Xavier Opens Second Half of BIG EAST Action vs Marquette

Wednesday, January 29

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Marquette

Tickets

Xavier Opens Second Half of BIG EAST Action vs Marquette

01.28.25 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center on Wednesday Night

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier opens the second half of BIG EAST play on Wednesday, Jan. 29 vs Marquette. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-14, 1-8) vs MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (13-6, 5-3)
Game Info - Wednesday, Jan. 29 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3EeElAW
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT MARQUETTE

2024-25 Record: 13-6 (5-3 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 23-9 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 23-7
Last Meeting: Marquette 86, Xavier 60 (Feb. 24, 2024 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Marquette was picked to finish 10th in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. The Golden Eagles are led by first-year head coach Cara Consuegra. She was an assistant coach at Marquette from 2004-11 and posted a 225-169 record in 13 seasons at Charlotte with seven postseason appearances.
• Three Marquette players are averaging 10 or more points this season: Skylar Forbes (15.9), Lee Volker (13.2) and Halle Vice (10.6). Vice has added a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game and a team-high .510 field-goal percentage (80-for-157).
• Marquette ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring offense (68.2), scoring defense (57.1) and field-goal percentage (.437). The Golden Eagles also rank second in field-goal percentage defense (.357) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.286).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Marquette, 23-7. The Musketeers have dropped 16 straight in the series.

• The Musketeers last win over the Golden Eagles was on Jan. 15, 2016 at Cintas Center (W, 71-66).

• Xavier is 3-18 vs the Golden Eagles since joining the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season. The Musketeers are 2-6 vs Marquette when playing at Cintas Center since the start of the 2013-14 season.

• Daniela López averaged 12.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in the two contests last season. Tae'lor Purvis added 8.5 points per game to go along with a team-high six assists and four steals.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Feb. 24, 2024 - Marquette 86, Xavier 60 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 6, 2024 - Marquette 81, Xavier 51 (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Feb. 25, 2023 - Marquette 58, Xavier 46 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 25, 2023 - Marquette 64, Xavier 40 (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Jan. 21, 2022 - Marquette 65, Xavier 46 (Milwaukee, Wis.)

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 67-52 loss at Villanova on Jan. 25.
Meri Kanerva scored a team-high 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. The guard also dished out three assists and pulled down a career-high six rebounds.
Aizhanique Mayo added eight points in 20 minutes of action off the bench. Júlia Garcia Roig finished with seven points, while Daniela López added six points and three rebounds.
Xavier posted .513 field-goal percentage (20-for-39), the team's fourth game of the year shooting 50 percent or better from the floor. The Musketeers were also 3-for-14 from behind the arc and 9-for-11 from the foul line.
Xavier scored eight more points in the paint (32-26) than Villanova and held a 27-15 advantage in bench points.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

WEEKLY HONORS
Jan. 20 - Loren Christie - Weekly Honor Roll

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 5.3 points per game and her rebounding average by 1.2 rebounds per game. The forward has also posted a .494 field-goal percentage (76-for-154), an increase of 12.5 percent.
Loren Christie has 38 blocks through 20 games. She posted a career-best 35 blocks during the 2021-22 season at Buffalo.

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (10.3) and assists (3.4). The freshman guard has added 23 steals and 26 three pointers.
Loren Christie ranks first on the team in rebounding (5.1), while ranking second in scoring (9.5). The forward ranks first in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.9), while ranking 33rd in the NCAA.
Loren Christie ranks 31st in the NCAA in total blocks (38). Xavier has 57 blocks on the year, ranking fifth in the BIG EAST.
Tae'lor Purvis leads the team in total steals (45), while ranking second in field-goal percentage (.459). The senior guard has added 6.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
The Musketeers rank fourth in the BIG EAST in turnovers forced per game (17.4). Tae'lor Purvis ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (2.3), while ranking 81st in the NCAA.
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in eight games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Aizhanique Mayo ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.4 points per game. The guard has made a team-high 30 three pointers.
Xavier has made 10 or more three pointers in a game three times this season.
In BIG EAST only games, the Musketeers rank fifth in the conference in three pointers made per game (6.1).
In BIG EAST only games, Meri Kanerva ranks fifth in the conference in assists (3.9).
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 lost 31 straight road games. The Musketeers have not won a true road game since Nov. 27, 2022 at SIUE (W, 73-65).

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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