Musketeers End BIG EAST Road Swing at No. 21 Villanova

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball concludes its three-game BIG EAST road swing at No. 21 Villanova on Friday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Jake Nevin Field House.

The Musketeers are 8-5 (1-1 BIG EAST), while the Wildcats are 11-2 (1-2 BIG EAST).

THE MATCHUP AT VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-5, 1-1) at No. 21 VILLANOVA WILDCATS (11-2, 1-2)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 5 - 7 p.m. ET - Jake Nevin Field House (2,000)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2EYEyF9
Live stats - bit.ly/2Asqros

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2017-18 Record: 11-2 (1-2 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: WNIT - Semifinals
Series History: Xavier trails, 8-1

NOTABLES
• Villanova went 10-0 in non-conference play before dropping its BIG EAST opener at Creighton on Dec. 28. The Wildcats bounced back with a win at Providence on Dec. 30, but suffered another setback against Butler at home on Jan. 2.
• The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Villanova posted a 20-15 (11-7 BIG EAST) record last season and advanced to the WNIT Semifinals before being defeated by eventual champion, Michigan.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 8-1. The Musketeers are 0-4 when playing at Villanova.

• The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.

LAST TIME OUT VS NOVA

• Xavier dropped the last meeting against the Wildcats in double overtime, 76-71, on Feb. 17, 2017 at The Pavilion. Raeshaun Gaffney scored a team-high 16 points with 12 rebounds, while Kindell Fincher chipped n 14 points with four 3-pointers. Villanova's Adrianna Hahn scored a game-high 33 points.

XU VS THE TOP-25

• The Musketeers are 11-39 all-time against teams ranked in the top-25. The last time Xavier played a top-25 team was on Dec. 18, 2017 against No. 16 Missouri at the West Palm Beach Invitational. The Musketeers lost the game, 74-48.

• The Musketeers last win over a top-25 team was on Nov. 26, 2009 over No. 18 Kansas, 76-71, at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier erased a 14-point second-half deficit at Georgetown, but came up short in pulling off the win - falling, 65-60, on Tuesday Jan. 2.

• Anniina Äijänen scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting with three 3-pointers. The senior forward added two rebounds, one assist and one block.

• Jada Byrd added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Imani Partlow and Deja Ross both added eight. Aaliyah Dunham finished the game with six points and a team-high four assists.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Kindell Fincher was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon. The junior guard led the Musketeers to a 69-62 BIG EAST opening win at Butler on Friday, Dec. 29.

• She scored a career-high 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting, while adding seven rebounds and a team-high three 3-pointers.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in field-goal percentage (.487) - the sixth best mark in the BIG EAST - while ranking third 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 second in the team in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. The senior forward entered the year averaging 3.0 points per game over her first three seasons.

NOTABLES

• Offensively, Xavier's underclassmen have combined to average 25.6 points per game – scoring 40.7 percent of the team's points this season. The Musketeers' six freshmen have scored 41.3 percent of the team's points.

• Defensively, Xavier's underclassmen have combined to averaged 18.7 rebounds per game – pulling down 53.4 percent of the team's rebounds this season. The Musketeers' six freshmen have grabbed 40.8 percent of the team's rebounds.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 6.1 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 14th nationally in fewest fouls committed. The Musketeers have only committed 185 fouls this season.

• Xavier ranks third in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.383) and third in scoring defense (60.9).

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 five 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 8.5 three pointers per game to rank third 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 46.9 percent (15-for-32) of her shot attempts from behind the arc. She is the only freshman in the conference 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 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 returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 7 against St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

Schedule

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