Xavier, Creighton Slated for Monday Matinee

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball continues its four-game homestand on Monday, Jan. 22 against Creighton. Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. from Cintas Center with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

The Musketeers enter the game with a 9-10 (2-6 BIG EAST) record, while the Bluejays are 10-8 (4-4 BIG EAST) on the year.

Monday's game is also the team's annual "Field Trip Day" game with 2,500 local elementary and middle school students set to attend.

THE MATCHUP VS CREIGHTON

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-10, 2-6) vs CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (10-8, 4-4)
Game Info - Monday, Jan. 22 - 12 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,244)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2DsIotc
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2017-18 Record: 10-8 (4-4 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 6-2

NOTABLES
• Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST in three pointers made per game (9.0) and assists (17.6), while ranking third in blocks (3.9), field-goal percentage (.430), field-goal percentage defense (.409) and scoring offense 70.9).
• Audrey Faber ranks second in the conference in scoring as the junior forward has averaged 17.6 points per game. Sophomore Jaylyn Agnew has added 14.9 points per game to rank eighth in the BIG EAST. Senior Sydney Lamberty ranks third in the conference in assists (5.3).
• Creighton was picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 24-8 (16-2 BIG EAST) record last year. The Bluejays advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being defeated by Oregon State.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Creighton, 6-2. The Musketeers are 2-2 at Cintas Center against the Bluejays.

• Xavier has dropped two straight in the series with its last win over the Bluejays coming on Feb. 7, 2016 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers won, 57-55.

2016-17 VS CREIGHTON

• Xavier lost both meetings last season, averaging 54.5 points per game with a .398 field-goal percentage. The Musketeers limited Creighton to a .393 field-goal percentage and held a 13-9 advantage in steals.

• Imani Partlow averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the series. The junior forward added a .705 field-goal percentage (6-for-8). Anniina Äijänen added 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the series.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier defeated Providence, 68-59, on Friday, Jan. 19 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers moved to 8-1 all-time against the Friars.

• The Musketeers posted a season-high .500 field-goal percentage in the win. Xavier also won the battle of the glass, 35-28.

• Anniina Äijänen scored a career-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, her first career double-double. The senior forward has scored in double figures eight times this season.

• Kindell Fincher added 14 points, while Jada Byrd chipped in 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.436) - the 13th best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking 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 third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.8 points per game. The senior forward entered the year averaging 3.0 points per game over her first three seasons. Her .459 field-goal percentage ranks 14th in the BIG EAST.

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow leads the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 10.6 points per game. She has added a .542 field-goal percentage – the fifth best percentage in the conference – and 4.6 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 8.9 points and a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game during conference action.

• Deja Ross ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage, hitting 45.5 percent of her shot attempts (10-for-22).

• Aaliyah Dunham ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in assists per game (3.6), the only freshman ranked in the top-10.

• Xavier has posted a .750 free-throw percentage in BIG EAST action (3rd in the conference), up from its .650 percentage in non-conference action (10th in the conference). The Musketeers posted a season-high .822 percentage (15-for-17) at Villanova and at Marquette.

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had nine different leading scorers through 19 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring five times. Imani Partlow, the team's leading scorer, has only led the team in scoring once (at Marquette).

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.6 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking 14th overall. She posted her first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) at Minnesota on Nov. 22.

• Xavier ranks 17th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.0). The Musketeers also rank 38th in three pointers made (151).

• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.404).

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 7.9 three pointers per game to rank fourth in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers averaged 5.4 three pointers per game last season. The Musketeers have made 151 three pointers this season, only 10 fewer than the team made all of last season (161).

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 45.5 percent (20-for-44) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. Na'Teshia Owens (.404) ranks 12th and Deja Ross (.407) ranks 11th.

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's underclassmen have played in 59.1 percent of the team's minutes this season.

• 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 its homestand on Friday, Jan. 26 against Villanova. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

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Players Mentioned

Jada Byrd

Aaliyah Dunham

Kindell Fincher

A'riana Gray

Na'Teshia Owens

Imani Partlow

Deja Ross

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