Women's Basketball Opens BIG EAST Play at Georgetown

Saturday, December 29

Washington, D.C.

5 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Women's Basketball Opens BIG EAST Play at Georgetown

12.26.18 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live - BEDN Live Stats XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball opens BIG EAST action on Saturday, Dec. 29 at Georgetown. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. from McDonough Arena.

THE MATCHUP VS GEORGETOWN

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-2, 0-0) at GEORGETOWN HOYAS (6-5, 0-0)
Game Info - Saturday, Dec. 29 - 5 p.m. ET - McDonough Arena (2,500)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2GHLOKz
Live Stats - bit.ly/2SkE2Yr

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

2018-19 Record: 6-5 (0-0 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Record: 16-16 (9-9 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Postseason: WNIT - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 7-6
Last Meeting: Georgetown 65, Xavier 48 (01/28/18 - Cintas Center)

NOTABLES
• Georgetown leads the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.328) and blocked shots (5.2), while also ranking third in scoring defense (54.4). The Hoyas rank 10th in scoring offense, averaging 61.5 points per game.
• Senior Dionna White ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.5) and fourth in rebounding (8.5). Classmate Dorothy Adomako ranks 11th in scoring (13.6) and sixth in rebounding (7.3).
• Two of the top five shot blockers in the conference are from Georgetown. Anita Kelava ranks first in the category (2.1), while Dorothy Adomako ranks fifth (1.4).

GEORGETOWN SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Georgetown, 7-6. The Musketeers have dropped five straight games in the series.

• The Musketeers are looking for their first win over the Hoyas since a 59-54 victory on Dec. 29, 2015 at Cintas Center. Xavier's last win at Georgetown was on Feb. 13, 2015 (W, 60-55).

LAST TIME OUT

• Deja Ross and Lauren Wasylson combined for 26 points on Dec. 22, leading the Musketeers to a 61-45 win over New Orleans at Cintas Center. Xavier has now held an opponent to 50 or fewer points four times this season.

• Sophomore Deja Ross scored a team-high 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting with two 3-pointers. She added six rebounds, two blocks and an assist in 28 minutes of action. The forward has now scored in double figures twice this season.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson added 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range. She added two rebounds and one steal. The guard now has a team-high 30 three pointers on the year.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray added a team-high 10 rebounds - her seventh game of the year with 10 or more rebounds - and was one of four Xavier players with three steals. The Musketeers posted 15 steals, the team's seventh game of the year with 10 or more steals.

• The Musketeers went 10-for-10 from the foul line after entering the game with a .604 free-throw percentage.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (10.1), while ranking 10th in scoring (13.8). The forward's 10.1 rebounds per game also ranks 38th nationally. She also averages 2.4 steals per game, ranking sixth in the conference.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks third in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.476), while ranking 22nd nationally. She is 30-for-63 from behind the arc and leads all BIG EAST freshmen in total three pointers made. The guard ranks sixth nationally among freshmen in three pointers made.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. The guard leads all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring, while ranking 28th overall.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens ranks second on the team in scoring (12.3) and assists (4.2). The guard ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in assists. Sophomore Aaliyah Dunham paces the team in assists, averaging 4.5 assists per game to rank sixth in the conference.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.233), while ranking seventh nationally. The Musketeers also rank fifth in steals (9.8) and fifth in scoring offense (70.2).

• The Musketeers are one win away from matching last year's win total (10-20). The win over New Orleans gave Xavier nine non-conference wins, the most non-conference wins since the 2015-16 season (9-3 record; finished 17-13 overall).

• Xavier is averaging 11.6 more points per game this season than a year ago (70.2 ppg vs 58.6 ppg). The Musketeers have also posted a .425 field-goal percentage to last season's .396 clip.

• Xavier has had a player score 20 or more points in a game six times this season. The Musketeers only had one player score 20 or more points in a game twice last season.

• Xavier has scored 80 or more points in a game four times this season. The Musketeers' season-high last season was 75 points against Furman on Dec. 17.

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 43 non-conference games over the last five seasons with a 36-5 mark at Cintas Center.

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

• Xavier played 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.

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

• The Musketeers return to action at Villanova on Monday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.