Women's Basketball Travels to Wake Forest on Wednesday

Wednesday, November 21

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Wake Forest

Women's Basketball Travels to Wake Forest on Wednesday

11.19.18 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live Live Audio XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from LJVM Coliseum

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball hits the road for its first game away from Cintas Center on Wednesday, Nov. 21, traveling to Wake Forest. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from LJVM Coliseum. Both teams are 3-1 on the year.

Wednesday's game will be aired on the ACC Network Extra.

THE MATCHUP VS WAKE FOREST

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-1) at WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS (3-1)
Game Info - Wednesday, Nov. 21 - 7 p.m. ET - LJVM Coliseum (14,665)
Live Video - es.pn/2DOWKUL
Live Stats - bit.ly/2KggReS
Live Audio - bit.ly/2QR7wMV

ABOUT WAKE FOREST

2018-19 Record: 3-1
2017-18 Record: 14-17 (5-11 ACC)
2017-18 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 2-1
Last Meeting: WF 62, XU 57 - 12/04/17 (Cincinnati, Ohio - Cintas Center)

NOTABLES
• Xavier and Wake Forest will be meeting for the third consecutive season. The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series, 2-1.
• Wake Forest won the meeting last year, 62-57, on Dec. 4 at Cintas Center. Anniina Äijänen led the Musketeers with 16 points, while Na'Teshia Owens added 13. A'riana Gray pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Wake Forest graduated two All-ACC performers in seniors Elisa Penna (2nd Team) and Amber Campbell (All-Defensive Team). The two players combined to averaged 26.3 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game last season.
• The Demon Deacons finished 11th (15) in the ACC standings last season. Wake Forest ranked fifth in the ACC in blocks (4.2) and 11th in both scoring offense (66.2) and scoring defense (65.4).

BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

• Lauren Wasylson was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Monday for her on-court performance last week. The Musketeers went 1-1 with a win over Fairfield and a loss to No. 25 Minnesota.

• The guard averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. She was 6-for-15 from the floor with four 3-pointers.

• Wasylson scored seven points against the Golden Gophers on Wednesday and a season-high 11 points against Fairfield with three 3-pointers. She becomes the first player to earn the honors since Deja Ross picked up the accolades on Dec. 23, 2017.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier ended a four-game homestand with a 48-35 win over Fairfield on Saturday. Sophomore A'riana Gray scored a team-high 14 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in the win.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens and freshman Lauren Wasylson both chipped in 11 points. Owens also dished out a game-high five assists and Gray collected a team-high three steals.

• Xavier forced 18 turnovers, converting the miscues into 20 points. The Musketeers also limited the Stags to a .220 field-goal percentage (11-for-50).

• The 35 points allowed were the fewest since a 67-27 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 25, 2015 at Cintas Center.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Through four games, Xavier has had two players post 20-point performances in A'riana Gray (24 vs Tennessee Tech) and Deja Ross (22 vs Chicago State). The Musketeers only had two 20-point performances last season.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the team in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (9.8). The forward has connected on 61.5 percent (24-for-39) of her shot attempts. She leads the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking fifth in field-goal percentage and eighth in scoring.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray averaged a double-double last week, scoring 11.5 points per game and grabbing 12.0 rebounds per game. She was 10-for-20 from the floor and posted a team-high five steals.

• Freshman Ayanna Townsend has averaged 5.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this season with a .667 (10-for-15) field goal percentage. She also leads the team in blocks with eight, ranking first in the BIG EAST.

• Sophomore Aaliyah Dunham has averaged 8.8 points and 4.3 assists per game this season. She also had a team-high seven steals (tied with A'riana Gray). The guard ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in assists.

• Sophomore Deja Ross is averaging 7.8 points per game this season.The forward averaged 4.5 points per game a year ago.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier defeated Chicago State, 91-57, on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The Musketeers moved to 19-0 in season openers at Cintas Center following the win. The 91 points were the most points in a game for Xavier since scoring 91 against Marquette on Feb. 16, 2015. Xavier won 91-72 at Cintas Center.

• The 34 point win over Chicago State was Xavier's largest margin of victory since an 86-53 win over Delaware State on Dec. 1, 2016.

• The Musketeers forced 26 turnovers against Chicago State. The 26 forced turnovers are the most in a game since Wofford committed 27 against the Musketeers on Nov. 15, 2014 at Cintas Center.

• Xavier ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.217) and fourth in blocks (4.0).

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier returns point guard Na'Teshia Owens who played and started in 27 games last season. She averaged 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while adding 59 assists and 24 steals. The junior also hit 40 percent (30-for-75) of her three pointers to rank eighth in the BIG EAST.

• The Musketeers also return Aaliyah Dunham who was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. The guard led the team in assists (74) and three pointers made (32). She finished the year ranked fourth in Xavier single-season history in assists by a freshman.

• Aaliyah Dunham also connected on 39 percent of her three pointers (32-for-82), the ninth best percentage in the conference.

• Xavier finished the year ranked second all-time in program history in made three pointers with 214. The 700 attempted three pointers rank first in school history.

• Xavier returns its top rebounder from last season in A'riana Gray. The sophomore forward pulled down 5.5 rebounds per game last year, leading all BIG EAST freshmen in the category. She also led the Musketeers in steals (30).

YOUNG MUSKETEERS

• Xavier is the only team in the BIG EAST without a graduate student or senior on its roster. The Musketeers only have three upperclassmen (juniors), and have 10 underclassmen – ranked with Georgetown and Providence for the most underclassmen in the BIG EAST.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play 18 games at Cintas Center this season, including nine BIG EAST games.

• The Musketeers open and close BIG EAST play against Georgetown. Xavier travels to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 29 to open conference play and host the Hoyas on March 3 at Cintas Center.

• The Musketeers have won 37 non-conference games over the last four seasons with a 31-5 mark at Cintas Center.

• The Musketeers will take on three opponents for the first time in school history in Fairfield, North Alabama and Alabama State.

• Xavier will be playing nine home non-conference games, the second most in program history. The Musketeers played 10 non-conference games at Cintas Center during the 2015-16 campaign.

RIVALRY GAME

• The Musketeers travel to crosstown rival Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 16. Xavier has won 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools, including four in a row.

• Xavier defeated Cincinnati, 53-50, in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout last season at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier's non-conference opponents combined to post a 142-192 (.425) record last season. Three teams posted winning records in Minnesota, North Alabama and Cincinnati.

• Minnesota and Cincinnati both participated in postseason tournaments last season. The Golden Gophers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being defeated by Oregon. Cincinnati participated in the WNIT and was defeated in the opening round at Michigan State.

• Five of Xavier's non-conference opponents will be under the direction of a new head coach: Chicago State, Minnesota, Bowling Green, Delaware State and Cincinnati. Most notably, Minnesota is coached by former Gopher All-American, Lindsay Whalen.

• The Musketeers will take on an opponent from 11 difference conferences this season.

NATIONAL TV BROADCASTS

• Xavier will play three games on national television with each game being aired on FS2. The Musketeers will play all three of those games at Cintas Center (Jan. 27 vs DePaul; Feb. 15 vs Providence; March 1 vs Villanova).

BIG EAST DIGITAL NETWORK

• Xavier's remaining 15 conference games will be aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

• BEDN, launched in September 2014, is its own dedicated channel within the FOX Sports app, the mobile app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. Streaming on the FOX Sports app is now available on several connected devices, including Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast.

PRESEASON COACHES POLL

1.	DePaul (5)	77
	Marquette (5)	77
3.	Villanova	57
4.	Creighton	53
5.	Georgetown	52
6.	St. John's	48
7.	Butler	34
8.	Seton Hall	23
9.	Providence	17
10.	Xavier	12

First-place votes in parentheses

SEASON TICKET INFORMATION

• Season tickets are on sale now through the Xavier Athletics Ticket Office. For more information on ticket options, call the ticket office at 513-745-3411 ext. 7 or CLICK HERE for additional information.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on Thursday, Nov. 29 against Bowling Green. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. from Cintas Center.