Women's Basketball Concludes Three-Game Road Trip at St. John's

Women's Basketball Concludes Three-Game Road Trip at St. John's

01.31.22 | Women's Basketball

Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball concludes its three-game road swing at St. John's on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena.

THE MATCHUP AT ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-12, 2-8) at ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (6-14, 2-8)
Game Info - Wednesday, Feb. 2 - 6 p.m. ET - Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Live Video - bit.ly/3ANlirx
Live Stats - bit.ly/2TgHOnj

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2021-22 Record: 6-14 (2-8 BIG EAST)
2020-21 Record: 8-15 (4-12 BIG EAST)
2021 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 13-2
Last Meeting: St. John's 65, Xavier 57 (March 5, 2021 - Uncasville, Conn.)

NOTABLES
• St. John's ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring offense (73.8), third in three-pointers per game (7.8) and fifth in field-goal percentage (.434). The Red Storm rank 37th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage.
• Two of the top five scorers in the BIG EAST play for the Red Storm. Leilani Correa ranks second in the conference in scoring (18.7), while Kadaja Bailey ranks fifth (15.2). Correa ranks 58th in the NCAA in field-goals made (123).
• St. John's has dropped two straight games and 10 of its last 11 contests. The Red Storm last won a game on Jan. 25 at Georgetown (W, 80-52). St. John's is 4-4 at home this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with St. John's, 13-2. The Musketeers have dropped 11 straight in the series.

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

• St. John's won the last meeting between the two schools, 65-57, on March 5, 2021 in the BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena. Xavier and St. John's did not play during the 2020-21 regular-season due to COVID-19 cancelations.

• Kae Satterfield had 13 points and six rebounds in the meeting last season at the conference tournament. Nia Clark added seven points and three assists.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS ST. JOHN'S
March 5, 2021 - St. John's 65, Xavier 57 (Uncasville, Conn.)
March 1, 2020 - St. John's 74, Xavier 37 (Queens, N.Y.)
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)

BIG EAST HONOREES

WEEKLY HONOREES
Nov. 22 - Nia Clark - BIG EAST Player of the Week
Dec. 20 - Ayanna Townsend - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Jan. 3 - Kae Satterfield - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off an 82-57 loss at Villanova on Jan. 30. Nia Clark scored a team-high 11 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

• Kae Satterfield added nine points on 4-for-6 shooting. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

• Ayanna Townsend posted nine points, one steal and one rebound. Shelby Calhoun had six rebounds, four points, two assists and two steals in 20 minutes of action off the bench.

• Shaila Beeler finished with seven points and a team-high three assists. Kaysia Woods added six points via two second-half three pointers.

• Villanova won the battle on the glass, 41-29, and scored eight more points off of turnovers (16-8) than the Musketeers. Xavier scored six more bench points (19-13) than the Wildcats and held a 14-5 advantage in fastbreak points.

LAST WEEKEND

• Xavier went 1-1 last weekend with a win over Georgetown (Jan. 28) and a loss to Villanova (Jan. 30). The Musketeers had three players average 10 or more points per game last weekend and posted four more steals (18-14) than their opponents.

• Nia Clark averaged a team-best 15.5 points last weekend. In her previous three games in January, she only averaged 3.6 points per game.

• Kae Satterfield averaged 12.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last weekend, while going 11-for-11 from the foul line. Ayanna Townsend chipped in 10.5 points per game.

BALANCED OFFENSE

• Xavier has had eight different players lead the team in scoring through 19 games. Nia Clark has led the team in scoring in seven games, followed by Aanaya Harris (four times), Kae Satterfield (three times), Shaila Beeler (twice), Mackayla Scarlett (twice), Ayanna Townsend (twice), Shelby Calhoun (once) and Mikayla Hayes (once).

• All told, six players are averaging 7.5 points per game or more this season. Five different players have dished out 20 or more assists this season.

NOTABLES

• Xavier ranks second in the BIG EAST with seven newcomers, only trailing Providence (eight newcomers).

• Xavier is replacing over half of its points, rebounds and assists from players who departed the program in the offseason. The Musketeers lost 57.9 percent of their total points (549), 54.8 percent of their total rebounds (297) and 66.7 percent of their total assists (140).

• All told, the Musketeers five players who graduated in the offseason (A'riana Gray, Aaliyah Dunham, Sarah Leyendecker, Lauren Wasylson, Deja Ross) combined for the following career statistics: 406 games played, 2,933 points, 1,764 rebounds and 636 assists.

• Xavier ranks fourth the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage (.763), while ranking 31st in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 62nd in the NCAA in free-throws made (255).

• Kae Satterfield leads the team in rebounding (7.4), while ranking second in scoring (10.1). She has hit 90.4 percent (47-for-52) of her free throws, ranking second in the BIG EAST. She also ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding.

• Nia Clark ranks 20th in the BIG EAST in scoring (12.3), 12th in steals (1.4) and 15th in assists (3.0). Ayanna Townsend ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage (.480) and 16th in rebounding (5.4).

• Freshman Aanaya Harris ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. She has hit 47.8 percent (65-for-136) of her shot attempts this season, ranking 11th in the BIG EAST. She ranks fourth on the team in total blocks (8) and fourth in total assists (37).

• Sophomore Mackayla Scarlett has averaged 7.5 points per game this season and has made a team-high 22 three pointers. The guard averaged 0.6 points per game as a freshman and made one three pointer.

• Xavier picked up its first BIG EAST win of the season on Dec. 29, defeating Butler, 77-55, at Cintas Center. The 22-point win was the third largest margin of victory for the Musketeers vs a BIG EAST opponent since joining the conference in 2013-14.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier returns two of its top three scorers from last season in Nia Clark and Kae Satterfield. The Musketeers finished the season with a 5-10 (2-8 BIG EAST) record.

• Nia Clark averaged 11.5 points per game last season, ranking second on the team. She also led the team in three pointers made (16) and total steals (26). The Indianapolis, Ind., native averaged 2.0 steals per game, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST and 126th in the NCAA.

• Kae Satterfield averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. She ranked second on the team in rebounding, while ranking 14th in the BIG EAST. The New York, N.Y., native also posted a team-best .468 field-goal percentage (58-for-124).

• The Musketeers welcome seven newcomers to the team this season, comprised of four transfers and three true freshmen. The four transfers are Shelby Calhoun (Virginia Tech), Mikayla Hayes (Florida/Clemson), Taylor Smith (Ole Miss) and Shaila Beeler (Indiana/Vincennes). The true freshman are Kaysia Woods (Lincoln, Neb.), Kaybriana Hallman (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Aanaya Harris (Omaha, Neb.).

AYANNA TOWNSEND CAREER WATCH

• Ayanna Townsend has 71 career blocks, ranking eighth all-time at Xavier. She is seven blocks away from moving into seventh place with Carol Madsen (1991-94).

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play nine non-conference games (five on the road, four at home). The Musketeers will play teams from eight different conferences (AAC, Pac-12, MAC, MVC, Horizon, ASUN, MAAC, OVC). The contest with Niagara on Dec. 8 will be the first meeting between the two schools.

• Xavier plays six teams that advanced to postseason action last season: Wright State (NCAA), Marquette (NCAA), UConn (NCAA), Villanova (WNIT), DePaul (WNIT), Creighton (WNIT).

• The Musketeers will play four games on national television: Jan. 15 at UConn (SNY), Jan. 23 vs DePaul (CBS Sports Network), Feb. 13 at Providence (FS1) and Feb. 18 vs UConn (SNY). Xavier's remaining 16 conference games will be aired BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) presented by SoFi. FloSports will serve as the digital home for conference women's basketball for the second straight season.

• The conference season begins on Dec. 3 at Marquette and concludes on Feb. 27 at Cintas Center vs Villanova. The Musketeers will play four BIG EAST games before the start of 2022.

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be held at Mohegan Sun Arena for the second straight year. The tournament will be held on March 5-7.

• The Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout returns after the game was canceled last season due to COVID-19 issues. Xavier has won four of the last six meetings between the two teams and 11 of the last 16 meetings. The game will be played at Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, Dec. 12.

• The Musketeers have won 52 non-conference games over the last six seasons with a 42-10 mark at Cintas Center.

BIG EAST COACHES' POLL

1.	UConn (10)	100
2.	DePaul (1)	90
3.	Seton Hall	80
4.	Marquette	74
5.	Villanova	62
6.	Creighton	54
7.	St. John's	51
8.	Providence	32
9.	Georgetown	27
10.	Xavier	18
11.	Butler	17

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 Cintas Center for back-to-back home games on Feb. 4 (Seton Hall) and Feb. 6 (St. John's).