Xavier Closes Regular-Season Action at St. John's

Sunday, March 1

Queens, N.Y.

4 P.M.

Xavier University

St. John's

Xavier Closes Regular-Season Action at St. John's

02.29.20 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live - BEDN Live Stats XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball closes out regular-season action on Sunday, March 1 at St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena.

THE MATCHUP AT ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-25, 2-15) at ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (17-11, 10-7)
Game Info - Sunday, March 1 - 4 p.m. ET - Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2SWP0X0
Live Stats - bit.ly/2TgHOnj

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2019-20 Record: 16-11 (9-7 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Record: 15-16 (7-11 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 11-2
Last Meeting: St. John's 75, Xavier 67 (Cincinnati, Ohio - Dec. 29, 2019)

NOTABLES
• St. John's has won three of its last four games, most recently defeating Butler, 85-80, in overtime on Friday night. The Red Storm are 10-3 at home this season.
• St. John's ranks second in the BIG EAST in three point field-goal percentage (.344), field-goal percentage (.424) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.310). The Red Storm also rank third in scoring offense (70.0) and free-throw percentage (.763).
• Junior Qadashah Hoppie ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.5), third in free-throw percentage (.842) and fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.412). She also leads the conference in three pointers made (49). Classmate Tiana England ranks third in assists (5.6).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with St. John's, 11-2. The Musketeers have dropped nine straight in the series. Xavier is also 0-9 when playing at St. John's.

• Xavier's last win over St. John's was on March 1, 2015 at Cintas Center by a score of 74-61.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS ST. JOHN'S
Dec. 29, 2019 - St. John's 75, Xavier 67 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 3, 2019 - St. John's 70, Xavier 41 (Queens, N.Y.)
Jan. 4, 2019 - St. John's 76, Xavier 57 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 4, 2018 - St. John's 70, Xavier 36 (Queens, N.Y.)
Jan. 7, 2018 - St. John's 67, Xavier 63 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

FIRST MEETING VS ST. JOHN'S

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 75-67, on Dec. 29, 2019. Junior A'riana Gray scored a game-high 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting. She added six rebounds and two assists.

• Redshirt-sophomore Sarah Leyendecker posted her first career double-double vs the Red Storm. The forward scored a career-high 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, while pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds.

• Junior Deja Ross and sophomore Carrie Gross both chipped in eight points. Junior Aaliyah Dunham added a game-high nine assists to go along with five points. The nine assists also matched Dunham's career high in assists.

• Xavier won the battle on the glass, 36-32, and scored 11 more second-chance points (15-4). St. John's scored six more points (15-9) off of turnovers.

NOTABLES VS ST. JOHN'S

• A'riana Gray has averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in five career games vs the Red Storm. She has added five steals, five assists and three blocks in those games.

• Aaliyah Dunham has averaged 6.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in five career games vs the Red Storm. She has added 14 assists and four steals in those games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 69-59 loss at Seton Hall on Friday night. Freshman Morgan Sharps led four Musketeers in double figures with 15 points. The guard was 5-for-7 from the floor with three 3-pointers. She added three rebounds and two steals. She has now scored in double figures nine times this season.

• Sophomore Lauren Wasylson scored 12 points to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Classmate Ayanna Townsend added 11 points, while A'riana Gray posted 10 points.

• Ayanna Townsend led the team on the glass with seven rebounds. Seton Hall won the battle on the glass, 32-31.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham added a game-high seven assists to go along with four points and three steals. She now has 309 career assists to rank 10th all-time at Xavier.

• Redshirt-freshman Sarah Leyendecker had four points, two rebounds and a steal in seven minutes of action. Friday's game was her first game since Jan. 26 at Providence (missed time due to injury).

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• A'riana Gray was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Feb. 24. The junior forward has earned the recognition five times this season.

• The junior forward averaged 20.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week as the Musketeers posted a 1-1 record.

2019-20 BIG EAST HONOREES
Feb. 24 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
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 (9.3) this season, while adding 16.3 points per game - ranking eighth in the BIG EAST. The junior forward ranks 51st in the NCAA in rebounds per game.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks third on the team in scoring (7.6), while leading the team in total assists (130) and total steals (52). The guard ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.6). She ranks 22nd in the NCAA in assist turnover ratio.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.395). She is 32-for-81 from the behind the arc.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps has 47 three pointers this year to rank third among BIG EAST freshmen. She also ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (.388).

• Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.331) and fourth in steals (7.5). The Musketeers rank 85th in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage.

• Sophomore Carrie Gross ranks second on the team in scoring (8.4) and fifth in rebounding (2.9) 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 10 BIG EAST games, the forward has posted 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game - while connecting on 46.2 percent (30-for-65) 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 732 career rebounds, raking ninth in career rebounding at Xavier. She is 10 rebounds away from moving into eighth place ahead of Jennifer Phillips (742 - 1997-01).

• Gray also has 962 career points. She is 38 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 309 career assists to rank 10th all-time at Xavier in assists. She is three assists away from moving into ninth place (312 assists - Kristy Wallner - 2002-06).

BIG EAST ONLY NOTABLES

• Through 17 BIG EAST games, the Musketeers rank fourth in steals (7.2) and fifth in blocks (3.3). Xavier also ranks seventh in assists (12.4).

• Junior A'riana Gray ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring (18.1) and rebounding (8.6).

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham is averaging 5.0 assists in BIG EAST play to rank fourth. Freshman Morgan Sharps also ranks ninth in three-point field-goal percentage (.382), going 29-for-76 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 played 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 returns to action at the BIG EAST Tournament on March 6-9 in Chicago, Ill.