Musketeers Travel to Michigan for Lone Road Non-Conference Game

Thursday, November 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Michigan

Musketeers Travel to Michigan for Lone Road Non-Conference Game

11.18.15 | Women's Basketball

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Crisler Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball travels to Michigan on Thursday for their lone road non-conference game. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Crisler Center.

The Musketeers enter the contest with a 1-0 record following a 65-57 win over Evansville on Saturday, Nov. 14. Michigan is 2-0 on the year with wins over Binghamton and Detroit.

Thursday's game can be viewed on the Big Ten Networks BTN2Go online streaming platform. Fans can also listen to the online radio broadcast at GoXavier.com.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Musketeers trail the all-time series with the Wolverines, 3-4. Xavier is 2-2 when playing at Michigan and has won two straight on the road.

• Xavier won the last meeting between the two schools, 79-75, in overtime at the Crisler Center on Nov. 13, 2013.

• Briana Glover scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three rebounds. Leah Schaefer added nine points on 4-for-5 shooting to go along with a team-high nine rebounds. Schaefer also had four assists.

• The win over Michigan marked the first head coaching win at Xavier for Brian Neal.

NOTABLES

• Head coach Brian Neal is two wins away from career win No. 200. He has posted a 198-69 overall record in 10 years as a head coach.

• Raeshaun Gaffney scored a game-high 18 points in the win over Evansville, her 17th career game in double figures. She added a team-high eight rebounds in 34 minutes of action.

• The Musketeers hit 88.2 percent of their free throws (15-for-17) against Evansville. Four different players went 2-for-2 from the line in Kindell Fincher, Aliyah Zantt, Marquia Turner and Leah Schaefer.

• Xavier had eight blocks against Evansville, the team's most blocks in a game since having eight in last year's season opener against Wofford.

• Leah Schaefer had a solid performance in her season opener, scoring eight points on 3-for-3 shooting with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 26 minutes of action off the bench.

• Maddison Blackwell had a career-high four steals against Evansville. She added six points, three rebounds and two assists in the win.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier won its season opener against Evansville, 65-57, on Saturday. The Musketeers moved to 16-0 in home openers at Cintas Center and 21-13 all-time in season openers.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

• Michigan is averaging 53.0 rebounds per game after going for exactly 53 in each contest. U-M has only allowed its two opponents to total 51 boards. Michigan's +27.5 rebounding margin is fifth nationally.

• Michigan is averaging 89 points per game, paced by Katelynn Flaherty's 14.5 points per game. Hallie Thome has added 13.5 points and six rebounds per game.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to Cintas Center for an 11-game homestand on Nov. 22, playing host to Maryland Eastern Shore at 2 p.m.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Senior Briana Glover was named to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team as voted on by conference head coaches on Oct. 14 at BIG EAST Media Day. Glover is the first player to earn the preseason honors as Xavier enters its third season in the BIG EAST Conference.

• 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.

• Head coach Brian 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 returns its top two scorers from last season in Raeshaun Gaffney and Briana Glover. Gaffney averaged 10.4 points per game and led the team in made free throws (94-for-122), while Glover added a team-high 10.8 points per game and .522 field-goal percentage - the third highest percentage in the BIG EAST.

PRESEASON POLL

• Xavier was picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll as announced at the conference's annual media day at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 14.

THE BACKCOURT

• Xavier has nine guards on the roster, paced by seniors Jenna Crittendon and Aliyah Zantt and redshirt-junior Raeshaun Gaffney. The three players combined to average 24.8 points and 4.7 assists per game a year ago.

• Senior Aliyah Zantt finished the year strong, averaging 13.5 points per game with a .463 field-goal percentage over the last eight games of the season. On the year, she averaged 6.5 points per game.

• Xavier was without guards Kayla Davis and Marquia Turner last season due to injury. Davis missed the entire season, while Turner averaged 5.2 points per game in 13 contests before being sidelined with an injury. Turner also hit 40.5 percent of her three pointers. Both players are healthy and expected to contribute at the point guard position.

• After averaging 5.8 points per game in non-conference play last season, Jenna Crittendon increased her scoring output to 9.8 points per game in BIG EAST play – ranking second on the team in scoring. The Union, Ky., native led the team in made three pointers last season with 29.

• Raeshaun Gaffney led the team in scoring during BIG EAST play, averaging 10.6 points per game. The redshirt-junior scored in double figures 16 times last year, including a season-high 23 points on two occasions (vs St. John's, 02/27/15 – at Marquette, 12/30/14).

THE FRONTCOURT

• Xavier enters the season with six forwards on the roster, led by senior Briana Glover. The Mason, Ohio, native led the team in scoring last season (10.8 ppg) and hit 52.2 percent of her shot attempts – ranking third in the BIG EAST. Glover has played in 93 games with 69 starts in her Xavier career.

• Leah Schaefer returns for her junior season after leading the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg) and assists (2.3 apg). The Alexandria, Ky., native averaged 5.9 points per game and hit 50.6 percent of her shot attempts a year ago.

• Newcomers Imani Partlow and Tierra Floyd look to add depth to the forward position. Partlow saw her first action this summer with the Musketeers, playing in four exhibition games in Canada, while Floyd sat out due to an injury.

• Anniina Äijänen also looked solid this summer during exhibition play in Canada. The sophomore forward was second on the team in blocks (13) last season. She averaged 3.4 points and 13 minutes per game last year.

• Junior Maddison Blackwell returns to the court after averaging 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season. The Gahanna, Ohio, native has played in 62 games with 12 starts in her career.

THE SCHEDULE

• Xavier will play 19 games at Cintas Center this season, the most in school history. The Musketeers previously set the record last year when they hosted 18 games, including two postseason tournament contests.

• Xavier has posted a 180-62 overall record at Cintas Center since the building opened in 2000.

• The Musketeers posted a 12-6 mark at home last year, the team's 10th season with 10 or more wins inside Cintas Center.

• The Musketeers will host the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout against Cincinnati on Dec. 13. Xavier won last year's meeting, 72-71, at Cincinnati on Dec. 14. Xavier has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two schools.

• Xavier will face four teams this season for the first time in school history (Maryland-Eastern Shore, Southeastern Louisiana, Tennessee Tech and Radford).

BIG EAST DIGITAL NETWORK

• Every BIG EAST women's basketball game that will not be carried on FOX Sports 1 or FOX Sports 2 will be aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).

• The BEDN launched in 2014-15 with its own branded channel on the FOX Sports GO app. The league is the first and only collegiate conference to be hosted on FOX's mobile platform, FOX Sports Go. The app provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go.

NATIONAL BROADCASTS

• Xavier will play four nationally broadcasts games this season via FOX. The Musketeers will play three games on FOX Sports 1 and one on FOX Sports 2.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

• DePaul's McGrath-Phillips Arena will serve as the host site of the 2016 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament as voted on by the conference's athletic directors. The tournament will be held on March 5-8 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of downtown Chicago.