Musketeers Travel to No. 24 St. John's on Sunday

Sunday, January 8

Queens, N.Y.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

Musketeers Travel to No. 24 St. John's on Sunday

01.07.23 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues BIG EAST action at No. 24 St. John's on Sunday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Carnesecca Arena.

THE MATCHUP AT ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-8, 0-6) at ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (13-1, 4-1)
Game Info - Sunday, Jan. 8 - 2 p.m. - Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Live Video (BEDN/FloSports) - flosports.link/3RvqOqo
Live Stats - bit.ly/2TgHOnj

ABOUT THE RED STORM

2022-23 Record: 13-1 (4-1 BIG EAST)
2021-22 Record: 12-19 (7-12 BIG EAST)
2021-22 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 16-2
Last Meeting: St. John's 76, Xavier 69 (March 4, 2022 - Uncasville, Conn.)

NOTABLES
• The Red Storm were picked to finish seventh in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-19 (7-12 BIG EAST) record last season. Kadaja Bailey was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• St. John's is back in the Associated Press Top-25 for the first time since 2015, checking in at No. 24 on Jan. 2. The Red Storm suffered their first loss of the season on Jan. 4 at Seton Hall (L, 72-51).
• The Red Storm lead the BIG EAST in scoring defense (54.6), while ranking 18th in the NCAA. St. John's also leads the conference in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.269), while ranking second in scoring margin (+14.5) and field-goal percentage defense (.367)
• Jayla Everett ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.6), while Kadaja Bailey ranks 12th (14.1). Rayven Peeples ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding (8.9), while Jillian Archer ranks fifth (8.7).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with St. John's, 16-2. The Musketeers have dropped 14 straight in the series and are 0-8 vs the Red Storm when playing at Carnesecca Arena.

• 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
March 4, 2022 - St. John's 76, Xavier 69 (Uncasville, Conn.)
Feb. 6, 2022 - St. John's 96, Xavier 62 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 2, 2022 - St. John's 83, Xavier 63 (Queens, N.Y.)
March 5, 2021 - St. John's 65, Xavier 57 (Uncasville, Conn.)
March 1, 2020 - St. John's 74, Xavier 37 (Queens, N.Y.)

XU VS THE TOP-25

• The Musketeers are 11-52 all-time against teams ranked in the top-25. The last time Xavier played a top-25 team was on Jan. 5, 2023 (L, 73-37 vs No. 5 UConn).

• The Musketeers last win over a top-25 team was on Nov. 26, 2009 over No. 18 Kansas, 76-71, at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 73-37 loss to No. 5 UConn on Jan. 5 at Cintas Center. UConn jumped out to an early 12-2 lead and led by as many as 41 points (67-26) with 7:56 left in regulation. The Huskies limited Xavier to a season-low 37 points and .215 field-goal percentage (14-for-65).

• Nila Blackford joined the 1,000-point club vs the Huskies. She finished with four points and team-high eight rebounds. The senior forward now has 1,002 career points (scored 968 points at Kent State from 2019-22). She added two blocks, one assist and a game-high four steals (matched her career high in steals).

• Taylor Smith scored a team-high 13 points, her 19th career double-figure scoring game. The guard added two rebounds and one block. Kaysia Woods finished with five points, two assists and two steals. Aanaya Harris scored four points and grabbed six rebounds.

• Xavier had 10 steals in the game, the team's fifth game of the year with 10 or more steals. The Musketeers also forced 22 turnovers, the second-most turnovers in a game by the Huskies this season. Xavier committed 13 turnovers, the fourth fewest in a game this season.

• UConn won the battle on the glass, 56-27, and scored 20 more points in the paint (32-12). The Huskies also scored three more points off of turnovers (13-10) and held a 14-5 advantage in second-chance points.

• Xavier went 14-for-65 from the floor and 5-for-26 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were 4-for-8 from the foul line.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Xavier has had two players earn Freshman of the Week honors this season, most recently Fernanda Ovalle on Nov. 28.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOREES
Nov. 14 - Kaleigh Addie - Freshman of the Week
Nov. 21 - Fernanda Ovalle - Freshman of the Week
Nov. 28 - Fernanda Ovalle - Freshman of the Week

BLACKFORD - 1,000 POINT CLUB

• Nila Blackford has 1,002 career points over four seasons of basketball (was at Kent State from 2019-22 before transferring to Xavier in the offseason). She has averaged 11.8 points per game during her career. Blackford is the first Xavier player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark since A'riana Gray (2017-21) who finished her career with 1,155 points.

NOTABLES

• Junior guard Mackayla Scarlett ranks 18th in the BIG EAST in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game. She averaged 0.6 points per game as a freshman and 8.1 points per game as a sophomore.

• Mackayla Scarlett ranks tied for eighth in the BIG EAST in three pointers made (28). Taylor Smith and Kaysia Woods rank second on the team in three pointers made (21).

• Two other Musketeers are averaging nine or more points per game in newcomers Taylor Smith (11.3) and Fernanda Ovalle (9.5). Ovalle also ranks second on the team in field-goal percentage (.455) and third in rebounding (5.1).

• Courtney Prenger is averaging 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The senior forward averaged 2.2 points and 3.0 rebounds last season. She also has 24 blocks this season to lead the Musketeers, while ranking tied for second in the BIG EAST.

• Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (.346). The Musketeers only hit 26 percent of their three pointers last season (ranking 11th in the BIG EAST). Xavier also ranks fourth in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.295).

• Xavier also ranks second in the BIG EAST in blocks (4.7) and fourth in steals (8.6). Mackayla Scarlett leads Xavier in both steals (20) and assists (43).

• Xavier ranks 61st in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage (.346) and 34th in blocks per game (4.7). Individually, Courtney Prenger ranks 39th in the NCAA in total blocks (24).

• Fernanda Ovalle (20 points) and Mackayla Scarlett (21 points) both set career highs in scoring at SIUE on Nov. 27. It marked the first time since Jan. 10, 2020 that Xavier had two players score 20 or more points in a game (A'riana Gray and Aaliyah Dunham each scored 20 points at Georgetown).

• Xavier defeated Cincinnati, 48-35, on Dec. 9 in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. The 35 points are the fewest allowed by a Xavier team since Nov. 17, 2018 vs Fairfield (W, 48-35). The .179 field-goal percentage is the lowest field-goal percentage allowed by a Xavier team since Nov. 25, 2015 (held Southeastern Louisiana to a .190 field-goal percentage on 11-for-58 shooting).

• Xavier dished out 30 assists on 33 made baskets (33-for-70) vs McNeese State, the most by a BIG EAST team this season and tied for the 10th most in a game this season in the NCAA. The 30 assists rank tied for second in single-game school history. The last time Xavier had 30 assists in a game was on Dec. 8, 1999 vs Charlotte.

• Xavier opened its season with an 87-68 win at Miami (Ohio). The 87 points are the most in a game for Xavier since Dec. 18, 2018 vs Alabama State (W, 87-58).

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Aanaya Harris returns for her sophomore season after posting 9.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She added 52 assists, 23 steals and eight blocks.

• Aanaya Harris added a .463 field-goal percentage, ranking second among BIG EAST freshmen and 14th overall. Her 9.2 points per game also ranked third among conference freshmen.

• Senior Shaila Beeler led the team in assists (117) and steals (34) last season, while adding 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. The guard ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage (.805) and fifth in assists (4.0).

• Xavier also welcomes five newcomers: Taylor Smith (missed 2021-22 season with an injury), Nila Blackford (transfer from Kent State), Fernanda Ovalle, Bella Ward and June Ruiz Azkue.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• The Musketeers will play five of their first six BIG EAST games at Cintas Center. Xavier opened its conference schedule on Black Friday vs Creighton who advanced to the 2022 NCAA Elite Eight.

• Xavier will play four games on national television: at Georgetown on Dec. 4 (FS1), vs Villanova on Jan. 1 (CBS Sports Network), vs UConn on Jan. 5 (SNY) and at UConn on Feb. 27 (CBS Sports Network).

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., for the third straight season. The tournament will be held on March 3-6.

• Xavier played nine non-conference games (two on the road, seven at home). The Musketeers played teams from seven different conferences (MAC, Horizon, NEC, Sun Belt, Southland, OVC, AAC). Xavier played three teams for the first time in program history (Old Dominion, SIUE, Eastern Michigan).

• Xavier played seven non-conference home games, the most non-conference home games for the Musketeers since 2018-19 (nine games).

• The Musketeers have won 59 non-conference games over the last seven seasons with a 47-12 mark at Cintas Center.

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.

BIG EAST COACHES' POLL

1.	UConn (10)	100
2.	Creighton	89
3.	Villanova (1)	83
T-4.	DePaul	68
T-4.	Seton Hall	68
6.	Marquette	56
7.	St. John's	47
8.	Providence	34
T-9.	Butler	21
T-9.	Georgetown	21
11.	Xavier	18