Women's Basketball Opens Road Swing at Marquette

Friday, February 14

Milwaukee, Wis.

8 P.M.

Xavier University

Marquette

Women's Basketball Opens Road Swing at Marquette

02.12.20 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live - BEDN Live Stats XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET on Friday night at the Al McGuire Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball opens a two-game road swing at Marquette on Friday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET from the Al McGuire Center.

THE MATCHUP VS MARQUETTE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (2-21, 1-11) at MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (18-6, 9-4)
Game Info - Friday, Feb. 14 - 8 p.m. ET - Al McGuire Center (3,700)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/3btGCVX
Live Stats - bit.ly/2Ei4mxU

ABOUT MARQUETTE

2019-20 Record: 18-6 (9-4 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Record: 27-8 (15-3 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 15-7
Last Meeting: Marquette 80, Xavier 60 (Jan. 19, 2020 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Marquette leads the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage (.443) and rebounding margin (+9.6), while ranking second in scoring margin (+7.8), assists (18.4) and blocks (4.1). The Golden Eagles also rank fourth in scoring offense (68.1), field-goal percentage defense (.377) and three-point field-goal percentage (.344).
• The Golden Eagles rank sixth in the NCAA in total assists (441), 10th in rebounding margin (+9.6) and 35th in field-goal percentage (.443). Selena Lott ranks 11th nationally in assists per game (5.9).
• Junior Selena Lott ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.8) and fourth in field-goal percentage (.513). Two other Marquette players rank in the top-five of the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage: Freshman Camryn Taylor (.515) and junior Lauren Van Kleunen (.493).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Marquette, 15-7. The Musketeers have dropped eight straight in the series.

• The Musketeers last win over the Golden Eagles was on Jan. 15, 2016 at Cintas Center. Xavier defeated Marquette, 71-66.

• Xavier is 1-5 vs the Golden Eagles when playing in Milwaukee, Wis. The Musketeers lone win at Marquette was on Dec. 30, 2014 (W, 74-71).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS MARQUETTE
Jan. 19, 2020 - Marquette 80, Xavier 60 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 24, 2019 - Marquette 79, Xavier 53 (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Jan. 25, 2019 - Marquette 90, Xavier 40 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 9, 2018 - Marquette 80, Xavier 63 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 14, 2018 - Marquette 88, Xavier 67 (Milwaukee, Wis.)

FIRST MEETING VS MARQUETTE

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 80-60, on Jan. 19. Junior A'riana Gray led the Musketeers with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The forward scored all 13 of her points in the second half.

• Sophomores Lauren Wasylson and Sarah Leyendecker both added nine points, while Carrie Gross and Deja Ross both chipped in eight. Gross added four assists, while Aaliyah Dunham dished out a team-high six assists.

• The Musketeers had seven blocks in the game, paced by Sarah Leyendecker who had four. Xavier also committed a season-low seven turnovers in the contest.

NOTABLES VS MARQUETTE

• Junior A'riana Gray has averaged 10.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in five career meetings vs Marquette. She has added seven assists, two steals and two blocks in those games.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham has averaged 10.2 points,4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game in five career meetings vs Marquette. She has added six steals and a .429 (9-for-21) three-point field-goal percentage in those games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 63-50 loss to Georgetown on Sunday, Feb. 9. Junior A'riana Gray posted her eighth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds. The forward added two assists and one block.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps scored in double figures for the third straight game, posting 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting. The guard has now scored in double figures seven times this season. She added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

• Sophomore Lauren Wasylson added nine points and junior Deja Ross chipped in eight. Ross added five rebounds. Junior Aaliyah Dunham dished out a game-high assists to go along with two steals.

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 (9.7) this season, while adding 16.3 points per game - ranking seventh in the BIG EAST. The junior forward ranks 37th in the NCAA in rebounds per game.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks fourth on the team in scoring (7.6), while leading the team in total assists (110) and total steals (40). The guard ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.8). She ranks 18th in the NCAA in assist turnover ratio.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.420). She is 29-for-69 from the behind the arc.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps has 38 three pointers this year to rank third among BIG EAST freshmen. She also ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (.384).

• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.341), while ranking sixth in three pointers made per game (6.7). The Musketeers rank 65th in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage.

• Sophomore Carrie Gross ranks second on the team in scoring (8.8) and fifth in rebounding (3.3) 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 694 career rebounds, raking ninth in career rebounding at Xavier. She is 48 rebounds away from moving into eighth place ahead of Jennifer Phillips (742 - 1997-01).

• Gray also has 880 career points. She is 120 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).

AALIYAH DUNHAM CAREER WATCH

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham has 289 career assists. She is 17 assists away from moving into the top-10 at Xavier in career assists. Nicole Levandusky (1997-01) ranks 10th with 306 career assists.

BIG EAST ONLY NOTABLES

• Through 12 BIG EAST games, the Musketeers rank fourth in steals (7.2) and fifth in blocks (3.3). Xavier also ranks seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.327).

• Junior A'riana Gray leads the BIG EAST in scoring (19.0) and third in rebounding (9.1). Sophomore Sarah Leyendecker ranks seventh in rebounding (7.6), fourth in free-throw percentage (.800) and 11th in field-goal percentage (.452).

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham is averaging 5.4 assists in BIG EAST play to rank third. Freshman Morgan Sharps also ranks 10th in three-point field-goal percentage (.370), going 20-for-54 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 at No. 13 DePaul on Sunday, Feb. 16. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET from McGrath-Phillips Arena.