Xavier Plays Host to Creighton on Senior Day

Sunday, February 23

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 P.M.

Xavier University

Creighton

02.22.20 | Women's Basketball

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

The Musketeers will honor their lone senior, Ashley Gomez, prior to tip-off

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball plays host to Creighton on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

The Musketeers will recognize the accomplishments of their lone senior, Ashley Gomez, prior to tip-off.

THE MATCHUP VS CREIGHTON

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-23, 2-13) vs CREIGHTON BLUE JAYS (16-10, 8-7)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 23 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2SRolLf
Live Stats - bit.ly/2qqIPeu

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2019-20 Record: 16-10 (8-7 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Record: 15-16 (8-10 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 11-2
Last Meeting: Creighton 62, Xavier 55 (Jan. 24 - Omaha, Neb.)

NOTABLES
• Creighton is coming off a 76-61 road loss at Butler on Friday night. The Bluejays are 6-7 in road games this season with a 4-4 mark in conference road games.
• Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage (.771) and three pointers made per game (9.0). The Bluejays also rank fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.343) and fifth in both scoring offense (65.7) and scoring defense (63.2). Creighton ranks ninth in the NCAA in fewest turnovers and three pointers made per game, while ranking 15th in free-throw percentage.
• Senior Jaylyn Agnew leads the BIG EAST in scoring (19.5), three pointers made per game (3.0) and free-throw percentage (.940). She also leads the NCAA in free-throw percentage. Junior Temi Carda ranks sixth in the conference in free-throw percentage (.800) and 12th in scoring (13.2).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Creighton, 11-2. Xavier has dropped seven straight in the series and is 2-4 vs the Bluejays when playing at Cintas Center.

• The Musketeers last win in the series was on Feb. 7, 2016 at Cintas Center. Xavier won the game, 57-55.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS CREIGHTON
Jan. 24, 2020 - Creighton 62, Xavier 55 (Omaha, Neb.)
Feb. 17, 2019 - Creighton 53, Xavier 52 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 18, 2019 - Creighton 66, Xavier 62 (Omaha, Neb.)
Feb. 16, 2018 - Creighton 65, Xavier 54 (Omaha, Neb.)
Jan. 22, 2018 - Creighton 71, Xavier 64 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

FIRST MEETING VS CREIGHTON

• Xavier dropped a 62-55 matchup vs the Bluejays on Jan. 24 in Omaha, Neb. Redshirt-freshman Ayanna Townsend posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. She was 6-for-8 from the floor. The forward added two blocks. The 14 rebounds are also a career high.

• Junior A'riana Gray posted a team-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Carrie Gross chipped in nine points, while classmate Sarah Leyendecker posted six points and 12 rebounds.

• Xavier won the battle on the glass, 50-37, and had four more second-chance points (14-10) than the Bluejays. Xavier also posted a season-high eight blocks with A'riana Gray leading the team with three.

• Xavier had three players with 10 or more rebounds vs the Bluejays. 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.

NOTABLES VS CREIGHTON

• A'riana Gray has averaged 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in five career games vs the Bluejays. She has added eight steals, six blocks and three assists in those games.

• Aaliyah Dunham has averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in five career games vs the Bluejays. She has added three steals in those games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 61-42 win over Providence on Friday, Feb. 21. Junior A'riana Gray scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. The forward increased her career double-double total to 25. She also increased her career scoring total to 931 points.

• Redshirt-freshman Ayanna Townsend added 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Senior Ashley Gomez chipped in seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes of action off the bench. Gomez scored all seven points in the fourth quarter.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham chipped in six points, four assists, four steals and four rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Wasylson posted seven rebounds, four points, two assists and two steals.

• Xavier forced 17 Friar turnovers, converting the miscues into 24 points. Xavier also scored 11 more second-chance points (19-8) than Providence.

• Xavier limited the Friars to a season-low 42 points. The Musketeers also held Providence to a .277 field-goal percentage (13-for-47).

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 (9.6) this season, while adding 16.4 points per game - ranking eighth in the BIG EAST. The junior forward ranks 38th in the NCAA in rebounds per game.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks third on the team in scoring (7.5), while leading the team in total assists (121) and total steals (48). The guard ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.7). She ranks 28th in the NCAA in assist turnover ratio.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.395). She is 30-for-76 from the behind the arc.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps has 44 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 (.383).

• Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.329), while ranking sixth in three pointers made per game (6.3). The Musketeers rank 98th 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 (3.0) 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'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 721 career rebounds, raking ninth in career rebounding at Xavier. She is 21 rebounds away from moving into eighth place ahead of Jennifer Phillips (742 - 1997-01).

• Gray also has 931 career points. She is 69 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 300 career assists. She is six 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 15 BIG EAST games, the Musketeers rank fourth in steals (7.2) and sixth in blocks (3.1). Xavier also ranks seventh in assists (12.5).

• Junior A'riana Gray leads in the BIG EAST in scoring (18.5) and second in rebounding (9.1).

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham is averaging 5.1 assists in BIG EAST play to rank fourth. Freshman Morgan Sharps also ranks ninth in three-point field-goal percentage (.371), going 26-for-70 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 wraps up regular-season action with road games at Seton Hall (Feb. 28) and St. John's (March 1).