Xavier, Seton Hall Set for Sunday Matinee

Sunday, January 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

01.05.19 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live - BEDN Seton Hall Notes (PDF)XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues its three-game homestand on Sunday, Jan. 6 against Seton Hall. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

THE MATCHUP VS SETON HALL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-5, 0-3) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (9-4, 1-1)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 4 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2CMkuHc
Live Stats - bit.ly/2qqIPeu

ABOUT SETON HALL

2018-19 Record: 9-4 (1-1 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Record: 16-16 (7-11 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Postseason: WNIT - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 10-1
Last Meeting: Seton Hall 66, Xavier 42 (03/03/18 - Wintrust Arena - BIG EAST Tournament)

NOTABLES
• The Pirates suffered their first setback of BIG EAST play on Friday night, falling at first-place Butler, 62-59. Kaela Hilaire led the way with 15 points and six assists in the setback at Butler.
• The Pirates are top-30 nationally in scoring offense (79.5), assists per game (19.1), 3-pointers made (122), steals per game (12.4), turnovers forced (293) and turnover margin (+6.3).
• Shadeen Samuels leads Seton Hall with 15.3 points per game, 9.2 rebounds and a 55.4 field goal percentage - all top five in the BIG EAST. Joining Samuels in double-figures are Nicole Jimenez with 12.5 per game and Inja Butina at 10.8 per contest.

SETON HALL SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with the Pirates, 10-1, and has dropped four straight in the series. Four of the last five meetings have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

• The Musketeers lone victory in the series was on Jan. 4, 2017 at Cintas Center. Xavier defeated Seton Hall, 72-64.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier dropped its BIG EAST home opener to St. John's on Friday night, 76-57, at Cintas Center. Sophomore A'riana Gray scored a team-high 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The forward added six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. She has now scored in double figures 11 times this season.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens scored 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting with three 3-pointers. The guard added four rebounds and an assist.

• Sophomore Aaliyah Dunham chipped in nine points and a team-high four assists, while freshman Carrie Gross added seven points. Junior Tierra Floyd pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in 14 minutes of action off the bench.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (9.7), while ranking ninth in scoring (13.4). The forward's 9.7 rebounds per game also ranks 44th nationally. She also averages 2.1 steals per game, ranking seventh in the conference.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.451), while ranking 31st nationally. She is 32-for-71 from behind the arc and leads all BIG EAST freshmen in total three pointers made. The guard ranks eighth nationally among freshmen in three pointers made.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.1 points per game. The guard leads all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring. Her 32 made three pointers already matches Xavier's individual player total for made three pointers from last season (Aaliyah Dunham).

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens ranks second on the team in scoring (12.5) and assists (3.8). 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 six games this season, sophomore Princess Stewart is averaging 8.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She has added 13 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.

• Sophomore Deja Ross averaged 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last year against the Pirates. She knocked down seven 3-pointers in the three meetings and added four steals and two blocks.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.256), while ranking 22nd nationally. The Musketeers also rank fifth in steals (9.4) 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 10.0 more points per game this season than a year ago (68.6 ppg vs 58.6 ppg). The Musketeers have also posted a .417 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 end their three-game homestand on Friday, Jan. 11 against Butler. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.