Women's Basketball Plays Host to Bearcats in Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

Sunday, December 15

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 p.m.

Xavier University

Cincinnati

Tickets

Women's Basketball Plays Host to Bearcats in Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

12.12.24 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live Buy Tickets XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15 at Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball plays host to Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Sunday, Dec. 15. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Cintas Center.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-5) vs CINCINNATI BEARCATS (6-2)
Game Info - Sunday, Dec. 15 - 1 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3BrrRoC
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT CINCINNATI

2024-25 Record: 6-2
2023-24 Record: 14-18 (5-13 Big 12)
2024 Postseason: WNIT - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 27-18
Last Meeting: Cincinnati 69, Xavier 47 (Dec. 10, 2023 - Fifth Third Arena)

NOTABLES
• The Bearcats were picked 13th in the Preseason Big 12 Coaches' Poll. Cincinnati returns four starters and nine letterwinners from the 2023-24 roster.
• Cincinnati ranks 30th in the NCAA in scoring defense (54.5), 67th in turnovers forced per game (20.0) and 52nd in scoring margin (+16.6). The Bearcats also rank seventh in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (11.4) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.798).
• Jillian Hayes leads the team in scoring (19.5) and rebounding (9.8). She ranks 30th in the NCAA in scoring and 34th in rebounding.
• Tineya Hylton has added 14.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She leads the team in assists (33) and steals (18).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Cincinnati, 27-18. The Musketeers are 6-5 when playing the Bearcats at Cintas Center. Xavier is 3-1 in its last four home games vs Cincinnati.

• Xavier has won five of the last nine meetings between the two schools and 12 of the last 19 meetings. A total of 22 games in the rivalry have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

• Sunday's matchup will be the 21st meeting in December. Xavier is 10-10 versus Cincinnati when playing in the month of December.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS CINCINNATI
Dec. 10, 2023 - Cincinnati 69, Xavier 47 (Fifth Third Arena)
Dec. 9, 2022 - Xavier 48, Cincinnati 35 (Cintas Center)
Dec. 12, 2021 - Cincinnati 82, Xavier 73 (Fifth Third Arena)
Dec. 14, 2019 - Cincinnati 85, Xavier 78 (Cintas Center)
Dec. 16, 2018 - Cincinnati 79, Xavier 61 (Fifth Third Arena)

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 78-59 loss at Bowling Green on Dec. 7.
Meri Kanerva scored a team-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. She has scored in double figures six times this season.
Loren Christie added nine points and a team-high six rebounds. The forward matched her career high in blocks with four.
Daniela López had 14 points, three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of action off the bench. She has scored in double figures nine times in her career.
Aizhanique Mayo finished with 11 points, two assists and two steals. The guard now has 12 career double-figure scoring games. She knocked down a team-high three 3-pointers.

CHRISTIE BREAKOUT SEASON

Loren Christie entered the season with a career scoring average of 4.2 points per game and a career rebounding average of 3.9 rebounds per game. The forward also had a career field-goal percentage of .369 (166-for-450). She entered the season playing in 104 games over four seasons between two schools: Buffalo (2019-2022) and San Francisco (2022-23).
This season, Loren Christie has increased her scoring average by 7.8 points per game and her rebounding average by 2.5 rebounds per game. The forward has also posted a .512 field-goal percentage (44-for-86), an increase of 14.3 percent.
Loren Christie has 20 blocks through nine games. She posted a career-best 35 blocks during the 2021-22 season at Buffalo.

NOTABLE

Xavier went 0-2 last week with losses vs Creighton on Dec. 4 (L, 82-54) and Bowling Green on Dec. 7 (L, 78-59). Loren Christie averaged a team-best 15 points and seven rebounds per game in those two outings, while Meri Kanerva added 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Xavier posted a .407 field-goal percentage and averaged 56.6 points per game last week.
Meri Kanerva ranks second on the team in scoring (11.1) and in field-goal percentage (.476). The guard leads the team in total assists (24). She also ranks third in the BIG EAST among freshman in scoring.
Loren Christie leads the team in scoring (12.0) and rebounding (6.4). The forward ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking first in blocks (2.2). She also ranks 19th in the conference in scoring and 21st in field-goal percentage (.519).
Loren Christie ranks 27th in the NCAA in total blocks (20).
Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in steals (9.4), while ranking 115th in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 62nd in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (20.2). Tae'lor Purvis ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals (2.6), while ranking 52nd in the NCAA.
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in six of their nine games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
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

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 won the last meeting at Cintas Center on Dec. 9, 2022 (W, 48-35).
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 64 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 52-16 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

UP NEXT

Xavier closes non-conference action at the Raising The B.A.R. Invitational on Dec. 21-22 in Berkeley, Calif. The Musketeers play Temple at 11 p.m. ET on Dec. 21 at Haas Pavilion to open invitational action.