by npatano on March 24, 2022
Friar Sports
Liam Tormey ’22
Sports Co-Editor
The Friars women’s basketball season came to an end on March 4 after a 68-55 defeat to Georgetown University in the opening round of the Big East Women’s Tournament.
After being down by one at halftime, the Hoyas jumped out to a 22-0 run in the third quarter. The Friars were unable to bounce back, and their season was over.
Emily Archibald ’25 scored a career-high 21 points in the contest, shooting 7-9 from the floor and 6-8 from three-point territory. Janai Crooms ’23 added 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block for the Friars, but the Hoyas were able to hold on.
The Friars finished the season 11-19, 6-14 in Big East play, and ended the year on a five-game losing streak. They were 6-11 at Alumni Hall and 5-7 away from home.
Crooms completed her first year for the Friars after transferring to her home state from Michigan State University. She averaged 13.8 points with an average of 34.7 minutes per game in her first year as a Friar. Crooms also recorded six double-doubles – a team-best – and was the only player in the Big East ranked inside the top-15 in scoring and also ranked inside the top-10 in rebounding, assists, blocked shots, offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds.
The Cranston, Rhode Island native, who is the first female to have her number retired at St. Andrew’s School, shot 43.6 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from behind the three-point arc. Along with Kylee Sheppard ’25, Crooms was awarded All-Big East Honorable Mention accolades.
Sheppard was a unanimous selection to the Big East All-Freshman Team. She only played in 19 games and started in 18 of them after missing 10 games in the beginning of her rookie season due to injuries. By the end of the year, Sheppard finished third in the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game 2.1 assists per game while second in steals averaging 1.6.
Alyssa Geary ’22 and Mary Baskerville ’22 both completed their senior season for the Friars. Geary started in all 30 games, averaging 26.4 minutes per game and 9.5 points per game. The senior shot 37.7 percent from the field while adding 4.2 rebounds a game.
Per her instagram, Geary will be using her extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 and transferring to Indiana University. She played 118 games for the Friars, a total of 2655 minutes and 854 points.
Baskerville played in 23 of the Friars’ 30 games this season. She averaged 19.0 minutes per game and finished the year averaging 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. There is no word yet on the future of Baskerville and what she will plan to do with the extra year of eligibility.
Next year, with the return of Crooms and an entire year of Sheppard in the lineup, the Friars will have potential. They will need to make up for size with Geary leaving, but a young team under the leadership of Jim Crowley will continue to grow in the 2022-23 season.