Erin Batth has higher hopes for Providence women's basketball. Where were they picked?
NEW YORK — Basketball coaching changes are generally made due to success or failure.
It was the latter for Providence College last spring. The Friars women decided to go in a different direction and Jim Crowley returned to his previous home at St. Bonaventure. Erin Batth was hired off the staff at Michigan and brought a promise of fresh energy.
Batth’s attempt to lift Providence’s fortunes isn’t expected to have an immediate payoff. The Friars were picked ninth by the coaches at Big East Media Day, which took over Madison Square Garden on this fall Tuesday.
Annual power Connecticut grabbed 10 first-place votes to top the league and Creighton pulled in the 11th. Providence was shut out of both the expected contenders and the all-conference teams — no member of the Friars was picked to earn a major award or take home one of the 13 all-league places available.
“The team might be nine right now, but we’re not going to stay there,” Batth said. “That’s how it is.”
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The Friars went 13-19 overall and 4-16 in league play in 2022-23. They were 6-2 after a nonconference blowout of Bryant but suffered a 98-53 thumping against the Huskies that ushered in reality. Providence didn’t win a game after a Jan. 28 road victory against Xavier, and its ninth straight loss came against DePaul to open the conference tournament at Mohegan Sun.
“I think we’ve gotten 10 times better just from this summer being with her,” Friars guard Kylee Sheppard said. “We learned so much. We’ve implemented more offenses and more defenses than we had last year.
“We’re going to throw a bunch of things at people they won’t expect.”
Sheppard was one of several players who declined to leave via the NCAA transfer portal. Batth also successfully retained guards Grace Efosa and Nariah Scott, junior paint player Olivia Olsen and wing forward Emily Archibald. The Friars brought in a host of transfers and first-year players, including Johnston native Sarah Bandoma.
“A quote of hers is, ‘We had a purpose before everyone had an opinion,’ ” Efosa said. “That’s kind of what we use to drive ourselves.”
Providence opens with a Nov. 1 exhibition against New Haven before hosting Hampton on Nov. 7. The Friars visit Brown and host the University of Rhode Island before a major test against Baylor at the West Palm Beach Classic. Providence begins its league season with a Dec. 30 trip to Seton Hall.
“Take basketball away,” Batth said. “I need Kylee, I need Grace — I need all the women I coach to become something after this game. I need them to learn the lessons of life as we go.
“We’re going to have some good days. We’re going to have some bad days. And we’re going to do every day together.”
Marquette, Villanova, the Pirates and St. John’s were the next four programs listed after UConn and the Bluejays. The Blue Demons and Butler finished seventh and eighth while Georgetown and the Musketeers took up the final two spots. The Huskies swept the pair of major preseason awards, with guard Paige Bueckers tabbed as Player of the Year and guard KK Arnold claiming Freshman of the Year honors.
“They’re ready for something new and something fresh,” Batth said. “We’re going to change a lot of minds. I really believe that.”
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence women's basketball picked to finish ninth in Big East
