Xavier, Cincinnati Set for Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball plays host to rival Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 10 in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. from Cintas Center.

The Musketeers are 4-3 on the year, while the Bearcats are 6-3. The two teams are playing for the Kendle Cup – the traveling trophy in the rivalry.

Sunday's contest marks the 40th meeting between the two schools with the Bearcats holding a 23-16 advantage in the series.

THE MATCHUP VS CINCINNATI

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-3) vs CINCINNATI BEARCATS (6-3)
Game Info - Sunday, Dec. 10 - 5 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,244)
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d
Live video - bit.ly/2y8qDIl

ABOUT CINCINNATI

2017-18 Record: 6-3 (0-0 AAC)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 23-16

NOTABLES
• Cincinnati is 6-3 on the year with a 1-1 mark in road games. The Bearcats have four players who are averaging 10 or more points per game, paced by Iimar'I Thomas who is averaging 11.8 points per game.
• The Bearcats were slated to finish eighth in the AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 16-14 (7-9 AAC) record last season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier looks to win its fourth straight game over the Bearcats after posting a 72-61 victory last season on Dec. 11 at Fifth Third Arena. Raeshaun Gaffney scored a game-high 24 points in the win.

• Xavier has won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the two schools.

• Two of the last five meetings have been decided by two or fewer points. A total of 19 games in the rivalry have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

• Xavier is 4-4 against the Bearcats when playing at Cintas Center. The Musketeers won the last meeting at Cintas Center, 65-56, on Dec. 13, 2015.

• Sunday's matchup will be the 15th meeting in December. Xavier is 8-6 versus Cincinnati when playing in the month of December.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped a 63-53 road game at Bowling Green on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Freshmen A'Riana Gray and Princess Stewart combined for 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting.

• The Musketeers posted a season-high 13 steals, their second game of the year with 10 or more steals. A'riana Gray and Na'Teshia Owens led Xavier with three steals each.

BIG EAST HONORS

• Jada Byrd was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon. The senior guard scored a career-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the Musketeers' 62-50 win over Fort Wayne last week. She has earned the weekly honors twice this season.

BYRD'S BREAKOUT SEASON

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.578) - the second best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking second in scoring (12.2). The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons.

• Jada Byrd has averaged 14 points per game over her last two outings. She has posted a .706 field-goal percentage (12-for-17) in those games.

NOTABLES

• A'riana Gray has averaged 7.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 7.3 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.

• Imani Partlow leads the team in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (8.3). The redshirt-junior has hit 47.8 percent of her shot attempts this season.

• Xavier ranks sixth nationally in fewest fouls committed. The Musketeers have only committed 91 fouls this season.

• Xavier ranks second in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.380) and fifth in scoring defense (61.0).

XU FROM THREE POINT RANGE

• Xavier has made 10 three pointers in a game twice this season (vs New Hampshire; vs Grambling State). 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 7.7 three pointers per game to rank tied for fifth in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers averaged 5.4 three pointers per game last season.

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 47.1 percent (8-for-17) 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 31 non-conference games over the last four seasons with a 26-4 mark at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier will take on two opponents for the first time in school history in Mount St. Mary's and Furman. 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 returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 17-18 at the West Palm Beach Invitational. The Musketeers take on Furman and Missouri during tournament play.

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