Musketeers Return to BIG EAST Action at Georgetown

Monday, December 30

Washington, D.C.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Musketeers Return to BIG EAST Action at Georgetown

12.29.24 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on Monday night at McDonough Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier returns to BIG EAST action on Monday, Dec. 30 at Georgetown. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from McDonough Arena.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (5-7, 0-1) at GEORGETOWN HOYAS (7-5, 0-1)
Game Info - Monday, Dec. 30 - 7 p.m. ET - McDonough Arena (2,200)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3DxYpOB
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

2024-25 Record: 7-5 (0-1 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 23-12 (9-9 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 15-10
Last Meeting: Georgetown 62, Xavier 40 (March 8, 2024 - Uncasville, Conn.)

NOTABLES
• Georgetown was picked to finish fifth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Graduate student Kelsey Ransom was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Hoyas improved to 3-1 in home games following a 78-68 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 28. Kelsey Ransom scored 29 points in the win.
• Three Hoyas are averaging double figures this season: Kelsey Ransom (20.6), Ariel Jenkins (12.4) and Victoria Rivera (12.1). Ransom has added 6.2 rebounds per game and a team-high 52 assists and 25 steals. Jenkins has added a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game.
• Georgetown ranks third in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.377), three-point field-goal percentage (.354) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.301).
• Kelsey Ransom ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.6) and assists (4.3), while ranking ninth in rebounding (6.2). She also ranks seventh in steals (2.1) and eighth in field-goal percentage (.466).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Georgetown, 15-10. The Musketeers have dropped six straight in the series.

• The Musketeers are 3-8 when playing at McDonough Arena since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14. Xavier is looking for its first win over the Hoyas since Jan. 28, 2022 (W, 70-67 in overtime at McDonough Arena).

• Xavier went 0-3 vs the Hoyas last season. The Musketeers averaged 45.0 points per game in the series, while allowing 68.3 points per game. Aizhanique Mayo averaged 9.7 points per game in the series.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS GEORGETOWN
March 8, 2024 - Georgetown 62, Xavier 40 (Uncasville, Conn.)
March 2, 2024 - Georgetown 66, Xavier 46 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 20, 2024 - Georgetown 77, Xavier 49 (Washington, D.C.)
Jan. 31, 2023 - Georgetown 44, Xavier 41 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Dec. 4, 2022 - Georgetown 74, Xavier 52 (Washington, D.C.)

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 71-62 win over Fordham at the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. Meri Kanerva and Tae'lor Purvis combined for 36 points.
Tae'lor Purvis scored a career-high 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting. She added a team-high seven rebounds to go along with two steals and one assist.
Meri Kanerva matched her career high in scoring with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Aizhanique Mayo added 11 points in 31 minutes of action off the bench. Loren Christie finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Xavier had four players score in double figures for the second time this season (also had four double-figure scorers vs Miami University on Nov. 10; W, 71-66).
The Musketeers made a season-high 25 free throws (25-for-32). The last time Xavier made 25 free throws in a game was on Feb. 13, 2022 at Providence (W, 62-60).
Xavier limited the Rams to a season-low .320 field-goal percentage (24-for-75).
The win snapped Xavier's 27 road-game losing streak. Before Sunday's win, the Musketeers last win away from Cintas Center was on Nov. 27, 2022 at SIUE (W, 73-65).

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 6.4 points per game and her rebounding average by 1.9 rebounds per game. The forward has also posted a .500 field-goal percentage (49-for-98), an increase of 13.1 percent.
Loren Christie has 23 blocks through 12 games. She posted a career-best 35 blocks during the 2021-22 season at Buffalo.

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva averaged a team-high 12.0 points per game at the Raising B.A.R. Invitational. She added five assists and three steals. The freshman guard was named to the all-tournament team.
Meri Kanerva ranks first on the team in scoring (11.3), while ranking 20th in the BIG EAST. The guard also leads the team in total assists (35). She also ranks third in the BIG EAST among freshman in scoring.
Loren Christie ranks second on the team in scoring (10.6), while leading the team rebounding (5.8). The forward ranks 12th in the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking first in blocks (1.9).
Loren Christie ranks 36th in the NCAA in total blocks (23). Xavier has 89 blocks on the year, ranking tied for 10th in single-season school history.
Júlia Garcia Roig leads the team in field-goal percentage (.532), while ranking 13th in the BIG EAST. The guard ranks sixth on the team in scoring (5.9) and second in total steals (16).
Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals (8.4), while ranking 176th in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 85th in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (19.0). Tae'lor Purvis ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in steals (2.2), while ranking 132nd in the NCAA.
Xavier is averaging 1.6 more steals per game this season than during the 2023-24 campaign (8.4 vs 6.8).
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in six games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.405) and blocks (3.0).
The Musketeers made a season-high 11 three pointers vs Temple on Dec. 21. Xavier has made 10 or more three pointers in a game twice this season.
Xavier has scored a season-high 71 points twice this season. The Musketeers did not score 70 or more points during the 2023-24 season and only scored 70 or more points four times during the 2022-23 campaign.
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.
Xavier has dropped 41 straight BIG EAST games. The last time Xavier won a BIG EAST game was on Feb. 20, 2022 at Butler (W, 73-54).

SCHEDULE NOTES

Xavier will play two games on national television: Jan. 8 at UConn (SNY) and Feb. 8 at Seton Hall (FS1).
Xavier played 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 played 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.
Xavier played three opponents for the first time in program history in Arkansas State, Mercyhurst and San Jose State.
Xavier played Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Temple and Youngstown State for the second time in as many seasons.
The Musketeers have won 65 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 52-17 mark at Cintas Center.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier entered 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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