Xavier Opens BIG EAST Action vs Creighton

Wednesday, December 4

Cincinnati, Ohio

11 a.m.

Xavier University

Creighton

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12.02.24 | Women's Basketball

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Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. from Cintas Center on Dec. 4

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball opens BIG EAST action on Wednesday, Dec. 4 vs Creighton. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. ET from Cintas Center.

The game will serve as the program's annual Kid's Day game with over 4,000 local elementary students expected in attendance.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-3, 0-0) vs CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (5-2, 0-0)
Game Info - Wednesday, Dec. 4 - 11 a.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3VmhQzF
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2024-25 Record: 5-2 (0-0)
2023-24 Record: 26-6 (15-3)
2024 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 19-2
Last Meeting: Creighton 99, Xavier 57 (Feb. 27, 2024 - Omaha, Neb.)

NOTABLES
• Creighton was picked to finish second in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. The Bluejays received one, first-place vote. Seniors Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly were named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Creighton has won four straight games, most recently an 81-59 win at Tulsa on Dec. 1. The Bluejays rank 39th in the first edition of the NCAA NET Ranking (Dec. 1).
• Creighton ranks 43rd in the NCAA in scoring offense (79.6), 34th in field-goal percentage (.468) and 10th in three-point field-goal percentage (.398). The Bluejays also rank fourth in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.76) and 27th in free-throw percentage (.775).
• Lauren Jensen leads the team in scoring (20.6) and rebounding (4.9). Morgan Maly has added 17.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Creighton, 19-2. Xavier has dropped 15 straight in the series and is 2-9 when playing at Cintas Center.
• The Musketeers last win in the series was on Feb. 7, 2016 at Cintas Center. Xavier won the game, 57-55.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS CREIGHTON
Feb. 27, 2024 - Creighton 99, Xavier 57 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 6, 2024 - Creighton 77, Xavier 46 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 12, 2023 - Creighton 73, Xavier 53 (Omaha, Neb.)
Nov. 25, 2022 - Creighton 57, Xavier 51 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 11, 2022 - Creighton 68, Xavier 47 (Omaha, Neb.)

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier dropped a 72-60 road game at Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon at the Gervin GameAbove Center.
The Musketeers led by 20 points (45-25) at halftime, but the Eagles stormed back in the second half - outscoring Xavier, 47-15, to earn their first win of the season.
Loren Christie finished with 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting, her 18th career game in double figures. The forward added five rebounds, three assists and a game-high three blocks.
Meri Kanerva matched her career high in scoring for the second time in as many games, scoring 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting. The freshman guard added four rebounds, two assists and two steals. She has five double-figure scoring games this season.
Aizhanique Mayo finished with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting. The guard added three rebounds and two assists. She now has 11 career double-figure scoring games.

LAST WEEK NOTABLES

Meri Kanerva averaged a team-best 17.0 points per game behind a .464 field-goal percentage (13-for-28). The freshman guard was also 7-for-12 from behind the arc and recorded a team-high seven assists and five steals.
Loren Christie added 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last week. The forward added a team-high four blocks and went 11-for-22 from the floor.
Aizhanique Mayo averaged 11.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last week. She added three assists and knocked down four 3-pointers.
Xavier averaged 60.5 points per game last week, while limiting opponents to only 57.5 points per game. The Musketeers forced 39 turnovers and recorded 20 steals.

BIG EAST OPENERS

Xavier is 2-9 all-time in BIG EAST openers. The Musketeers are 4-7 in BIG EAST home openers.
A win on Wednesday would be Xavier's first BIG EAST home opener victory since Dec. 29, 2021 vs Butler (W, 77-55).

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (11.3) and field-goal percentage (.525). Her field-goal percentage ranks 10th in the BIG EAST (minimum 30 field-goals attempted). She also ranks third in the BIG EAST among freshman in scoring.
Loren Christie leads the team in rebounding (6.3), while ranking second in scoring (11.1). The forward ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking second in blocks (2.0).
Xavier ranks tied for third in the BIG EAST in steals (10.7), while ranking 62nd in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 41st in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (21.9). Tae'lor Purvis ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals (3.3), while ranking 15th in the NCAA.
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in six of their seven games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Xavier ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (59.8), while ranking 118th in the NCAA. The Musketeers also rank sixth in the conference in blocks (3.4) and field-goal percentage defense (.402).
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 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

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