BIG EAST Action Continues on Friday at DePaul

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball continues BIG EAST action at DePaul on Friday, Jan. 12. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena. The game is being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network and NBC Sports Chicago.

The Musketeers (8-8, 1-4 BIG EAST) enter the game on a four-game losing streak, while the Blue Demons (12-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) have won two straight and five of their last six games.

THE MATCHUP VS DEPAUL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-8, 1-4) at DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (12-5, 4-1)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 12 - 5:30 p.m. ET - Wintrust Arena (10,367)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2FuR1kj
Live stats - bit.ly/2miLapu

ABOUT DEPAUL

2017-18 Record: 12-5 (4-1 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 14-1

NOTABLES
• DePaul is 7-2 in home games this season, most recently defeating St. John's, 76-67, on Dec. 30. The Blue Demons sit in second place of the conference standings behind Marquette (5-0 BIG EAST).
• The Blue Demons lead the BIG EAST in scoring offense (86.1), assists (21.5) and three pointers made per game (12.6). DePaul ranks ninth nationally in scoring offense and second in both assists and three pointers made.
• Five DePaul players are averaging 10 or more points per game, paced by Mart'e Gray's 13.9 points per game. Kelly Campbell had added 10.9 points per game and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 14-1. The Musketeers lone victory was on Jan. 23, 1984 in the first meeting between the two schools, 82-72.

• Na'Teshia Owens averaged 6.0 points per game in the two meetings last year with a .600 field-goal percentage (6-for-10). The sophomore guard added 3.5 rebounds per game, four assists and two steals.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped a 62-51 contest against Seton Hall on Wednesday night. Deja Ross paced the Musketeers with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting, hitting all of her shots from three-point range. The freshman forward was also 2-for-2 from the foul line, while adding four rebounds and two steals.

• Imani Partlow added 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting. The junior forward also pulled down four rebounds.

• Anniina Äijänen finished with eight points, four assists and a team-high seven rebounds. The Musketeers won the battle on the glass, 32-29.

• Xavier committed a season-high 25 turnovers as the Pirates turned the miscues into 22 points. The Musketeers held a 23-17 advantage in bench points.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.456) - the 13th best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking tied for second on the team in scoring (9.1). The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons.

• Anniina Äijänen ranks tied for second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.1 points per game. The senior forward entered the year averaging 3.0 points per game over her first three seasons.

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow leads the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 10.6 points per game. She has added a .500 field-goal percentage and 4.0 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game during conference action. The senior forward has also posted a .500 field-goal percentage, the ninth best percentage in the BIG EAST.

• Deja Ross has averaged 7.8 points per game during conference play, ranking third on the team. The freshman forward has hit 57.1 percent of her shot attempts (12-for-21). She has also posted a .588 three-point field-goal percentage (10-for-17) to rank first in the BIG EAST.

• Xavier has posted a .781 free-throw percentage in BIG EAST action, up from its .650 percentage in non-conference action. The Musketeers posted a season-high .822 percentage (15-for-17) at Villanova on Jan. 7. Imani Partlow (12-for-15) and Jada Byrd (9-for-11) lead the Musketeers from the foul line during conference play.

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had eight different leading scorers through 16 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring five times.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.7 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking 12th overall. She posted her first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) at Minnesota on Nov. 22.

• Xavier ranks 20th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.3). The Musketeers also rank 32nd in three pointers made (133).

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.395) and third in scoring defense (62.2).

NOTABLES TEAM PERFORMANCES

• Xavier attempted a school record 35 three pointers against Cincinnati. The previous record was 34 attempts at Richmond on Jan. 20, 2002. The Musketeers also had 35 attempts against FAMU on Dec. 22.

• Xavier held Cincinnati to only 50 points on Dec. 10, the seventh time in the last two seasons the Musketeers have held an opponent to 50 or fewer points.

• The overtime win against New Hampshire was the first overtime victory for the Musketeers since a 74-67 win against Villanova on Dec. 31, 2015. Xavier went 0-3 in overtime games last season.

XU FROM THREE POINT RANGE

• Xavier has made 10 three pointers in a game six times this season. The Musketeers haven't scored 10 or more three pointers on more than one occasion in a season since the 2013-14 campaign.

• Xavier is averaging 8.2 three pointers per game to rank fourth in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers averaged 5.4 three pointers per game last season.

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 44.7 percent (17-for-38) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. Classmate Deja Ross ranks third, knocking down 44.4 percent (16-for-24) of her three pointers. Dunham and Ross are the only two freshmen ranked in the top-10.

YOUNG MUSKETEERS

• Xavier enters the season with one of the youngest teams in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers have the second most underclassmen (9) in the conference behind Villanova (10).

• The Musketeers also have six true freshmen, the most of any team in the conference.

• Xavier returns four upperclassmen (two seniors, two juniors) who entered the season with 42 combined career starts. Those four players (Jada Byrd, Anniina Äijänen, Imani Partlow and Kindell Fincher) combined to average 21.7 points per game last season.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches' poll as voted on by conference head coaches. Xavier was the only team in the BIG EAST without a player on the preseason all-conference team.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play 16 games at Cintas Center this season (seven non-conference; nine BIG EAST games). The non-conference home schedule is highlighted by the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Sunday, Dec. 10 against Cincinnati. Xavier has won three straight in the series, including 10 of the last 13 meetings.

• The Musketeers open the BIG EAST season with three-straight road games before playing back-to-back home contests against St. John's (Jan. 7) and Seton Hall (Jan. 10).

• Xavier opens and closes the season against Butler. The Musketeers travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 29 for a nationally televised matchup on FS2 and host the Bulldogs on Feb. 25.

• The Musketeers have won 33 non-conference games over the last four seasons with a 28-4 mark at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier took on three opponents for the first time in school history in Mount St. Mary's, Furman and FAMU. The contests with New Hampshire, Minnesota and Grambling were only the second meetings with each opponent in program history.

• Xavier's non-conference opponents combined to post a 186-192 overall record a year ago. Five teams posted winning records, while four teams advanced to postseason play (3 - WNIT; 1 - NCAA).

• All told, Xavier took on an opponent from 11 different conferences.

XU BASKETBALL HISTORY

• Xavier has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently advancing to the tournament's second round in 2011.

• The Musketeers' best NCAA Tournament finish was in 2001 and 2010 as XU advanced to the Elite Eight.

FOX SPORTS

• FOX Sports will nationally televise 15 regular-season games, while the BIG EAST Digital Network will carry an additional 74 conference matchups for a third consecutive season.

• The BEDN, launched in September 2014, is its own dedicated section within FOX Sports GO, the mobile app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. FOX Sports GO is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones, select Windows devices, and on desktops through FOXSportsGO.com. Streaming on FOX Sports GO is also now available on several connected devices, including Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store.

NATIONAL BROADCASTS

• Xavier is slated to play three nationally televised games on FS2.

FS2 Games
Friday, Dec. 29 at Butler - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 vs Georgetown - 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 9 vs Marquette - 7 p.m.

UP NEXT

• Xavier continues BIG EAST action at Marquette on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. ET.

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