Xavier, DePaul Set for Friday Night BIG EAST Matchup

Friday, February 22

Chicago, Ill.

8 p.m.

Xavier University

DePaul

Xavier, DePaul Set for Friday Night BIG EAST Matchup

02.20.19 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live - BEDN Live Stats XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball travels to DePaul on Friday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena.

THE MATCHUP VS DEPAUL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-14, 2-12) at RV DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (19-7, 10-4)
Game Info - Friday, Feb. 22 - 8 p.m. ET - Wintrust Arena (10,387)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2V3mjFZ
Live Stats - bit.ly/2DUYDwn

ABOUT DEPAUL

2018-19 Record: 19-7 (10-4 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Record: 27-8 (15-3 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 17-1
Last Meeting: DePaul 73, Xavier 71 (OT) - (01/27/19 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Cintas Center)

NOTABLES
• DePaul leads the nation in three pointers made (295), while ranking second in free-throw percentage (.791) and eighth in assists per game (18.8).The Blue Demons also rank seventh in scoring offense (82.1).
• DePaul has two of the top-10 scorers in the BIG EAST in Mart'e Grays (14.5) and Chante Stonewall (14.0). Ashton Millender has added 12.6 points per game to rank 16th, respectively.
• Junior Kelly Campbell leads the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (3.2), while ranking 11th in the NCAA. The guard also ranks second in the conference in assists (4.9) and sixth in rebounding (7.7).

DEPAUL SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 17-1. The Musketeers lone victory was on Jan. 23, 1984 in the first meeting between the two schools, 82-72.

LAST TIME OUT VS DEPAUL

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 73-71, in overtime at Cintas Center on Jan. 27. Sophomore A'riana Gray finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

• Sophomore Princess Stewart scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds, her first career double-double. The guard added three assists.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens scored a team-high 21 points with four rebounds and two assists.

• Sophomore Aaliyah Dunham posted 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting with two 3-pointers. She added a team-high four assists and four steals.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 53-52 loss to Creighton on Sunday, Feb. 17, the team's fourth straight loss. The Musketeers led for nearly 33 minutes before the Bluejays engineered a fourth quarter comeback to pull off the win.

• Sophomore Deja Ross led the Musketeers with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, her sixth career game with 10 or more points. She added six rebounds and one steal.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson added 11 points, two steals and three rebounds. She was 1-for-2 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the foul line. Xavier finished the game 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points. The forward now has 20 career games with 10 or more rebounds.

• Defensively, Xavier held Creighton's top two scorers (Jaylyn Agnew and Audrey Faber) to only two points on 1-for-19 shooting. The two players combined to average 28.8 points per game entering Sunday's contest.

• Xavier committed a season-low six turnovers in the loss. Creighton won the battle on the glass, 38-33.

GRAY'S BREAKOUT SEASON

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (11.3), while ranking 13th in scoring (13.4). The forward's 11.3 rebounds per game also ranks 18th nationally.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in double-doubles with 13, while also ranking 21st nationally. She has 282 rebounds on the year to rank 14th in the NCAA and 10th place at Xavier in single-season rebounds. She is five rebounds away from moving into ninth place with Taru Tuukkanen (2000-01).

• In 14 BIG EAST games, A'riana Gray is averaging 13.0 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She also has a team-high 25 steals to go along with 15 assists in those games.

• A'riana Gray posted a career-high seven steals against Creighton on Jan. 18. She averages 2.0 steals per game, ranking fifth in the conference.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.378) and 11th in three pointers made 48 - the most three pointers by a freshman in the conference this season. Her 48 made three pointers are 16 more than Xavier's individual player total for made three pointers from last season (Aaliyah Dunham - 32).

• In 17 games this season, sophomore Princess Stewart is averaging 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She has added 31 assists and 28 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 Aaliyah Dunham ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in assists (3.5) and eighth in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.9). The guard has also added 8.6 points per game this season. She averaged 2.5 assists per game last season as a freshman.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens has averaged 11.0 points per game in four career games against DePaul. She has added a .500 field-goal percentage (18-for-36).

• Sophomore Princess Stewart has averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in three career games versus the Blue Demons. The guard has added a .600 field-goal percentage (15-for-25) in those outings.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray has averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in three career meetings with DePaul. Classmate Aaliyah Dunham has added 9.3 points per game in those outings.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals (8.3) and sixth in three pointers made (8.2). The 8.2 three pointers made per game rank 36th in the NCAA.

• Xavier drained 13 three pointers at Seton Hall on Feb. 1, the team's seventh game of the season with 10 or more three pointers.

• Xavier is averaging four more points per game this season than a year ago (62.6 ppg vs 58.6 ppg). Xavier already has 21 more total blocks (76-55) than a year ago and is averaging 2.2 more steals per game (8.3 - 6.1).

• Xavier has had a player score 20 or more points in a game nine 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 five times this season. The Musketeers' season-high last season was 75 points against Furman on Dec. 17.

• The Musketeers have matched 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).

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.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Xavier has had a player named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll five times this season. Lauren Wasylson was also named Freshman of the Week on Nov. 19 and A'riana Gray earned Player of the Week Honors on Dec. 3, the first Xavier player to earn the honors since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.

Jan. 21	A'riana Gray	Weekly Honor Roll
Jan. 7	A'riana Gray	Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 17	Na'Teshia Owens	Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 3	A'riana Gray	Player of the Week
Nov. 26	A'riana Gray	Weekly Honor Roll
Nov. 19	Lauren Wasylson	Freshman of the Week
Nov. 12	A'riana Gray	Weekly Honor Roll

2018 SIGNING CLASS

• Head Coach Brian Neal announced the addition of Hannah Noveroske and Courtney Prenger to the 2019-20 roster on Nov. 15.

• Noveroske is a 6-foot-4 center from Michigan City, Ind. She averaged 20.6 points, 15.7 rebounds and 6.9 blocks per game as a junior. She recently earned all-state honors in volleyball after helping her team to a sectional title.

• Prenger helped her team win the 2018 OHSAA Division IV State Title, averaging 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-1 forward from Minster, Ohio, is a three-time all-conference first-team selection. She is also a standout track and field athlete, participating in the 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays at the 2016 and 2017 OHSAA State Championships.

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).

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, Feb. 24 at No. 11 Marquette. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET from the Al McGuire Center.