Xavier Ends Three-Game Road Swing at Butler

Friday, January 31

Indianapolis, Ind.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Butler

01.29.20 | Women's Basketball

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

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Hinkle Fieldhouse

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball opens the second half of BIG EAST play at Butler on Friday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Hinkle Fieldhouse.

THE MATCHUP AT BUTLER

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (2-18, 1-8) at BUTLER BULLDOGS (14-6, 6-3)
Game Info - Friday, Jan. 31 - 7 p.m. - Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/38Ku9ek
Live Stats - bit.ly/36DMRDc

ABOUT BUTLER

2019-20 Record: 14-6 (6-3 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Record: 23-10 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Postseason: WNIT - Sweet 16
Series History: Xavier trails, 29-19
Last Meeting: Butler 78, Xavier 70 (Jan. 4, 2020 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• After dropping its first two conference games of the season, the Bulldogs finished the first half of BIG EAST play by winning six of their last seven games. Butler has won two straight games and is coming off a 73-67 win at Creighton.
• Butler leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense (59.3), while ranking second in steals (11.1) and third in field-goal percentage defense. The Bulldogs rank 14th in the NCAA in total steals (222).
• Senior Kristen Spolyar ranks third in the conference in scoring (18.9), sixth in seals (1.9) and 11th in rebounding (6.7). She also ranks fourth in the NCAA in free throws made (113).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 29-19. The Musketeers have lost three straight in the series and are 3-3 when playing at Hinkle Fieldhouse since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14.

• Eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS BUTLER
Jan. 4, 2020 - Butler 78, Xavier 70 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 8, 2019 - Butler 63, Xavier 38 (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Jan. 11, 2019 - Butler 63, Xavier 41 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 25, 2018 - Xavier 57, Butler 54 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Dec. 29, 2017 - Xavier 69, Butler 62 (Indianapolis, Ind.)

FIRST MEETING VS BUTLER

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 78-70, on Jan. 4. Junior A'riana Gray scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps added 12 points on four 3-pointers. The Musketeers hit 10 three pointers in the loss. Junior Aaliyah Dunham chipped in eight points, eight assists and two rebounds.

NOTABLES VS BUTLER

• Junior A'riana Gray has averaged 11.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in five career meetings vs the Bulldogs. She has added 10 steals, five assists and four blocks in those meetings.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham has added 4.6 points and 4.2 assists per game in five career meetings with Butler. Classmate Deja Ross has chipped in 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in those matchups.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 60-48 road loss at Providence on Sunday, Jan. 26 to wrap up the first half of BIG EAST play. Junior A'riana Gray scored a team-high 18 points, her 40th career game in double figures. The forward had her four-game streak with a double-double snapped as she finished with eight rebounds.

• Sophomore Lauren Wasylson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. Classmate Sarah Leyendecker finished the game with eight points.

• Sarah Leyendecker pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, her second straight game with 10 or more rebounds. The forward added two steals and one block.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

2019-20 BIG EAST HONOREES
Jan. 13 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Jan. 6 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 30 - Sarah Leyendecker - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 23 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 16 - Morgan Sharps - Weekly Honor Roll
Nov. 11 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll

START OF MEL MOORE ERA

• The Melanie Moore Era began on Thursday, Nov. 11 with a 70-63 win over Utah. She was introduced as the eighth head women's basketball coach in program history on April 9 at Cintas Center.

• Moore joined the Musketeers after a seven-year stint at Michigan, most recently serving as associate head coach. She helped the Wolverines to a 156-85 overall record with seven postseason berths, including three NCAA Tournament appearances.

• The Glandorf, Ohio, native also has assistant coaching stops at Princeton (2007-12), Dayton (2006-07), Indiana State (2004-06) and Siena (2002-04).

NOTABLES

• A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (9.5) this season, while adding 16.4 points per game - ranking eighth in the BIG EAST. The junior forward ranks 43rd in the NCAA in rebounds per game.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks third on the team in scoring (8.2), while leading the team in total assists (89) and total steals (35). The guard ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.5). She ranks 31st in the NCAA in assist turnover ratio.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.429). She is 27-for-63 from the behind the arc.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps has 31 three pointers this year to rank third among BIG EAST freshmen this season. She also ranks 11th in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (.392).

• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.348), while ranking sixth in three pointers made per game (6.9). The Musketeers rank 54th in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage.

• Sophomore Carrie Gross ranks second on the team in scoring (9.0) and fifth in rebounding (3.1) this season. She averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game during her freshman campaign.

• Sophomore Sarah Leyendecker averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game with a .275 field-goal percentage (14-for-51) during non-conference play. In nine BIG EAST games, the forward has posted 8.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game - while connecting on 45.2 percent (28-for-62) of her shot attempts.

• Xavier had three players with 10 or more rebounds at Creighton on Jan. 24. The last time Xavier had three players with 10 or more rebounds in a game was on Jan. 27, 2013 in a 73-63 loss at Richmond.

• Xavier's non-conference opponents finished non-conference action with a 79-40 (.664) record. Ten of Xavier's 11 non-conference opponents posted a .500 record or better.

A'RIANA GRAY CAREER WATCH

• Junior A'riana Gray has 680 career rebounds, raking ninth in career rebounding at Xavier. She is 62 rebounds away from moving into eighth place ahead of Jennifer Phillips (742 - 1997-01).

• Gray also has 866 career points. She is 134 points away from becoming the 25th member of the 1,000-point club. The last Xavier player to score 1,000 points was Raeshaun Gaffney (2014-17).

BIG EAST ONLY NOTABLES

• Through the first half of BIG EAST action, the Musketeers rank fourth in steals (7.6) and blocks (3.6). Xavier also ranks sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (.337).

• Junior A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in scoring (19.6) and third in rebounding (8.6). Sophomore Sarah Leyendecker ranks seventh in rebounding (7.6) and free-throw percentage (.800), while ranking 14th in field-goal percentage (.452).

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham is averaging 4.9 assists in BIG EAST play to rank fourth. Freshman Morgan Sharps also ranks 13th in three-point field-goal percentage (.382), going 13-for-34 from behind the arc.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Junior forward A'riana Gray was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team on Oct. 10. The Musketeers were also picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches' poll.

A'RIANA GRAY - NOTABLES

• Xavier returns its leading rebounder and scorer in junior A'riana Gray. The forward averaged 13.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season. She also added a team-high 58 steals.

• A'riana Gray earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team honors last season. She led the BIG EAST in rebounding (11.5), while ranking 10th in the NCAA.

• A'riana Gray was one of only two underclassmen to earn All-BIG EAST honors last season. St. John's Tiana England (R-So.) was also named to the honorable mention team.

• A'riana Gray finished the 2018-19 season with 344 rebounds to rank tied for 19th in the NCAA in total rebounds. The 344 rebounds also rank fifth in single-season school history.

WASYLSON - NOTABLES

• Sophomore Lauren Wasylson made a team-leading 57 three pointers during her first year on the team - leading all BIG EAST freshmen in the category, while ranking 11th overall in the conference. She also ranked 10th in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.383).

• Lauren Wasylson's 57 three pointers were the most by a Musketeer since Ashley Wanninger in 2013-14 (62-for-186). Her 57 three pointers also rank fourth in single-season school history by a freshman.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play 14 games at Cintas Center this season, including nine BIG EAST games.

• The Musketeers open and close BIG EAST play against St. John's. Xavier opens conference play against the Red Storm on Dec. 29 at Cintas Center before closing the year in Queens, N.Y., on March 1.

• The Musketeers have won 44 non-conference games over the last five seasons with a 37-8 mark at Cintas Center.

• Six of Xavier's non-conference opponents posted winning records last season, including five teams with 20 or more wins. Five of Xavier's opponents played in a postseason tournament last season: Rider (WNIT), Wright State (NCAA), Robert Morris (NCAA), Cincinnati (WNIT) and Northwestern (WNIT).

• Xavier played teams from nine different conferences before the start of BIG EAST play, including two teams from both the American Athletic Conference and the Pac-12 Conference. The Musketeers played a team from the Big Ten (Northwestern) and the Southeastern Conference (Florida).

• Xavier played four opponents for the first time in program history: Utah, Rider, Colorado and Northwestern.

XAVIER ON NATIONAL TV

• Xavier will play two games on national television with each game being aired on FS2. The Musketeers will play at Georgetown on FS2 on Jan. 10 and at Providence on FS2 on Jan. 26.

PRESEASON BIG EAST COACHES' POLL

1. DePaul (9) - 81
2. St. John's (1) - 70
3. Seton Hall - 58
4. Creighton - 50
t-5. Providence - 44
t-5. Villanova - 44
7. Butler - 43
8. Xavier - 23
9. Marquette - 19
10. Georgetown - 18

first-place votes in parentheses

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.

UP NEXT

• Xavier continues BIG EAST action vs Villanova on Friday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.