Musketeers Play Host to Butler on Senior Day

Sunday, February 25

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Butler

02.22.18 | Women's Basketball

XU Notes (PDF)Live Stats Watch Live (BEDN)

Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. ET on the BIG EAST Digital Network

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's basketball closes the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 25 against Butler at Cintas Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. with the game being aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

Sunday's contest will serve as Senior Day for Anniina Äijänen and Jada Byrd. The Musketeers are 9-19 (2-15 BIG EAST) and the Bulldogs are 14-15 (6-11 BIG EAST).

THE MATCHUP VS BUTLER

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-19, 2-15) vs BUTLER BULLDOGS (14-15, 6-11)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 25 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/2FmOrgF
Live stats - bit.ly/1lYmT6d

ABOUT BUTLER

2017-18 Record: 14-15 (6-11)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 26-18

NOTABLES
• Butler is coming off a 64-55 road loss at Creighton. The Bulldogs are 6-7 (3-5 BIG EAST) in road games this season. Butler is also 1-7 in its last eight games.
• Butler ranks second in the conference (BIG EAST only games) in field-goal percentage defense (.408) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.319), while ranking third in free-throw percentage (.730).
• The Bulldogs have two of the top four scorers in the BIG EAST (conference only games) in Tori Schickel (16.8) and Whitney Jennings (16.1). Schickel also ranks second in field-goal percentage (.568) and fifth in rebounding (8.6). Jennings paces the conference in three pointers made with 46.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Butler, 26-18. The Musketeers won the first meeting between the two schools, 69-62, on Dec. 29 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

• The last seven meetings have all been decided by 10 or fewer points.

LAST TIME OUT VS BUTLER

• Kindell Fincher scored a career-high 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The junior guard added seven rebounds and a team-high three 3-pointers.

• Imani Partlow scored 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds and one steal. She was also 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

• Anniina Äijänen added 14 points with 12 points coming in the second half. The senior forward also pulled down seven rebounds.

• Xavier forced 14 turnovers, converting the miscues into 26 points. The Musketeers also held a 41-33 advantage on the glass.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming of a 69-48 road loss at Providence, the team's ninth straight loss. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak in the series for the Musketeers.

• Na'Teshia Owens scored a team-high 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go along with three assists. She scored 11 of her points in the second half.

• A'riana Gray scored a season-high 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The freshman nearly missed her second career double-double as she pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. She added a game-high three steals.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASONS

• Jada Byrd leads the team in scoring (9.6). The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons. She also ranks fifth in the conference in field-goal percentage (.492).

• 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 12th in the conference in field-goal percentage (.456).

BIG EAST PLAY

• Imani Partlow ranks second on the team in scoring during BIG EAST action, averaging 8.6 points per game. She has added a .509 field-goal percentage – the fifth best percentage in the conference – and 5.3 rebounds per game.

• Anniina Äijänen has added 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game during conference action. Her .470 field-goal percentage ranks tied 13th in the BIG EAST.

• Na'Teshia Owens ranks fourth in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage (.424), going 14-for-33 from behind the arc. She also ranks fourth in field-goal percentage (.512).

NOTABLES

• Jada Byrd has averaged 11.3 points per game in her last six outings. The senior guard has posted a .636 field-goal percentage (28-for-44) with eight assists and 11 rebounds.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in her last four outings. She has gone 9-for-11 from the foul line during that span.

• Na'Teshia Owens has averaged 11.5 points per game in her last four outings with a .667 field-goal percentage (18-for-27). The sophomore guard has added eight rebounds, 12 assists and five steals.

• Princess Stewart has hit 52.9 percent (9-for-17) of her shot attempts in her last four outings. She has scored 5.8 points per game in those games with nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

• Xavier has had nine different leading scorers through 28 games this season. Jada Byrd has led the team in scoring eight times.

• A'riana Gray has averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season. Gray's 5.5 rebounds per game leads all BIG EAST freshmen, while ranking 14th overall. She posted her first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) at Minnesota on Nov. 22.

• Xavier ranks 19th nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (14.1). The Musketeers also rank 56th in total three pointers made (201).

NOTABLES TEAM PERFORMANCES

• Xavier posted a season-high .600 field-goal percentage (27-for-45) against DePaul, the team's highest field-goal percentage since hitting 62.7 percent (32-for-51) of its shot attempts versus Richmond on Feb. 15, 2012.

• 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 seven 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 201 three pointers this season, 40 more than all of last season (161).

• Aaliyah Dunham and Na'Teshia Owens are tied for fifth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.408).

RECORD WATCH

• Xavier has made 201 three pointers this season to rank seventh in single-season school history. The Musketeers are seven 3-pointers away from moving into third place.

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 57.4 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.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on March 3 in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers will be the No. 10 seed in the tournament and play at either 5 p.m. ET or 7:30 p.m. ET.