Xavier Opens Second Half of BIG EAST Action Against Villanova

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball opens the second-half of BIG EAST play on Friday, Jan. 26 against Villanova. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

The Musketeers enter the contest with a 9-11 (2-7 BIG EAST) record, while the Wildcats are 15-5 (5-4 BIG EAST).

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-11, 2-7) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (15-5, 5-4)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 22 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,244)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2E5FJTf
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2017-18 Record: 15-5 (5-4 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: WNIT - Semifinals
Series History: Xavier trails, 9-1

NOTABLES
• The Wildcats opened the season with a 10-0 record, but have gone 5-5 since then. Villanova is coming off a 67-57 home loss to Marquette on Jan. 21 and have gone 1-3 in its last four outings.
• Villanova leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense (58.8), field-goal percentage defense (.377) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.270). Mary Gedaka leads the conference in field-goal percentage (.619)
• Villanova leads the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.6), while ranking seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.47).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 9-1. The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.

LAST TIME OUT VS VILLANOVA

• Villanova led from start to finish in the first meeting, picking up a 75-57 win over the Musketeers. The Wildcats were ranked No. 21 nationally when the two teams played.

• Jada Byrd led the Musketeers with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. The senior guard also led the team in rebounds (4) and assists (3).

• Imani Partlow added 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Deja Ross and A'riana Gray both chipped in eight points for the Musketeers. Ross also had four rebounds.

• Xavier went 15-for-17 from the foul line, while Villanova was 11-for-16. Both teams had five steals in the contest.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped a 71-64 overtime game against Creighton on Monday, Jan. 22. The Musketeers moved to 1-1 in overtime games this season.

• Anniina Äijänen led the Musketeers in scoring for the second time in as many games as the senior forward scored 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

• Jada Byrd added 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting with four assists and two steals. Na'Teshia Owens finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

• Junior Imani Partlow added six points and seven rebounds. Classmate Kindell Fincher matched her career high in rebounding with seven points.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd ranks second on the team in scoring (9.3) and field-goal percentage (.466) – the 10th best shooting percentage in the BIG EAST. 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 9.1 points per game. The senior forward entered the year averaging 3.0 points per game over her first three seasons. She also leads the team in field-goal percentage (.468) to rank ninth in the conference.

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow leads the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 10.1 points per game. She has added a .538 field-goal percentage – the fifth best percentage in the conference – and 4.9 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game during conference action. Her .507 field-goal percentage ranks seventh in the BIG EAST.

• Deja Ross ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage, hitting 41.7 percent of her shot attempts (10-for-24).

• Aaliyah Dunham ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in assists per game (3.6), one of only two freshmen ranked in the top-10.

NOTABLES

• Anniina Äijänen has averaged 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game over her last two outings. The senior forward has hit 66.7 percent (14-for-21) of her shot attempts over her last two games. She has also gone 5-for-9 from behind the arc.

• Jada Byrd has averaged 12 points per game over her last two outings with a .588 field-goal percentage (10-for-17). The senior guard has led the team in assists (8) and steals (3) over her last two games.

• Xavier has had nine different leading scorers through 20 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 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.4 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking 16th overall. She posted her first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) at Minnesota on Nov. 22.

• Xavier ranks 18th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.1). The Musketeers also rank 40th in three pointers made (159).

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.405).

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 8.0 three pointers per game to rank fourth in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers averaged 5.4 three pointers per game last season. The Musketeers have made 159 three pointers this season, only two fewer than the team made all of last season (161).

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage as she has hit 47.8 percent (22-for-46) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. Na'Teshia Owens (.420) ranks third and Deja Ross (.393) ranks 13th.

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 58.1 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 - 8 p.m.

UP NEXT

• Xavier closes its four-game homestand on Sunday, Jan. 28 against Georgetown at 2 p.m. The game is being aired nationally on FS2.

Schedule

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