Musketeers Open Four-Game Homestand on Friday Against Providence

Friday, January 19

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Providence

Musketeers Open Four-Game Homestand on Friday Against Providence

01.17.18 | Women's Basketball

XU Notes (PDF)Watch Live (BEDN)Live Stats

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball opens a four-game homestand on Friday, Jan. 19 against Providence. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

The Musketeers (8-10, 1-6 BIG EAST) enter the game on a six-game losing streak, while the Friars (8-11, 1-6 BIG EAST) have dropped four in a row.

THE MATCHUP VS PROVIDENCE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-10, 1-6) vs PROVIDENCE FRIARS (8-11, 1-6)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 19 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,244)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2Det8fw
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d

ABOUT PROVIDENCE

2017-18 Record: 8-11 (1-6 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 7-1

NOTABLES
• Providence ranks fourth in the conference in scoring defense (63.6), while ranking 10th in scoring offense (60.1). Individually, Jovana Nogic ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.2), third in three pointers made per game (2.8) and first in free-throw percentage (.955). She also ranks third nationally in free-throw percentage.
• The Friars were picked to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-18 (4-14 BIG EAST) record last year.
• Providence is 3-4 in road games this season. The Friars are only averaging 52.4 points per game during conference play with a -14.4 scoring margin.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier is 7-1 all-time against the Friars. The Musketeers have won six straight in the series.

2016-17 VS PROVIDENCE

• The Musketeers went 2-0 against the Friars last season. Defensively, Xavier limited the Friars to 54.0 points per game and a .372 field-goal percentage. Xavier also held a 40.5-35.0 advantage on the glass.

• Kindell Fincher averaged 10.0 points per game in the series with five 3-pointers. She added 3.5 rebounds per game. The junior guard has averaged 7.3 points per game in three career meetings with the Friars.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off an 88-67 loss at Marquette on Sunday, Jan. 14. The 88 points were the most allowed by the Musketeers this season.

• Imani Partlow scored a career-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, her sixth game of the year in double figures. The junior forward also led the team on the glass with nine rebounds, nearly missing her fourth career double-double.

• Aaliyah Dunham added 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting, her fourth game of the year in double figures. The freshman guard also dished out a game-high six assists, her fourth game of the year with six assists.

• Xavier was 15-for-17 from the foul line with Imani Partlow (5-for-5), Jada Byrd (2-for-2) and Princess Stewart (4-for-4) knocking down all of their attempts.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.448) - the 15th best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking 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 8.3 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 11.1 points per game. She has added a .558 field-goal percentage – the fourth best percentage in the conference – and 4.4 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game during conference action.

• Deja Ross has averaged 6.4 points per game during conference play, ranking fourth on the team. The freshman forward has hit 45.5 percent of her shot attempts (15-for-23). She has also posted a .476 three-point field-goal percentage (10-for-21) to rank sixth in the BIG EAST.

• Xavier has posted a .792 free-throw percentage in BIG EAST action (1st in the conference), up from its .650 percentage in non-conference action (10th in the conference). The Musketeers posted a season-high .822 percentage (15-for-17) at Villanova and at Marquette.

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had nine different leading scorers through 18 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring five times. Imani Partlow, the team's leading scorer, has only led the team in scoring once (at Marquette).

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.3 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 20th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.3). The Musketeers also rank 32nd in three pointers made (143).

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.402).

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 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 leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 46.3 percent (19-for-41) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. Na'Teshia Owens (.419) ranks sixth and Deja Ross (.414) ranks 12th.

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 59.8 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 its homestand on Monday, Jan. 22 against Creighton at noon.