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Friars Battle Villanova Saturday
March 3, 2000 PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Providence and Villanova meet for the 40th time in the all-time series, with the Friars leading 20-19 in the first 39 meetings. The teams spilt the series this season, with Villanova capturing a 63-41 win at the Pavilion on January 8, 1999, and the Friars defeating the 'Cats, 70-59, at Alumni Hall on February 26,2000. At Providence, the Friars are 14-5. At Villanova, the Friars trail, 5-10. PC is 1-4 on neutral courts versus the Wildcats.
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS...Villanova comes into tonight's game as the number six seed in the tournament, with an overall record of 14-13 and a 7-9 mark in the BIG EAST. In their last outing, Villanova fell to No. 8 Rutgers, 76-60, on February 29. Jen Skeeters had 17 points, and Trish Juhline and Nicole Drunkenmiller each had 11 for the Wildcats, which has lost five straight. Skeeters leads her squad in scoring, netting 14.0 points per game, while Juhline is contributing 12.9 points an outing for Villanova.
LAST TIME OUT...Swin Cash scored 17 points as No. 1 Connecticut closed the regular season with a 102-68 victory over Providence on February 29. Connecticut won the Big East regular-season title for a seventh straight season. Shea Ralph added 15 points, Tamika Williams had 14, Kelly Schumacher 12 and Asjha Jones 11. The Huskies, who missed 17 of their first 22 shots, led just 20-19 with 10:01 left in the first half when Williams entered the game. She scored nine points as Connecticut went on a 23-9 run to take a 43-28 lead just before the break. Meghan Hinds led Providence with 15 points, and Dani Trippany and Monika Roberts each had 12.
Numerology: Here's a look at how the Friars match up with their next opponent in the latest RPI poll, as of March 3, 2000: Providence 112 Villanova 58
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (10-16, 5-11) vs.
PROBABLE STARTERS
OFF THE BENCH
QUITE A PAIR...For the third time this season, juniors Jen Gombotz and Monika Roberts posted double-doubles in the same game. In the Friars' 70-59 win over Villanova on February 26, Gombotz posted team-highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds while Roberts came off the bench for 16 points and 11 rebounds. Last time, Gombotz recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds against Miami on February 12, while Roberts registered 12 points and 11 boards for the Friars. The first time was on December 31, 1999, as Roberts netted a game-high 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in PC's 76-69 win at Fairfield, while Gombotz contributed 16 points and 10 caroms for the win.
NICE SHOOTING, HINDS...Senior co-captain Meghan Hinds currently leads the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 89.6 percent (43-of-48) of her shots from the charity stripe in BIG EAST games. Her overall free throw percentage of 87. 3 (55-of-63) percent is the best ever for a Friar in a season.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE...The Friars have doubled their win total this year with a current 10-16 mark this season. Last season, Providence finished the 1998-99 season with an overall record of 5-22.
TURN OVER A NEW LEAF...The Friars are looking to get back on track towards the end of the regular-season. PC committed a season-low nine turnovers against Villanova University on February 26.
SHE CAN DISH IT...Sophomore Chrissy Vozab tied her career-high for assists with nine in PC's 70-59 win over Villanova on February 29 at Alumni Hall.
HOME VS. AWAY...The Friars have different outcomes when they play at Alumni Hall or on the road. Here's a look at how they fare in the two venues:
JOIN THE CLUB... Meghan Hinds became the 21st player in Providence history to score 1,000 points in her college career. She has currently scored 1,103 points to join in the exclusive club. She reached the 1,000 point plateau for her career during PC's loss to St. John's on January 29, 2000, with a three-point shot from the left corner just six seconds into the second half of the game.
THE HIGHS...The Friars allowed a season-high 90 points from the Irish on February 1. PC also allowed their guests season-highs against themselves in field goals made (32), free throws made (25), free throws attempted (36) and blocked shots (11) in their 90-60 loss.
AND THE LOWS...Providence shot a season-low 30.2 field goal percentage against the Irish. The Friars only connected on 19 of 63 attempts from the field in Alumni Hall, including just two shots from three-point range.
STEPPING UP...Junior Dani Trippany has come back strong since her stress fracture, averaging 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds over the last 12 games. She most recently netted a game-high 17 points in PC's 71-66 loss to Seton Hall on February 12 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the Friars' 68-62 loss at Seton Hall on February 18.
BOMBS AWAY!...Senior Meghan Hinds netted five three-point attempts en route to her career-high of 28 points at St. John's on January 19. The 5-10 guard shot 64 percent from the field (9-of-14), 83 percent from behind the arc and 100 percent from the charity stripe (5-5). Hinds also recorded seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 39 minutes of action.
BEAT THE CLOCK...Junior Monika Roberts netted the game-winning shot with one second remaining to give the Friars a 77-76 win over the visiting Panthers on January 12.
TRIPPANY FOR THE BLOCK... Junior Dani Trippany proved that a stress fracture won't keep her down for long. The 6-5 center recorded a career-high five blocks at Holy Cross, her third game back since her injury sidelined her for eight contests. Her total, combined with her teammates, led to the team's season-high 12 blocks against the Crusaders.
TO CATCH A THIEF...Sophomore Chrissy Vozab handled a career-high five steals in Providence's 77-76 win over Pittsburgh on January 12. The 5-7 guard also posted 13 points, including three treys, four assists and three rebounds in the Friars' come-from-behind win.
CLUTCH FROM THE ARC...The Friars made nine of 12 attempts from three-point range against St. John's on January 19 to earn the 72-67 victory over the Red Storm. Providence shot 75% behind the arc for a season-best. Meghan Hinds made five of six and Jen Gombotz connected on three of her attempts in the win over St. John's.
OUT OF ACTION...The injury bug has plagued the Friars all season long. Here's the injured list heading into tonight's game versus Villanova:
M*A*S*H UNIT...Going into the Villanova game, the Friars have lost 87 man-games to injury so far this season.
FRIAR SIGNINGS...PC head coach Jim Jabir has announced that three players have signed national letters-of-intent to attend Providence College for the 2000-2001 school year.
Calling all reserves: Senior Farrah Thomas led the PC reserves against Boston College on January 22, posting 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal for the Friars.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK...Junior center Monika Roberts was chosen as the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week for the week ending January 2nd. In four games the previous week, the 6-2 center was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Tulane/Doubletree Classic as she scored 47 points (23.5), pulled down 18 rebounds (9.0 rpg) and had 8 blocks (4.0 bpg). She continued with a double-double (21 points/15 rebounds) in the win over Fairfield and then led PC with 13 points and six rebounds in the win over Princeton. In four games, Roberts scored 81 points (20.3 ppg) had 39 rebounds (9.3 rpg) and had 11 blocks (2.8 bpg).
ALL-TOURNAMENT PART II...For the second time this season, PC junior forward Monika Roberts has been named to a tournament's All-Tourney team. Roberts scored 26 points with seven rebounds and four blocked shots in PC's 81-57 loss to Tulane. She helped the Friars bounce back in their 82-62 win over Lehigh as she scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds and four more blocks. For the two games, Roberts scored 47 points (23.5), had 18 rebounds (9.0) and eight blocks (4.0). Earlier this season, Roberts was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Lady Tiger Classic in Memphis, Tennessee.
CAREER NIGHT...Junior forward Zahra Williams came off the bench versus Princeton to score a career high 11 points (5-11 FG, 1-3 FT), grab a career high six rebounds and block a career high eight shots in the 74-59 win over the Tigers. She turned in that performance in just 18 minutes of action. Williams' eight blocks is the most by a BIG EAST player this season.
DEE-LIGHTFUL...Freshman guard Dee Cummings has shown a penchant for passing this season as she has dished out 5.8 assists per game through the first 13 games this season. Versus Princeton, Cummings found the scoring touch with a career-high 12-point game (4-5 FT, 2-2 3PT, 2-2 FT), while still managing to dish out nine assists in 35 minutes played. At Syracuse, Cummings followed that with a seven-point, five-rebound, two assist game.
ROOKIE TO THE RESCUE...Freshman forward Steffanie Shoop scored a career high 12 points (4-4 FG, 4-6 FT) in 14 minutes off the bench in the Friars' 76-65 win over Syracuse on January 4th. Shoop jumper with 12:57 left in the second half tied the game at 49-49 and her free throw 20 seconds later gave PC a 50-49 lead that they never gave up.
PC DOUBLE-DOUBLES...As a team, the Friars have recorded 15 double-doubles this season. Here's the list:
CHARITY WORK...The Friars shot a season-high 82.1 percent from the free throw line at Syracuse on January 4, connecting on 23 of 28 attempts from the charity stripe.
BACK IN ACTION...Steady senior guard Meghan Hinds has scored in double figures in 16 of the 23 games she's played since returning to the lineup after missing two games (Memphis and Samford) with a broken nose suffered in the Friars' season opener. In her 23 games back, Hinds has averaged 12.4 points per game, including a career-high 28 at St. John's. Hinds has had a career-high 11 rebounds twice this season (vs. Lehigh and PRINCETON), including her first double-double ever with 11 points and 11 rebounds versus Princeton. PASSING FANCY...Freshman guard Dee Cummings has had two games with ten or more assists this season. Cummings opened her PC career with a 15-assist game versus George Mason on November 20th which set the record for a PC freshman. On December 7th versus Rhode Island, the 5-6 guard dished out 10 assists versus the Rams. Through 13 games, Cummings has 76 assists (5.8 per game).
ALL-TOURNAMENT FRIAR...Junior forward Monika Roberts (Pittsburg, Calif) was named to the All-Tournament Team at the University of Memphis Lady Tiger Classic November 26 and 27. Roberts scored 22 points with eight rebounds in the first game versus Memphis. Game two saw her record 16 points and a career high 18 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. In the two games, Roberts had 38 points (19.0 ppg) and 26 rebounds (13.0 rpg).
DOUBLE GOMBOTZ...The Friars' Jen Gombotz picked up her fourth double-double of the season against Miami. The junior forward posted 13 points and 12 rebounds for PC. Previously, scored 12 points and had a career-high 16 rebounds at Syracuse. She also had recorded a double-double versus Fairfield with 16 points and ten rebounds. Her first came in the Friars' opening win versus George Mason when she had 28 points and 11 rebounds versus the Patriots on November 21st. For that game, Gombotz was selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Week.
OFF THE BENCH...Junior forward Amy Drechsler came off the bench to score a career high 11 points (5-8 FG, 1-1 3PT) in PC's 82-62 win over Lehigh. Versus Tulane, Drechsler made her first start of the season scoring two points in eight minutes.
POUNDING THE BOARDS...Providence recorded a school record 65 rebounds in the overtime loss to Samford on November 27th. The previous high was 63 versus Long Island University on December 28, 1980.
DOUBLE THE FUN...Who says you have to be tall to get rebounds??? PC sophomore guard Chrissy Vozab turned in her second double-double of the season at West Virginia scoring ten points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Earlier in the season, the 5-7 Vozab had 14 points and ten rebounds versus Samford University. The talented guard scored a season high 22 points in the Friars win versus Lehigh. At the Tulane Tournament, Vozab had 25 points and 11 rebounds versus Lehigh.
THE PLAYMAKER..Friars' freshman point guard Dee Cummings (Butler, Ala.) wasted little time in getting her name in the Providence College record books. In the season opener against George Mason, Cummings dished out a Providence College freshman record 15 assists while committing just five turnovers in the 82-70 victory. She also pulled down seven rebounds while scoring three points. PC's all-time record for assists in one game is 17 and is held by Shanya Evans who did it twice in her career.
SHOT BLOCKER...Junior forward Monika Roberts set a career high with six blocked shots in the PC-Michigan game. For the season, Roberts now has 56 blocked shots or 2.2 per game to be second in the BIG EAST while being ranked 16th in the nation in that category.
25th ANNIVERSARY...The Friars are now in their 25th season of Division I competition and have an all-time mark of 450-288 for a .610 winning percentage in 738 all-time games. The Friars own three BIG EAST regular season titles (1983, 1986, 1990), one BIG EAST Tournament Championship (1990), one trip to the WNIT (1987) and five NCAA appearances (1986, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992).
A LOOK AHEAD...The Friars will look to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament and take on #3 Rutgers University on Sunday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m.
Friar Facts
A QUICK LOOK AT HEAD COACH JIM JABIR
Season By Season
INDIVIDUAL GAME LEADERS
Big East Standings
2000 BIG EAST Championship Schedule Saturday, March 4--First Round #4 Boston College vs. #13 West Virginia #5 Georgetown vs. #12 Syracuse #8 Pittsburgh vs. #9 St. John's #7 Miami vs. #10 Seton Hall #6 Villanova vs. #11 Providence
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