Musketeers Continue Non-Conference Action vs Penguins

Tuesday, November 26

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Youngstown State

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Musketeers Continue Non-Conference Action vs Penguins

11.25.24 | Women's Basketball

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Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues its non-conference schedule vs Youngstown State on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-2) vs YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS (4-1)
Game Info - Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3OojxZx
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT YSU

2024-25 Record: 4-1
2023-24 Record: 14-18 (9-11 Horizon)
2024 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 4-3
Last Meeting: Youngstown State 55, Xavier 41 (Nov. 8, 2023 - Youngstown, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Youngstown State was picked to finish fifth in the Preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll. The Penguins are led by first-year head coach Melissa Jackson.
• The Penguins rank first in the Horizon League in scoring defense (50.0), while ranking 15th in the NCAA. Youngstown State also ranks 12th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage defense (.323), 15th in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.212) and 35th in rebounding marking (+9.8).
• Jewel Watkins leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game. Malia Magestro has added 14.2 points per game, while dishing out a team-high 11 assists. Abby Liber has added a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game to go along with 5.2 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Youngstown State, 4-3. The Musketeers are 2-0 in home games vs the Penguins.
Xavier and Youngstown State are meeting in Cincinnati for the first time since Dec. 31, 2004 (W, 67-57).
Youngstown State won the last meeting between the two schools, 55-41, on Nov. 8, 2023 in Youngstown, Ohio.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off an 89-69 loss at Kent State on Nov. 23.
Loren Christie scored a career-high 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting. She added four rebounds and two blocks.
Meri Kanerva matched her season high in scoring with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The guard added a team-high five assists.
Aizhanique Mayo posted 10 points, two steals and two rebounds. Tae'lor Purvis posted a game-high five steals and a team-high five rebounds.
Xavier forced 19 turnovers, converting the miscues into 26 points. The Musketeers also scored 12 more points in the paint (38-26) and scored eight more bench points (24-16).

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva ranks second on the team in scoring (9.0), while ranking first in field-goal percentage (.576). Her field-goal percentage ranks fourth in the BIG EAST (minimum 20 field-goals attempted). She also ranks fifth in the BIG EAST among freshman in scoring.
Loren Christie leads the team in scoring (11.0) and rebounding (6.4). The forward ranks 11th in the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking tied for second in blocks (2.0).
Xavier ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (11.0), while ranking 59th in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 38th in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (22.8). Tae'lor Purvis ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals (3.60).
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in all five games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Júlia Garcia Roig leads the team in free-throw percentage (.800), while ranking ninth in the BIG EAST and 184th in the NCAA.
The Musketeers went 10-for-24 from behind the arc vs the RedHawks on Nov. 10, the first time Xavier has made 10 or more three pointers in a game since Dec. 20, 2023 (11-for-27 vs DePaul; L, 76-55).
Xavier scored 71 points vs the RedHawks on Nov. 10, the first time Xavier has scored 70 or more points in a game since Nov. 27, 2022 at SIUE (W, 76-65).
Xavier scored 27 points in the opening quarter vs the RedHawks on Nov. 10, the most points in a quarter for the Musketeers since Nov. 13, 2022 vs Saint Francis (PA) at Cintas Center. The Musketeers scored 28 points in the third quarter vs the Red Flash (W, 78-52).
Xavier hit over 50 percent of its shot attempts in back-to-back games vs Miami (Ohio) and Mercyhurst - the first time the Musketeers have hit over 50 percent of their shot attempts in back-to-back games since Feb. 12, 2011 - Feb. 16, 2011 (Xavier hit 53.8 percent of its shot attempts in a 77-55 win vs Fordham on Feb. 12; Xavier hit 66.1 percent of its shot attempts in a 92-60 win at Saint Louis on Feb. 16).
The Musketeers scored 26 points off of turnovers vs Mercyhurst on Nov. 15. The last time Xavier scored 26 or more points off of turnovers was on Nov. 13, 2022 vs Saint Francis (PA) - scored 29 points off of turnovers in a 78-52 win at Cintas Center.

SCHEDULE NOTES

The Musketeers open conference action on Wednesday, Dec. 4 vs Creighton at Cintas Center.
Xavier will play two games on national television: Jan. 8 at UConn (SNY) and Feb. 8 at Seton Hall (FS1).
Xavier will play six home non-conference games at Cintas Center, including four straight to open the 2024-25 season. The Musketeers will play a total of 15 home games during the season (including nine home BIG EAST games).
Xavier will play teams from six different leagues during non-conference action: Mid-American (4), Horizon, Sun Belt, Big 12, Mountain West and Northeast. The Musketeers non-conference opponents combined to make three postseason appearances last season.
The Musketeers play host to Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 15 in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Xavier has won three straight home games in the series, most recently at 48-35 win on Dec. 9, 2022.
Xavier played three opponents for the first time in program history in Arkansas State, Mercyhurst and San Jose State.
Xavier will be playing Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Temple and Youngstown State for the second time in as many seasons.
The Musketeers have won 63 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 51-16 mark at Cintas Center.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier enters the season with 12 international players from the following countries: Spain (4), Finland, Australia, Slovakia, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, England, Republic of Georgia.
Xavier returns six letterwinners from the 2023-24 season, highlighted by Aizhanique Mayo who earned All-BIG EAST Freshman Team honors. The guard ranked second in conference only games among freshman in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. The Musketeers also return graduate student Tae'lor Purvis who led the team in assists (69) and steals (43) a year ago. The guard ranked 12th in the BIG EAST in steals last season.
The Musketeers also welcome back sophomores Júlia Garcia Roig and Daniela López. The Spanish guards combined to average 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during their freshmen campaigns, while adding 82 assists and 37 steals.
Second-year head coach Billi Chambers welcomes eight newcomers to the team this summer, including local standout MacKenzie Givens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton HS). Xavier also returns Loren Christie who brings a wealth of experience to the frontcourt, having played in 104 games during her college career - including a game in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. She missed the 2023-24 season due to injury.

XAVIER 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.

PRESEASON COACHES POLL

1. UConn – 100 (10 first-place votes)
2. Creighton – 91 (1)
3. Providence – 71
4. St. John's - 67
5. Georgetown – 66
6. Villanova – 56
7. Seton Hall – 51
8. Butler – 46
9. DePaul – 24
10. Marquette - 23
11. Xavier - 10

TICKET INFORMATION

Single-game tickets start as low as $10. Group tickets can be purchased for $3 (Groups of 15-24) and $2 (Groups of 25-99).
Fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $50 for 15 home games.
Xavier faculty and staff receive two complimentary tickets to all home games. Tickets can be claimed by showing your Xavier ID at the main ticket office window at the south entrance to Cintas Center.
For more information on season tickets, single-game tickets and group tickets - fans can contact the Xavier Athletics Ticket Office at (513) 745-3411 x7 or tickets@xavier.edu

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