friars were hoping to defeat Seton Hall for the second time. The sense of urgency the Friars fought with until the end is not something that surprised the familiar fans in the crowd.
The season was filled with comebacks for the Lady Friars. Twelve out of the 18 losses ended with a close 10-point margin. In their final matchup, Providence brought the score to 64-58 with two minutes to play. Their relentless effort is one of the reasons for their improvement from the previous seasons. The Friars tallied more than double the amount of wins in the 2016-2017 season than they had in the 2015-2016 season.
Sadly, the Providence basketball team is forced to let Sarah Beal ’17 and Aliyah Miller ’17 graduate in the spring. Both players had a strong influence on and off the court for the team. Miller averaged 6.3 points a game in her career and was a four-year player for the Friars. Beal averaged 11.6 points a game and was also a four-year member of the team.
Beal had an exceptional season as her name was added to the list of few Friars to join the 1,000-point club. She was also named Big East Player of the Week for the first time. Beal finished her last season by accomplishing her career goals, is the perfect example of relentless effort for her teammates.
Beal uses the word “challenging” to describe her last year wearing black and white. She mentions the adjustment she and her teammates had to make with the new coaching staff. “Some days would be harder than others, but he really demanded that we work hard and play to our strengths. It really helped the team as a whole.” Jim Crowley was named the 10th head coach in Providence College women’s basketball history in May 2016. A previous coach to St. Bonaventure University, Crowley helped the friars to a 12-18 record in his first year.
The biggest tally in the win column for Beal her senior year was when she helped the team beat Marquette on home ground. “It was a great feeling knowing we had just beat a top team in the conference, and the atmosphere that night was awesome!”
Although it is Beal’s turn to receive her diploma, she will never be able to forget Providence College and the basketball program. When asked what advice she would give an incoming freshman recruit, Beal says, “Don’t wait until your last years to give it your all. You should work hard and give it your all each year and every day because it will eventually pay off. Never have any regrets!”
With a year under his belt, and a similar team returning, Crowley is predicted to work hard in the off season with his team, and prepare for an even better season next year.