Xavier, DePaul Slated for Sunday Matinee at Cintas Center

Sunday, February 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

DePaul

Xavier, DePaul Slated for Sunday Matinee at Cintas Center

02.10.18 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Sunday’s game will be Xavier’s Play4Kay Pink Game

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball continues BIG EAST action on Sunday, Feb. 11 against DePaul. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

The Musketeers enter the game with a 9-16 (2-12 BIG EAST) record, while conference-leader DePaul is 19-6 (11-2 BIG EAST).

Sunday's matchup is Xavier's Play4Kay Pink Game. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free pink shooting sleeve.

THE MATCHUP VS DEPAUL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-16, 2-12) vs DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (19-6, 11-2)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 11 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,244)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2nYO2IP
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d

ABOUT DEPAUL

2017-18 Record: 19-6 (11-2 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: NCAA - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 15-1

NOTABLES
• The Blue Demons have won five straight games, most recently picking up an 86-68 win at Butler on Friday night. DePaul is 5-3 in road games with a 4-2 mark in BIG EAST games.
• DePaul ranks sixth nationally in scoring offense (84.2), while ranking third in assists (524) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.51). The Blue Demons also lead the nation in total three pointers (308) and three-point field-goals made per game (12.2).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 15-1. The Musketeers lone victory was on Jan. 23, 1984 in the first meeting between the two schools, 82-72.

LAST TIME OUT VS DPU

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 79-48, at Wintrust Arena on Jan. 12. Kindell Fincher led the Musketeers with 10 points.

• Aaliyah Dunham, Jada Byrd and Princess Stewart all added seven points. Dunhman also dished out a game-high six assists. Byrd and Anniina Äijänen both chipped in five rebounds.

• A'riana Gray led the team in rebounds with six. DePaul held a 44-34 advantage on the glass.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped an 80-63 game to Marquette on Friday night at Cintas Center.

• Jada Byrd scored a career-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting. The senior guard added two assists and two rebounds.

• Anniina Äijänen, Aaliyah Dunham and A'riana Gray all chipped in nine points. Gray scored all of her points in the second half, while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and dishing out a team-high five assists. Äijänen added seven rebounds and Dunham posted a team-high three steals.

• Marquette won the battled on the glass, 36-34. The Golden Eagles also scored 29 points off of turnovers. Marquette also held a 13-12 advantage in second-chance points.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in scoring (9.8). The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons. She also ranks sixth in the conference in field-goal percentage (.491).

• 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. She also ranks 13th in the conference in field-goal percentage (.457).

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow ranks second on the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 9.1 points per game. She has added a .505 field-goal percentage – the fourth best percentage in the conference – and 5.6 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game during conference action. Her .474 field-goal percentage ranks 11th in the BIG EAST.

• Na'Teshia Owens ranks third in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage (.440), going 11-for-25 from behind the arc.

NOTABLES

• Jada Byrd has averaged 14.8 points per game in her last four outings. The senior guard has posted a .759 field-goal percentage (22-for-29) with nine assists and six rebounds. She is also 14-for-19 from the foul line during that stretch.

• Xavier has had nine different leading scorers through 25 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring eight times. Imani Partlow, the team's leading scorer, has only led the team in scoring twice.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 4.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.5 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 17th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (13.9). The Musketeers also rank 52nd in total three pointers made (180).

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 and is 1-1 in overtime games this 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 7.2 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 180 three pointers this season, 19 more than all of last season (161).

• Na'Teshia Owens ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.413), going 26-for-63 from behind the arc.

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 57 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 was 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 opened 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 traveled 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 returns to action at Creighton on Friday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.