Xavier Concludes BIG EAST Road Swing at Conference Leader Marquette

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball concludes its weekend BIG EAST road trip at conference leader Marquette on Sunday, Jan. 14. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET on the BIG EAST Digital Network from the Al McGuire Center.

The Musketeers (8-9, 1-5 BIG EAST) are looking to snap their five-game losing streak, while the Golden Eagles (12-5, 6-0 BIG EAST) are looking to capture their seventh straight win.

THE MATCHUP VS MARQUETTE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-9, 1-5) at MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (12-5, 6-0)
Game Info - Sunday, Jan. 14 - 3 p.m. ET - Al McGuire Center (3,700)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2mzX0MV
Live stats - bit.ly/2D0hJzD

ABOUT MARQUETTE

2017-18 Record: 12-5 (6-0 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 10-7

NOTABLES
• The Golden Eagles are 8-0 at home this season and have won 14 straight at the Al McGuire Center dating back to last season. Marquette is 25-8 at home over the last two years.
• Marquette was picked to win the BIG EAST in the preseason coaches' poll after posting a 25-8 (13-5 BIG EAST) record last year and winning the conference championship. The Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament and were upset in the opening round by Quinnipiac.
• Marquette leads the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+12.2) and field-goal percentage (.455), while ranking second in scoring offense (83.5) and rebounding margin (+3.5).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Marquette, 10-7. The Musketeers have dropped three straight in the series and two in a row when playing in Milwaukee.

• Xavier is 2-4 in road games against the Golden Eagles. The Musketeers last win at Marquette was on Dec. 30, 2014 by a score of 74-71.

2016-17 VS MARQUETTE

• Marquette won both meetings last season, posting a +19.5 scoring margin with a .504 field-goal percentage. The Musketeers posted a .392 field-goal percentage and hit 81.8 percent (18-for-22) of their free throws.

• Imani Partlow averaged 10.5 point and 5.5 rebounds per game against the Golden Eagles a year ago. She added a .500 field-goal percentage (9-for-18). Kindell Fincher chipped in 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the series.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped a 79-48 road game at DePaul on Friday night. The 48 points matched team's season low for points (also held to 48 points vs No. 16 Missouri).

• Kindell Fincher led the Musketeers with 10 points, her third game of the year in double figures and her first game in double figures since scoring a career-high 20 points at Butler. The junior guard was 1-for-13 from the floor with only six points over her previous four games.

• Aaliyah Dunham, Jada Byrd and Princess Stewart all added seven points. Dunhman also dished out a game-high six assists, her third game of the year with six assists.

• A'riana Gray led the team in rebounds with six. DePaul held a 44-34 advantage on the glass.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.450) - the 14th best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking tied for second on the team in scoring (8.9). 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 8.6 points per game. The senior forward entered the year averaging 3.0 points per game over her first three seasons.

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow leads the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 9.8 points per game. She has added a .537 field-goal percentage – the fourth best percentage in the conference – and 3.7 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game during conference action. The senior forward has also posted a .465 field-goal percentage, the 11th best percentage in the BIG EAST.

• Deja Ross has averaged 6.5 points per game during conference play, ranking fourth on the team. The freshman forward has hit 57.1 percent of her shot attempts (12-for-24). She has also posted a .556 three-point field-goal percentage (10-for-18) to rank first in the BIG EAST.

• Xavier has posted a .772 free-throw percentage in BIG EAST action, up from its .650 percentage in non-conference action. The Musketeers posted a season-high .822 percentage (15-for-17) at Villanova on Jan. 7.

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had eight different leading scorers through 17 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring five times.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.7 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking 12th 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 (14.1). The Musketeers also rank 29th in three pointers made (139).

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.397).

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 8.1 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 second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 45.0 percent (18-for-40) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. Classmate Deja Ross ranks third, knocking down 43.6 percent (24-for-55) of her three pointers. Dunham and Ross are the only two freshmen ranked in the top-10.

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 60.4 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 BIG EAST action on Friday, Jan. 19 against Providence. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.

Schedule

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