PROVIDENCE – The Providence Friars snapped Butler's nine-game win streak on Friday afternoon by posting a 74-68 win in triple overtime. The contest was just the fourth triple overtime game in BIG EAST women's basketball history.
Whitney Jennings ended the game with a season-high 25 points and four rebounds for the Bulldogs. She logged 54 minutes of playing time at Alumni Hall and was the only member of the BU starting five to not foul out of the game.
Tori Schickel helped Jennings with the scoring load. The talented senior reached her milestone in the first quarter and would move forward in the game to notch a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. She is just the third player in program history to reach both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her BU career.
Butler got off to a slow start in front a rowdy crowd which was largely made up of local middle school students as part of Education Day at Providence. The Friars would use that energy to open the game on an 11-2 scoring run which forced BU into an early timeout.
Providence hit four of their first five shots of the game including all three from 3-point range. Butler on the other hand was ice cold hitting just one of their first seven attempts. As a result, PC would lead 22-13 after the first.
Schickel was the motor for BU in the first, scoring eight points in the opening 10 minutes, but no other Bulldog would have more than two points. That would change in the second quarter with
Whitney Jennings finding her shot.
Jennings scored 10 of her 12 first half points in the second frame to help Butler come back and take a two-point halftime lead. Team defense was the key to the turnaround as BU limited PC to just one made field goal in the second. Kaela Webb hit a 3-pointer on Providence's opening possession and that would be the only three points of the quarter for the Friars.
Butler looked to be in control of the action in the third quarter after a made 3-pointer from
Michelle Weaver and a backdoor layup from Jennings. The bucket would give the 'Dawgs their largest lead of the game at 42-33.
Timeout was called by Providence to kill the BU momentum and the Friars would respond out of the break by ending the final 1:46 of the third on a 9-1 scoring run to get back within one at 43-42.
Neither team could run away in the fourth quarter which led to our first overtime period. Jennings would tie the game at 52-52 with 1:44 left in the fourth, but Providence free throws would regain the lead for the home team.
BU went back to Jennings to knot the score at 54-54, but the final Bulldog possession would not result in points sending the two clubs into OT.
Fans of each team may have had a flashback to last season as BU and PC went into overtime in their last meeting which came in the first round of the BIG EAST women's basketball tournament in Chicago. Today's matchup would be different however as each team was only able to put five points on the scoreboard in OT.
Nogic was responsible for all five of Providence's points. She hit a trey from the right wing to open up the scoring and would add a pair of free throws with 3:50 left on the clock. Butler tied the score at 59-59 on a made free throw from
Naira Caceres with 1:25 left. Never team was able to score over the final minute sending the contest into double overtime.
The Friars scored the first three points of the second overtime period, but the Bulldogs would fight back to tie the score at 65-65 after a jumper from Jennings. The senior from Logansport hit the shot with just 20 seconds left and would make an incredible play on the defensive end to get a steal with five seconds on the game clock.
Jennings ran hard up the right side of the court after the steal with Nogic at her side. Jennings got to the rim with one second to spare, but her attempt would roll out and move the game to a third overtime period.
The biggest shot in the third overtime came from Jolin who knocked down her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 2:24 to play. The shot gave Join 20 points and PC a two-point lead with 2:24 left. Nogic would eventually get to the free throw line to ice the game and give the Friars a 74-68 victory. Nogic went 12-for-12 from the charity stripe and led PC with 24 points in the outcome.
Butler will now fly to Omaha and end the weekend with a 3 PM contest at Creighton. Tip-off on Sunday will air live on FS1.
