Musketeers Play Host to St. John's on Friday Night

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues BIG EAST action on Friday, Jan. 4 against St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.

THE MATCHUP VS ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-4, 0-2) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (7-5, 0-1)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 4 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2BW0bWe
Live Stats - bit.ly/2qqIPeu

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2018-19 Record: 7-5 (0-1 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Record: 19-15 (9-9 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Postseason: WNIT Quarterfinals
Series History: Xavier trails, 8-2
Last Meeting: St. John's 70, Xavier 36 (02/04/18 - Carnesecca Arena)

NOTABLES
• St. John's ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (57.1) and eighth in scoring offense (63.2). The Red Storm also rank third in free-throw percentage (.737).
• Sophomore Kayla Charles ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (8.1) and sixth in blocks (1.3). Classmate Tiana England leads the BIG EAST in assists, averaging 6.0 assists per game.
• St. John's has lost two games in a row, including a 77-67 BIG EAST opening loss at Seton Hall on Dec. 30.

ST. JOHN'S SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with St. John's, 8-2. The Musketeers have dropped six straight in the series.

• Xavier's last win over St. John's was on March 1, 2015 at Cintas Center by a score of 74-61.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped a 75-71 contest at Villanova on Monday. The Musketeers trailed by as many as 29 points in the third quarter before battling back to get within two points with under a minute left in regulation.

• Sophomore Na'Teshia Owens scored a team-high 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting with two 3-pointers. She added two assists and two rebounds.

• Sophomore Princess Stewart added 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The guard chipped in four rebounds and two steals.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray posted eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. She added two assists and one steal.

• Xavier forced 20 Villanova turnovers, converting the miscues into 26 points. The Wildcats entered the game averaging only 12.4 turnovers per game to rank ninth in the NCAA. Xavier had 13 steals, its eighth game of the year with 10 or more steals.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (10.0), while ranking 12th in scoring (13.2). The forward's 10.0 rebounds per game also ranks 36th nationally. She also averages 2.2 steals per game, ranking sixth in the conference.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.456), while ranking 30th nationally. She is 31-for-68 from behind the arc and leads all BIG EAST freshmen in total three pointers made. The guard ranks seventh nationally among freshmen in three pointers made.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.5 points per game. The guard leads all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens ranks second on the team in scoring (12.5) and assists (4.0). The guard ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in assists. Sophomore Aaliyah Dunham paces the team in assists, averaging 4.1 assists per game to rank sixth in the conference.

• In five games this season, sophomore Princess Stewart is averaging 10.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She has added 12 assists and 14 steals in those games. The guard averaged 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last year (30 games) and totaled 10 steals.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.247), while ranking 13th nationally. The Musketeers also rank fifth in steals (9.8) and fifth in three pointers made per game (8.9).

• 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 10.9 more points per game this season than a year ago (69.5 ppg vs 58.6 ppg). The Musketeers have also posted a .424 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 on Sunday, Jan. 6 against Seton Hall. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

Schedule

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