Xavier, Villanova Set for Friday Night Matchup on FS2

Friday, March 1

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Xavier, Villanova Set for Friday Night Matchup on FS2

02.28.19 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live - FS2 Live Stats XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball takes on Villanova on Friday, March 1 at Cintas Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with the game being aired nationally on FS2.

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-16, 2-14) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (17-10, 8-8)
Game Info - Friday, March 1 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Video - FS2 - bit.ly/2tEfdvU
Live Stats - bit.ly/2qqIPeu

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2018-19 Record: 17-10 (8-8 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Record: 23-9 (12-6 BIG EAST)
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 11-1
Last Meeting: Villanova 75, Xavier 71 - (12/31/18 - Villanova, Pa. - Finneran Pavilion)

NOTABLES
• Villanova ranks second in the BIG EAST in three pointers made per game (9.7), field-goal percentage (.432) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). The Wildcats rank sixth in the NCAA in fewest turnovers (307) and ninth in three pointers made per game (9.7).
• Mary Gedaka ranks third in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (.673). She also ranks eighth in scoring (14.4) and 10th in rebounding (6.8).
• Adrianna Hahn ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in both three-point field-goal percentage (.402) and three pointers made per game (2.7). The senior guard also ranks 10th in the conference in assists (3.3).
• Villanova has won two of its last five games, most recently coming off a 73-86 win against Seton Hall. The Wildcats have played three straight home games with Friday's contest being the team's first road game since Feb. 10 (at Marquette).

VILLANOVA SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 11-1. The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.

LAST TIME OUT VS VILLANOVA

• Xavier dropped the first meeting with Villanova, 75-71, on Dec. 31. The Musketeers trailed by as many as 29 points before the comeback effort fell short.

• Junior 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 Aaliyah Dunham recorded 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting. She added two steals, one rebound and one assist. Sophomore A'riana Gray posted eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. She added two assists and one steal.

• Xavier finished the game with a .483 field-goal percentage (28-for-58), its second highest percentage this season.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier women's basketball dropped its final BIG EAST road game of the season, 79-53, at No. 11 Marquette on Sunday, Feb. 24.

• A'riana Gray led the Musketeers in scoring with 21 points on 10-for-23 shooting. The sophomore forward has now scored 20 or more points in a game five times in her career.

• A'riana Gray led the Musketeers on the glass with eight rebounds, while Deja Ross and Aaliyah Dunhamboth added four. Marquette won the battle on the glass, 46-26.

• Aaliyah Dunham chipped in 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting. The sophomore guard now has 14 career double-figure scoring games. She added a team-high four assists.

• Xavier forced 19 turnovers, a season-high for the Golden Eagles. The Musketeers also had five steals in the game, paced by Ashley Gomez who had a game-high three steals.

GRAY'S BREAKOUT SEASON

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (11.1), while ranking 13th in scoring (13.4). The forward's 11.1 rebounds per game also ranks 21st nationally.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in double-doubles with 13, while also ranking 22nd nationally. She has 300 rebounds on the year to rank 13th in the NCAA and eighth place at Xavier in single-season rebounds. She is one rebound away from moving into seventh place (301 - Amber Harris - 2009-10) and three rebounds away from moving into sixth place (303 - Amber Harris - 2006-07).

• In BIG EAST action, A'riana Gray is averaging 13.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. She also has a team-high 27 steals to go along with 17 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 sixth in the conference.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.382) and 11th in three pointers made 52 - the most three pointers by a freshman in the conference this season. Her 52 made three pointers are 20 more than Xavier's individual player total for made three pointers from last season (Aaliyah Dunham - 32).

• In 19 games this season, sophomore Princess Stewart is averaging 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She has added 37 assists and 29 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 (3.4) and seventh in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.9). The guard has also added 8.4 points per game this season. She averaged 2.5 assists per game last season as a freshman.

• Junior Na'Teshia Owens has posted a .565 field-goal percentage (13-for-23) in five career meetings with Villanova. The guard has averaged 7.2 points per game in those contests.

• Sophomore Princess Stewart has averaged 9.0 points per game in three career meetings with Villanova. The guard has hit 52.4 percent (11-for-21) of her shot attempts in those contests.

TEAM NOTABLES

• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals (8.1) and sixth in three pointers made (8.0). The 8.0 three pointers made per game rank 45th in the NCAA.

• Xavier has made 216 three pointers this season to rank second in single-season team history at XU, breaking last season's mark of 214. The Musketeers have also set the school record for three pointers attempted (707), eclipsing the school record established last season (700).

• 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 3.1 more points per game this season than a year ago (61.7 ppg vs 58.6 ppg). Xavier already has 21 more total blocks (76-55) than a year ago and is averaging 2.0 more steals per game (8.1 - 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.

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 close regular-season action on Sunday, March 3 against Georgetown. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.