Non-Conference Action Continues vs Long Island

Tuesday, December 9

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Long Island

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Non-Conference Action Continues vs Long Island

12.08.25 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+Varsity Network

Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball continues non-conference action vs Long Island on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. with the game being aired on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-3) vs LONG ISLAND SHARKS (4-4)
Game Info - Tuesday, Dec. 9 - 6:30 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224) - Cincinnati, Ohio
Live Stats - statb.us/b/621523
ESPN+ - bit.ly/4oSqp1m
Varsity Network - bit.ly/43a3vKI

PROMOTIONS

1N5 Night
T-shirt Giveaway
Self-Care Package Enter-to-Win

ABOUT THE SHARKS

2025-26 Record: 4-4 (0-0 NEC)
2024-25 Record: 6-24 (3-13 NEC)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: First Meeting

NOTABLES
• Long Island was picked to finish eighth in the Preseason NEC Coaches' Poll. The Sharks are led by first-year head coach Neil Harrow. Long Island has 12 newcomers on the 2025-26 roster.
• Long Island is 2-3 in road games this season, most recently coming off an 81-72 loss at Dayton on Dec. 7.
• Kadidia Toure ranks first in the NEC and 29th in the NCAA in scoring (19.4). She also ranks first in the NEC and 48th in the NCAA in rebounding (9.3). The forward has hit 48 percent of her shot attempts, ranking first in the NEC and 132nd in the NCAA.
• The Sharks rank first in the NEC and ninth in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.236). Long Island ranks first in the NEC in scoring offense (67.6) and second in scoring defense (61.0).

LAST WEEK

Xavier went 2-0 last week with wins over Providence and Cincinnati. The Musketeers averaged 69.0 points per game with a .451 field-goal percentage. Defensively, Xavier limited its opponents to 58.5 points per game and a .352 field-goal percentage.
MacKenzie Givens was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 8, earning the honors for the first time in her career.
Four Musketeers averaged double figures last week: Mariyah Noel (21.0), MacKenzie Givens (17.5), Meri Kanerva (11.0) and Savannah White (10.0).
MacKenzie Givens added a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game to go along with a .464 field-goal percentage. Mariyah Noel added 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Meri Kanerva added 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. White added 6.5 rebounds per game and a team-high four steals.
MacKenzie Givens scored a game and career-high 25 points at Cincinnati on Dec. 7, becoming the first Xavier player to score 25 or more points in a Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout since Amber Harris dropped 32 points on the Bearcats on Jan. 17, 2007 at Fifth Third Arena (W, 89-76).

NOTABLES

Mariyah Noel is averaging 17.7 points per game, ranking fourth in the BIG EAST and 64th in the NCAA. The junior guard entered the season with a 1.8 points per game scoring averaging in 39 games at Ole Miss. She also ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.2), while ranking eighth in the BIG EAST. Noel is one of four players who rank in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in both rebounding and scoring.
Savannah White is averaging a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game to go along with 8.4 points per game. She ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 184th in the NCAA. The forward also ranks third in the BIG EAST and 60thth in the NCAA in blocks per game (1.6). White has added a team-high 13 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 8.7 points per game. She has added a team-high 32 assists and 13 steals. The guard is averaging 36.8 minutes per game, ranking first in the BIG EAST and fourth in the NCAA.
Xavier ranks second in the BIG EAST and 12th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.806). The Musketeers only hit 65.2 percent of their free throws last season, ranking 11th in the BIG EAST and 321st in the NCAA.
The Musketeers rank fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (4.1) and free throws made per game (12.0). Xavier also ranks fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.377).
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season. She averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game last season. Givens ranks first on the team in field-goal percentage (.484).
Mariyah Noel posted back-to-back games with 22 points on Nov. 7-11, becoming the first player to score 20 or more points in consecutive games since A'riana Gray in 2020 (scored 20 points in back-to-back games on Jan. 10-12).
Xavier posted a 74-53 win vs Ohio on Nov. 20 at Cintas Center. The 21-point margin of victory was Xavier's largest margin of victory since Dec. 15, 2023 vs SIUE (W, 68-43).
Xavier scored 74 or more points in a home game for the first time since Nov. 22, 2022 (W, 84-68 vs McNeese State).
Xavier had two players with 11 or more rebounds in a game for the first time since Dec. 19, 2021 (W, 65-58 vs Southeast Missouri) vs Ohio on Nov. 20.
Xavier had 20 assists vs Ohio on Nov. 20, the first time the Musketeers posted 20 or more assists in a game since Dec. 15, 2023 (23 assists in a 68-43 win vs SIUE).
Xavier had 12 steals vs New Haven on Nov. 4, the 11th time the Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in a game over the last two seasons.
Xavier has pulled down 43 rebounds in a game twice this season. The last time Xavier had 43 or more rebounds in a game was on Dec. 9, 2022 vs Cincinnati (47 rebounds; W, 48-35).

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

Nov. 24 - Mariyah Noel - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Nov. 17 - Mariyah Noel - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 8 - MacKenzie Givens - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

KANERVA NAMED TO ALL-BIG EAST TEAM

Meri Kanerva was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team on Oct. 21 at BIG EAST Media Day at Madison Square Garden. She is the first Musketeer to pick-up preseason all-conference honors since A'riana Gray in 2020.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Xavier will play seven non-conference home games at Cintas Center, including five straight to open the 2025-26 season. The Musketeers will play a total of 17 home games during the season (10 home BIG EAST games; seven non-conference games).
The Musketeers have won 69 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 55-19 mark at Cintas Center.
Xavier will play teams from five different leagues during non-conference action: Mid-American (3), Northeast (3), Horizon, Big 12 and Atlantic 10. The Musketeers non-conference opponents combined to make two postseason appearances last season.
Xavier snapped its two-game losing streak in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout series on Dec. 7 and pick up its first win at Fifth Third Arena since Dec. 11, 2016 (W, 72-61). Xavier is 13-8 in the last 21 meetings vs the Bearcats with a 7-4 record in games played at Fifth Third Arena.
Xavier will play two opponents for the first time in program history in New Haven and Long Island.
Xavier played Kent State for the third time in as many seasons.
The Musketeers renewed their rivalry with Dayton on Nov. 11. The two teams played each other for the first time since Feb. 7, 2013.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier returns six letterwinners from the 2024-25 season, highlighted by Meri Kanerva who was named to the All-BIG EAST Freshman Team. The guard led the team in scoring (11.2) and assists (3.4).
The Musketeers also welcome back starter Petra Oborilova. She averaged 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while knocking down 33 three pointers (ranked third on the team).
Third-year head coach Billi Chambers welcomes eight newcomers to the team this summer, including four transfers: Savannah White (Indiana State), Mya Moore (Cleveland State), Audia Young (Auburn) and Mariyah Noel (Ole Miss).
Xavier also welcomes four freshman to the program: Penda Dieng (Louga, Senegal), Denise Neves (Lisbon, Portugal), Payton Richards (Lake Travis, Texas) and Kodee Williams-Sefo (Auckland, New Zealand).
All told, the Musketeers will have players from eight different countries on the 2025-26 roster.

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.

TV BROADCAST INFORMATION

The upcoming season marks the first of a six-year media agreement, which will span from 2025-26 through 2030-31, encompassing coverage on FOX Sports (FOX, FS1), NBC Sports (NBC, Peacock), and TNT Sports (TNT, TBS, truTV and Max). The agreement will provide major national broadcast, cable, and direct-to-consumer streaming coverage of BIG EAST women's and men's basketball games. ESPN+ will also stream a minimum of 75 women's basketball games.
Xavier will play 27 games on ESPN+ (16 home games; 11 away games). The Musketeers will also play one game on FS1 (Nov. 30 vs UConn) and one game on Peacock (Jan. 8 at UConn).

RADIO BROADCAST INFORMATION

Xavier has added to its broadcast coverage for the upcoming 2025-26 season by providing radio broadcasts on The Varsity Network.
All 17 home games (and select road games) will be aired on The Varsity Network. The free app can be downloaded in the Apple Store or Google Play Store on any mobile device.
John Baldridge ('25) will handle the play-by-play for the Musketeers. He did play-by-play broadcasts for the Xavier women's basketball program during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons on the Xavier University Sports Radio Network.
Baldridge served as a broadcaster for the Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals High-A Affiliate) in the summer of 2025. Baldridge also has broadcaster experience with the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (Northwoods League) and the Cincinnati Steam (Great Lakes League).

PRESEASON COACHES POLL

1. UConn - 100 (10 first-place votes)
2. Marquette - 85
3. Seton Hall - 80 (1)
4. Villanova - 78
5. Creighton - 61
6. St. John's - 56
7. Georgetown - 48
8. DePaul - 32
9. Butler - 30
10. Providence - 20
11. Xavier - 15

TICKET INFORMATION

Buy season tickets now at GoXavier.com/Tickets. Single-game tickets are also on sale at GoXavier.com/Tickets.
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