Xavier Travels to Butler for Regular-Season Road Finale

Sunday, February 20

Indianapolis, Ind.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Butler

Xavier Travels to Butler for Regular-Season Road Finale

02.19.22 | Women's Basketball

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

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

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball travels to Butler for its regular-season road finale on Sunday, Feb. 20. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

THE MATCHUP AT BUTLER

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-17, 3-13) at BUTLER BULLDOGS (1-22, 0-14)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 20 - 7 p.m. ET - Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Live Video - bit.ly/34TjX7c
Live Stats - bit.ly/3oZW6JK

ABOUT BUTLER

2021-22 Record: 1-22 (0-14 BIG EAST)
2020-21 Record: 3-17 (3-15 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier trails, 31-20
Last Meeting: Xavier 77, Butler 55 (Dec. 29, 2021 - Cintas Center)
NOTABLES
• Butler is coming off a 69-41 loss to Providence on Feb. 16 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs are winless in BIG EAST action and have only one win this season (W, 75-67 at Evansville on Dec. 22).
• Celena Taborn leads the NCAA in field goal percentage (.681). The forward leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game.
• Butler ranks last in the BIG EAST in scoring offense (57.6), scoring defense (79.3) and scoring margin (-21.8). The Bulldogs also rank 10th in field-goal percentage (.392) and 11th in field-goal percentage defense (.455).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 31-20. The Musketeers snapped a five-game losing streak vs Butler earlier this season, topping the Bulldogs, 77-55, at Cintas Center on Dec. 29.

Xavier is 3-5 when playing at Butler since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14. The Musketeers have dropped three in a row at Butler with their last win at Hinkle Fieldhouse coming on Dec. 29, 2017 (W, 69-62).

• Nine of the last 13 meetings have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS BUTLER
Dec. 29, 2021 - Xavier 77, Butler 55 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 22, 2021 - Butler 73, Xavier 61 (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Jan. 31, 2020 - Butler 63, Xavier 61 (OT) (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Jan. 4, 2020 - Butler 78, Xavier 70 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 8, 2019 - Butler 63, Xavier 38 (Indianapolis, Ind.)

LAST TIME OUT VS THE BULLDOGS

• Xavier won the first meeting this season, 77-55, on Dec. 29 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers only had seven players dressed for the contest due to health and safety protocols.

• Mackayla Scarlett scored 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting. She added five rebounds and three assists. Ayanna Townsend added 12 points and three rebounds.

• Megan Harkey posted her first career double-double, scoring a career-high 11 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds. She added a career-high three blocks to go along with two steals in 23 minutes of action off the bench.

• Shaila Beeler added eight points and a career-high 11 assists. Courtney Prenger chipped in six points and five rebounds.

• Xavier knocked down a season-high six three pointers, paced by Mackayla Scarlett who had four. The Musketeer also finished the game going 11-for-14 from the charity stripe. Butler also made a season-high 11 three pointers in the game.

• Xavier won the battle on the glass, 41-38, and scored 16 more points off of turnovers (19-3). Xavier also held a 26-12 advantage in second-chance points. The Musketeers had seven more steals (9-2) than the Bulldogs.

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 89-35 loss to No. 10 UConn on Friday night at UConn. The 35 points were a season low for the Musketeers.

• Kaysia Woods scored a season-high 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting. She added two assists.

• Mackayla Scarlett chipped in seven points, while Ayanna Townsend finished with six. Shaila Beeler added four assists.

• Shelby Calhoun led the team on the glass with eight rebounds. Courtney Prenger chipped in six rebounds and two steals.

• Xavier was limited to a .240 field-goal percentage (12-for-50). The Musketeers were 5-for-12 from behind the arc and 6-for-9 from the foul line.

• UConn scored 29 points off of 23 Xavier turnovers. The Huskies also held a 35-26 advantage on the glass and scored 13 more fastbreak points (16-3). UConn hit 63 percent (34-for-54) of its shot attempts, the second-highest team field-goal percentage by a BIG EAST team this season (21st in NCAA).

BALANCED OFFENSE

• Xavier has had nine different players lead the team in scoring through 25 games. Aanaya Harris has led the team in scoring five times, followed by Ayanna Townsend (three times), Shaila Beeler (three times), Mackayla Scarlett (three), Shelby Calhoun (once), Mikayla Hayes (once) and Kaysia Woods (once).

• All told, six players are averaging 8.0 points per game or more this season. Five different players have dished out 35 or more assists this season.

NOTABLES

• Shelby Calhoun has averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in her last five games. She has added a team-high 11 steals during that stretch to go along with seven assists.

• Xavier ranks fourth the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage (.763), while ranking 26th in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 28th in the NCAA in free-throws made (348). Xavier has made more free throws than any other team in the BIG EAST this season (next closest team is DePaul with 327 free throws).

• Ayanna Townsend ranks 12th in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage (.471) and 17th in rebounding (5.2). Shaila Beeler ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage (.810) and seventh in assists (3.7).

• Freshman Aanaya Harris ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.4 points per game. She has hit 47.7 percent (84-for-176) of her shot attempts this season, ranking 10th in the BIG EAST. She ranks fourth on the team in total blocks (8) and fourth in total assists (40).

• Sophomore Mackayla Scarlett has averaged 8.0 points per game this season and has made a team-high 31 three pointers. The guard averaged 0.6 points per game as a freshman and made one three pointer. She is averaging 9.0 points per game in BIG EAST only games this season.

• 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.

• 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.

AYANNA TOWNSEND CAREER WATCH

• Ayanna Townsend has 74 career blocks, ranking eighth all-time at Xavier. She is four blocks away from moving into seventh place with Carol Madsen (1991-94).

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier played 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 began on Dec. 3 at Marquette and concludes on March 1 at Cintas Center vs Seton Hall. The Musketeers played 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. Xavier will play in an opening round game on Friday, March 5.

• 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 closes regular-season action with three straight home BIG EAST games. The Musketeers open the homestand on Friday, Feb. 25 vs Georgetown at 7 p.m.