UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 9 seed Providence upset No. 8 seed Butler in the first game of the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament. Caroline Strande scored a game-high 20 points, but the Friars had four players in double figures to earn the 75-60 victory. Providence will advance to play No. 1 seed UConn tomorrow at Noon.
 
Providence held a 23-18 lead over Butler after the first quarter and would take control of the game by outscoring BU 21-10 in the third. A 10-0 scoring run early in the game gave the Friars an advantage and they would stay on top of the Bulldogs for nearly 32 minutes.
 
The Bulldogs trailed Providence 21-13 in the first quarter after the 10-0 scoring run but would fight back to finish the frame by making four of their last five shots. The opening 10 minutes was highlighted by a Strande buzzer beater from deep 3-point range.
 
Butler outscored PC by a point in the second quarter to make the game 37-33 at the half. Strande had 11 at the break and Providence was paced by Olivia Olsen and Grace Efosa with 10 each. The third quarter told the rest of the story with BU shooting 4-for-14 during that stretch. Providence on the other hand went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and made eight of their 15 attempts.
 
The Bulldogs jumped into a full court press in the fourth trying to force some turnovers, but each team would leave Mohegan Sun Arena with 17 points in the period. Butler ends the year with a 14-16 overall record.
 
Coach Quote
I think you have to give a lot of credit to Providence. Every mistake we made; they punished us for it. To have Archibald play well and record 17 points was big. I thought she was a real difference for them on their end of the floor.

On our end of the floor, I thought we had a good week of practice. I thought we felt really good coming into the game, but it's different when you get out here in a conference tournament setting. When we're getting open shots and not able to convert and then they're going down and laying it up, it makes it for a tough way to make a comeback. We have a competitive group of kids; I think we're on the right track. I'm encouraged by what we're doing as we move forward.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Caroline Strande went 9-for-10 from the field to score 20 points
- Strande also led BU with seven rebounds
- Butler made 10 3-pointers in the setback
- Rachel Kent ended her career with six points, four assists and two steals
- Cristen Carter and Riley Makalusky also had six points for BU
- Karsyn Norman led the team in assists with five
- Ari Wiggins and Sydney Jaynes each came off the bench to score seven points
- Jordan Meulemans hit two 3-pointers helping her score eight
- Providence shot 53 percent from the field and 66 percent from 3 (10-15)
- PC scored 20 points off 13 BU turnovers
- Emily Archibald had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists
- Olivia Olsen had 16 points and 12 rebounds
- Grace Efosa had 13 points
- Brynn Farrell finished with 11 points