PC Women’s Hoops Advances to Big East Quarters

The No. 9 seed Providence College women’s basketball team defeated No. 8 seed Butler in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Friday, March 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Friars improved to 13-19 overall, while the Bulldogs dropped to 14-16. Providence advances to the Quarterfinal Round on Saturday, March 9 to face top-seeded and ninth-ranked Connecticut at Noon.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (PDF) | Head Coach Erin Batth and Olivia Olsen

1ST QUARTER:
• Butler held an 11-9 lead at the first quarter media timeout (4:39).
• Providence took its first lead of the game (16-13) on an Emily Archibald triple from the left wing at the 1:55 mark.
• Her bucket was part of a 10-0 run during a two-minute span to give the Friars a 21-13 advantage.
• Caroline Strande scored five-points for Butler in the closing 25-seconds, including a three from the logo as time expired.
• Providence held a 23-18 lead at the break.
• Grace Efosa paced the Friars with 10 points on 4-5 shooting.
• Nariah Scott extended the run to 7-0 with a three from the right wing (30-18).

2ND QUARTER:
• Providence started the quarter with a 4-0 spurt to take a 27-18 lead, forcing a Butler timeout (7:13).
• The Friars extended their lead to 13, but Butler finished the final 3:29 of the quarter with nine unanswered points.
• Providence held a 37-33 lead at halftime.

3RD QUARTER:
• The Friars went on an 8-0 run during a span of 1:57 to regain a double-digit lead (45-35) and force a Butler timeout (7:06).
• Providence extended its run to 10-0 (47-35) before Butler got back on the scoreboard with 6:15 on the clock.
• Providence outscored Butler 21-10 in the quarter to take a 58-43 lead into the fourth.
• Olivia Olsen recorded six points and six boards in the frame.

4TH QUARTER:
• The Friars started the fourth with an 8-0 spurt to go ahead by 23 with 8:04 to play (66-43).
• Providence maintained lead of at least 15 points for the duration of the fourth en route to the 75-60 win.

NOTES:
• Four Friars scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and improved to 5-2 on the season when doing so.
• Emily Archibald scored a team-best 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, including a 2-2 showing beyond the three-point arc. She also added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Twelve of Archibald’s 17 points came in the second half.
• Olsen notched her 12th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She also recorded three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
• Efosa finished with 13 points, five boards, two assist and two steals.
• Brynn Farrell rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and dished a career-high six assists.
• Providence outrebounded Butler, 35-24.
• The Friars dished 17 assists on 29 made field goals. Their 17 assists are the second-highest total of the season.
• Providence shot 53.7-percent from the field for the game (29-54) and hit a season-best 10 three-pointers (10-32, 0.313).
• The Friars improved to 2-4 all-time as the No. 9 seed and 2-1 all-time vs. Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• The last time Providence won a game in the BIG EAST Tournament dates back to the 2021 campaign. That year, the No. 7 seed Friars outlasted No. 10 seed Butler, 63-61.

WHAT’S NEXT:
• The Friars advance to the Quarterfinals to face No. 1 seed and ninth-ranked UConn. The game will tip-off at Noon and will be televised on FS1.