Briana Glover Named to All-BIG EAST Preseason Team

NEW YORK - Senior women's basketball player Briana Glover was named to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team as voted on by conference head coaches on Wednesday afternoon. The Musketeers were also picked to finish sixth in the coaches' poll as announced at the conference's annual media day at Madison Square Garden.

"It's an honor to be named to the preseason all-conference team along with a number of other outstanding players," said Glover. "I have learned a lot from playing basketball at Xavier and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for my team!"

Glover is the first player to earn the preseason honors as Xavier enters its third season in the BIG EAST Conference.

The 6-foot-1 forward returns for her senior campaign after leading the Musketeers in scoring (10.8 ppg). Glover hit 52.2 percent of her shot attempts last season to rank third in the BIG EAST. She also added 3.8 rebounds per game.

"It is certainly an honor for Bri and our program, but to be quite honest I think both of us will be more impressed when it comes at the conclusion of the regular-season."

The 2015-16 season gets underway with the Lauren Hill Tip-Off Classic at Cintas Center on Nov. 14. Xavier will take on Evansville at 1 p.m. on FOX Sports Ohio.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Head coach Brian Neal led the Musketeers to a 10-win improvement in 2014-15 from the previous season (18-15 vs. 8-23), finishing the year ranked ninth nationally in win improvement. Xavier also posted a winning season and participated in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

• Neal and the Musketeers return four starters and 11 letterwinners for the 2015-16 season.

• Xavier led the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.312) last season, while ranking third in steals (8.1 spg), scoring defense (65 ppg) and free-throw percentage (.710).

• Xavier also returns its only other double-figure scorer from a year ago in Raeshaun Gaffney. The junior guard averaged 10.4 points per game and led the team in made free throws (94-for-122).

• The Musketeers return their top two rebounders from last season in Leah Schaefer (5.0 rpg) and Jenna Crittendon (4.8 rpg).

BIG EAST COACHES' POLL

1. DePaul (8) – 80
2. St. John's (1) – 66
3. Villanova (1) – 64
4. Creighton – 57
5. Seton Hall – 55
6. Xavier – 37
7. Georgetown – 34
8. Butler – 28
9. Marquette – 15
10. Providence – 14
First-place votes in parentheses

BIG EAST PRESEASON HONORS

BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
Aliyyah Handford, St. John's, Sr., G, 5-9, Newark, N.J.

BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year
Brittany Ward, Butler, Fr., F, 6-1, Indianapolis, Ind.

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
Blaire Langlois, Butler, Sr., G, 5-8, Carmel, Ind.
Marissa Janning, Creighton, Sr., G, 5-8, Watertown, Minn.*
Sydney Lamberty, Creighton, So., G, Cottage Grove, Minn.
Megan Podkowa, DePaul, Sr., G/F, 6-2, Glenview, Ill.*
Chanise Jenkins, DePaul, Sr., G, 5-5, Chicago, Ill.*
Dorothy Adomako, Georgetown, So., G, 6-1, Midlothian, Va.*
Sarah Beal, Providence, Jr., G, 5-8, Matthews, N.C.
Danaejah Grant, St. John's, Sr., G, 5-9, Piscataway, N.J.*
Tabatha Richardson-Smith, Seton Hall, Sr., F, 6-0, Bay City, Texas*
Caroline Coyer, Villanova, Sr., G, 5-10, Oak Hill, Va.*
Briana Glover, Xavier, Sr., F, 6-1, Mason, Ohio

* unanimous selection
^ additional player added due to a tie in voting

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