Women's Basketball Plays Host to Georgetown on Senior Day

Saturday, March 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Tickets

Women's Basketball Plays Host to Georgetown on Senior Day

02.29.24 | Women's Basketball

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Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball wraps up regular-season action on Saturday, March 2 vs Georgetown. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.

Xavier will recognize the accomplishments of its seniors prior to tip-off at approximately 1:38 p.m. The Musketeers will recognize the following players: Nila Blackford, Delaney Hogan, Mackayla Scarlett and Taylor Smith.

The game will also serve as the program's Mental Health Awareness Game presented by 1N5.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-25, 0-17) vs GEORGETOWN HOYAS (18-10, 8-9)
Saturday, March 2 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224) - Cincinnati, Ohio
Watch Live - flosports.link/3RvqOqo
Live Stats - bit.ly/430jxpc

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

• Georgetown was picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 14-17 (6-14 BIG EAST) record last year. Kelsey Ransom was named to the preseason all-conference team.

• The Hoyas have won two straight games, most recently a 70-63 win over Butler on Feb. 24. Georgetown is 9-5 in road games this season with a 3-5 mark in BIG EAST road contests.

• Georgetown leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense (55.2), while ranking 15th in the NCAA. The Hoyas also rank second in field-goal percentage defense (.375), while ranking 45th in the NCAA. Georgetown also ranks second in the conference in blocks (4.0), and third in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.294).

• Kelsey Ransom ranks 14th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.0), while ranking fifth in assists (4.1) and steals (2.2). Graceann Bennett ranks 25th in the conference in scoring (9.4), while ranking 10th in rebounding (7.3) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.502).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Georgetown, 14-9. The Musketeers are 2-5 in the last seven meetings vs the Hoyas.

• Xavier is 5-6 when playing the Hoyas at Cintas Center. The Musketeers last win over Georgetown at Cintas Center was on Feb. 28, 2021 (W, 58-48).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS GEORGETOWN
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.)
Feb. 25, 2022 - Georgetown 54, Xavier 40 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 28, 2022 - Xavier 70, Georgetown 67 (OT) (Washington, D.C.)

LAST MEETING VS GEORGETOWN

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools, 77-49, at McDonough Arena. Mackayla Scarlett scored a game-high 21 points to go along with a team-high three assists.

• Aanaya Harris finished with nine points and five rebounds. Aizhanique Mayo chipped in seven points, two steals and two assists.

• Daniela López finished with five points, one rebound and one assist.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Mackayla Scarlett was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 12. She is the only Xavier player to earn the recognition this season.

NOTABLES

• Mackayla Scarlett is averaging a team-high 13.7 points per game. She has scored in double figures 14 times this season with four, 20-point performances. The guard scored a season-high 26 points vs Creighton on Feb. 6.

• Aizhanique Mayo has added 10.0 points per game to rank second on the team scoring. The freshman guard scored a season-high 20 points vs Providence on Jan. 27. She has a team-best .356 three-point field-goal percentage (32-for-90).

• Nila Blackford ranks third on the team in scoring (8.5) and first in rebounding (8.0). The forward also ranks first in total blocks (15). Blackford has added 25 assists and 19 steals. She ranks tied for fourth in the BIG EAST in rebounding (8.0). She has 61 career double-figure scoring games and 34 career double-figure rebounding games.

• Tae'lor Purvis has a team-high 41 steals and 65 assists. She has added 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. The guard is averaging 29.3 minutes per game, ranking 29th in the BIG EAST. Purvis also ranks 11th in steals per game (1.6).

• Daniela López is averaging 31.7 minutes per game, ranking 14th in the BIG EAST. She leads all BIG EAST freshmen in the category. The guard is averaging 7.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season. López ranks 16th in the NCAA in minutes per game by a freshman. She has averaged 10.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in her last five outings.

• Xavier went 14-for-14 from the foul line on Jan. 27 vs Providence, the team's second game of the season going perfect from the charity stripe (went 11-for-11 at Villanova on Dec. 30). Previously, the last time the Musketeers were perfect from the charity stripe (minimum 10 made free throws) was on Dec. 22, 2018 vs New Orleans (10-for-10).

• Seven different Musketeers have led the team in scoring this season, paced by Mackayla Scarlett who has led the team in scoring 11 times. Five Musketeers are averaging 7.1 or more points per game this year.

• Xavier's freshmen have logged 42.9 percent of the team's 5,225 minutes this season. The Musketeer freshmen have played 2,245 minutes this season.

BIG EAST ONLY NOTABLES

• Mackayla Scarlett (13.8) and Aizhanique Mayo (9.8) lead the Musketeers in scoring during BIG EAST action. Scarlett has a team-high 27 steals, while Mayo has added a team-high 30 three pointers.

• Aizhanique Mayo ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring among freshmen, averaging 9.8 points per game. She also ranks ninth in three pointers made per game (1.8).

• Nila Blackford has chipped in a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game to go along with 6.6 points per game. The forward ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding.

• Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in three pointers made per game (6.5) and fifth in steals (7.0). The Musketeers also rank seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.307).

• Xavier's freshmen have logged 49.9 percent of the team's 3,400 minutes through 17 conference games. The Musketeer freshmen have played 1,699 minutes in those contests.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play teams from seven different leagues during non-conference action: Mid-American (3), Horizon (2), Sun Belt (2), American, Pac-12, Big 12 and Ohio Valley. The Musketeers non-conference opponents combined to post a 181-166 record last year with three postseason appearances.

• Xavier plays an 18-game BIG EAST schedule beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 20 vs DePaul. The Musketeers will only play UConn (Feb. 14) and Villanova (Dec. 30) once during the 2023-24 season.

• The 2024 BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on March 8-11. FOX Sports will air the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games.

• Xavier will play three nationally televised games: Jan. 13 vs Seton Hall (FS1), Feb. 14 vs UConn (SNY) and Feb. 21 at Butler (FS2).

• The Musketeers have won 60 non-conference games over the last seven seasons with a 48-15 mark at Cintas Center.

NATIONAL TV GAMES

Saturday, Jan. 13 vs Seton Hall - 4 PM - FS1
Wednesday, Feb. 14 vs UConn - 7 PM - SNY
Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Butler - 6:30 PM - FS2

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier is under the direction of first-year head coach Billi Chambers. She joined the Musketeers after spending 10 seasons at Iona University (2013-23). She led the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament twice (2015-16, 2022-23), captured two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular-Season Championships (2013-14, 2022-23) and won two MAAC Tournament Championships (2015-16, 2022-23). The conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances were program firsts.

• The two-time MAAC Coach of the Year led the Gaels to a 26-7 (18-2 MAAC) record in 2022-23 and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Three players earned All-MAAC honors, highlighted by Juana Camilion who was named the MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.

• Xavier returns three of its top five scorers from a year ago in Mackayla Scarlett (10.9), Taylor Smith (7.5) and Nila Blackford (6.3). Blackford also led the team in rebounding (5.5).

• The Musketeers also return Shelby Calhoun. The guard led the team in total assists (67), while ranking second in rebounding (4.6) and eighth in scoring (4.2).

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

1. UConn (10) - 100
2. Creighton (1) - 90
3. Marquette - 79
4. Villanova - 76
5. Seton Hall - 58
6. St. John's - 52
7. DePaul - 49
8. Butler - 37
9. Providence - 32
10. Georgetown - 20
11. Xavier - 12

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.

TICKET INFORMATION

• Season and single-game tickets are available for purchase at GoXavier.com/Tickets or by calling the Xavier Ticket Office at (513) 745-3411 x. 7.

UP NEXT

• Xavier will be the No. 11 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers will take on the No. 6 seed at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 8 from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.