Women's Basketball Returns to Non-Conference Action at Bowling Green

Saturday, December 7

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Bowling Green

Women's Basketball Returns to Non-Conference Action at Bowling Green

12.06.24 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Stroh Center on Saturday, Dec. 7

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues non-conference action at Bowling Green on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Stroh Center.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-4) at BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (4-4)
Game Info - Saturday, Dec. 7 - 7 p.m. ET - Stroh Center (4,347)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4gj2Dr7
Watch Live (ESPN+) - es.pn/4glcMnd

ABOUT BOWLING GREEN

2024-25 Record: 4-4
2023-24 Record: 16-15 (10-8 MAC)
2024 Postseason: WNIT - First Round
Series History: Series tied, 4-4
Last Meeting: Bowling Green 73, Xavier 64 (Cincinnati, Ohio - Nov. 18, 2023)

NOTABLES
• Bowling Green was picked to finish fourth in the Preseason MAC Coaches' Poll. Senior guard Amy Velasco was named to the preseason all-conference first team, while graduate student forward Erika Porter was named to the second team.
• The Falcons have won two straight games, most recently defeating Arkansas, 79-78, on Nov. 30 at the Daytona Beach Classic. BGSU has played two top-15 teams (West Virginia and Ohio State) this season and rank 112th in the latest NET Rankings (Dec. 4).
• Amy Velasco leads three players in double figures, averaging 19.5 points per game - ranking third in the MAC and 27th in the NCAA. She has added a team-high 41 assists, while hitting 51 percent (51-for-100) of her shot attempts.
• Paige Kohler has added 12.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Erika Porter has recorded 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
• Bowling Green ranks fifth in the MAC in scoring offense (69.4) and eighth in scoring defense (68.9).

SERIES HISTORY

The series between Bowling Green and Xavier is tied at 4-4. The Falcons won the last meeting between the two schools, 74-64, at Cintas Center on Nov. 18, 2023. Returners Lexi Fleming, Paige Kohler and Amy Velasco combined for 51 points for the Falcons in the meeting last season.
Xavier is 1-3 when playing at Bowling Green. The Musketeers lone road win in the series was on Dec. 30, 1998 (W, 92-75).
Bowling Green won the last meeting at the Stroh Center, 63-53, on Dec. 6, 2017.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off an 82-54 loss to Creighton on Dec. 4 at Cintas Center. The game was the BIG EAST opener for both schools.
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.
Xavier hit 56.6 percent (13-for-23) of its shot attempts in the second half and was only outscored by five points (40-35), but couldn't over come a slow start to the first half. The Bluejays outscored the Musketeers, 42-19, in the first half. Xavier was limited to 8-for-27 shooting in the first half.
Loren Christie posted a career-high 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting. She also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and had a team-high two blocks. The forward now has 19 career double-figure scoring games.
Tae'lor Purvis and Júlia Garcia Roig both added nine points. Purvis added four rebounds, while Garcia Roig chipped in a team-high two steals.
Meri Kanerva finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists. Irune Orio posted a team-high five assists to go along with two points.
The Musketeers posted a .420 field-goal percentage (21-for-50) and went 5-for-15 from behind the arc. Xavier was also 7-for-13 from the foul line.

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 8.2 points per game and her rebounding average by 2.6 rebounds per game. The forward has also posted a .519 field-goal percentage (41-for-79), an increase of 15 percent.
Loren Christie has 16 blocks through eight games, one block away from matching her season total at San Francisco (28 games played). She posted a career-best 35 blocks during the 2021-22 season at Buffalo.

NOTABLE

Loren Christie has averaged a team-best 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in the team's last three outings. The forward has added nine assists, six blocks and a .526 field-goal percentage (20-for-38).
Meri Kanerva has averaged 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assist per game in the team's last three outings. She added five steals and a team-high eight 3-pointers (8-for-16) in those games.
Meri Kanerva ranks second on the team in scoring (10.6) and third in field-goal percentage (.493). The guard leads the team in total assists (22). She also ranks third in the BIG EAST among freshman in scoring.
Loren Christie leads the team in scoring (12.4) and rebounding (6.5). The forward ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking second in blocks (2.0). She also ranks 17th in the conference in scoring and seventh in field-goal percentage (.519).
Loren Christie ranks 37th in the NCAA in total blocks (16) and 98th in field-goal percentage (.519).
Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in steals (9.8), while ranking 101st in the NCAA. The Musketeers rank 59th in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (20.6). Tae'lor Purvis ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (2.8), while ranking 35th in the NCAA.
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in six of their eight 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 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

UP NEXT

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