Xavier Closes Non-Conference Action on Friday Against FAMU

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball closes its non-conference schedule on Friday, Jan. 22 against Florida A&M. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

The Musketeers are 6-4 on the year, while the Rattlers are 2-8.

THE MATCHUP VS FAMU

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-4) vs FLORIDA A&M RATTLERS (2-8)
Game Info - Friday, Dec. 22 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d
Live video - bit.ly/2y8qDIl

ABOUT FAMU

2017-18 Record: 2-8 (0-0 MEAC)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: First Meeting

NOTABLES
• FAMU is 2-1 in its last three games, most recently falling to North Florida, 77-68, on Dec. 10. The Rattlers are 1-5 in road games this season.
• The Rattlers were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 13-19 (9-7 MEAC) record last year.
• Florence Ouattara leads the team in scoring (17.0) and assists (26), while adding 5.7 rebounds per game. Shalaunda Burney-Robinson has added 12.1 points per game and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier posted a 1-1 record last week at the West Palm Beach Invitational. The Musketeers defeated Furman and lost to No. 16 Missouri.

• The Musketeers were led in scoring by freshmen Aaliyah Dunham (10.5) and Deja Ross (9.5). Classmate A'riana Gray led the team in rebounding (6.5), while adding nine points during tournament action.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Aaliyah Dunham was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon. The freshman guard led the Musketeers to a 75-62 win over Furman in the opening game of the West Palm Beach Invitational. Dunham scored a team-high 14 points to go along with six assists, three rebounds and two steals. She scored all of her points in the second half.

• Dunham finished the week averaging a team-high 10.5 points per game. She added a .545 field-goal percentage (6-for-11) to go along with seven assists, six rebounds and two steals.

BYRD'S BREAKOUT SEASON

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.517) - the fifth best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking second in scoring (10.3). The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons.

NOTABLES

• Offensively, Xavier's underclassmen have combined to average 38.1 points per game – scoring 61.6 percent of the team's points this season. The Musketeers' six freshmen have scored 45.4 percent of the team's points.

• Defensively, Xavier's underclassmen have combined to averaged 21.7 rebounds per game – pulling down 59.1 percent of the team's rebounds this season. The Musketeers' six freshmen have grabbed 46.9 percent of the team's rebounds.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 6.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 7.1 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking fifth overall. She posted her first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) at Minnesota on Nov. 22.

• Xavier ranks eighth nationally in fewest fouls committed. The Musketeers have only committed 134 fouls this season.

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (61.3), while ranking fifth in field-goal percentage defense (.391).

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.

• 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 three 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.

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham ranks third in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 36.2 percent (12-for-26) of her shot attempts from behind the arc.

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 32 non-conference games over the last four seasons with a 27-4 mark at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier will take 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 will be 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 will take 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 opens BIG EAST action on Friday, Dec. 29 at Butler. The game will be aired nationally on FS2 at 7 p.m.

Schedule

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