Musketeers Open BIG EAST Road Swing at Butler

Wednesday, February 19

Indianapolis, Ind.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Butler

Musketeers Open BIG EAST Road Swing at Butler

02.18.25 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Xavier takes on the Bulldogs on Feb. 19 at Hinkle Fieldhouse

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier opens a two-game BIG EAST road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Butler. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-20, 1-14) vs BUTLER BULLDOGS (14-14, 4-11)
Game Info - Wednesday, Feb. 19 - 7 p.m. ET - Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Live Stats - bit.ly/416m94n
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT BUTLER

2024-25 Record: 14-14 (4-11 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 15-17 (6-12 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: WNIT Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 35-22
Last Meeting: Xavier 50, Butler 49 (Jan. 18, 2025 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Butler was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Senior guard Caroline Strande was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Bulldogs rank fourth in the BIG EAST and 63rd in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage (.344). Butler also ranks third in three pointers made per game (7.0).
• Kilyn McGuff ranks first in the BIG EAST in double-doubles (10), while ranking 36th in the NCAA. She also ranks third in the BIG EAST in rebounding (8.1) and fifth in three pointers made (51).
• Riley Makalusky has added 8.3 points per game, while Sydney Jaynes has chipped in 8.0 points per game with a .508 field-goal percentage.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 35-22. The Musketeers are 1-4 in their last five meetings vs the Bulldogs.

• Xavier is 8-15 vs Butler since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14 with a 3-5 record at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Musketeers have lost three straight games vs Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Xavier's last road win in the series was on Dec. 29, 2017 (W, 69-62).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Jan. 18, 2025 - Xavier 50, Butler 49 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 21, 2024 - Butler 84, Xavier 46 (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Jan. 24, 2024 - Butler 90, Xavier 57 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 21, 2023 - Butler 60, Xavier 43 (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Dec. 28, 2022 - Butler 79, Xavier 65 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

LAST TIME OUT VS BUTLER

Xavier defeated Butler, 50-49, on Jan. 18 at Cintas Center. The win snapped a 47 BIG EAST regular-season game losing streak. The Musketeers last three BIG EAST conference wins have all come against the Bulldogs.
Meri Kanerva scored a game-high 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The freshman guard added four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Loren Christie finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 18 minutes of action. The forward added four rebounds, one block and one steal.
The Musketeers posted a season-high .541 field-goal percentage (20-for-37) and went 5-for-13 from behind the arc. Xavier was also 5-for-8 from the foul line.
The .541 field-goal percentage is Xavier's highest percentage since Dec. 8, 2021 vs Niagara (Xavier posted a .596 field-goal percentage in an 82-78 win at Cintas Center).

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 57-42 loss vs Villanova at Cintas Center on Feb. 16.
Meri Kanerva scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting with three 3-pointers. The freshman guard added one steal and one rebound. She now has 15 career double-figure scoring games.
Tae'lor Purvis scored 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The senior guard added a team-high three steals to go along with four rebounds and three assists. She now has 10 career double-figure scoring games.
MacKenzie Givens and Daniela López both added five points. Givens also had two rebounds and two steals.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

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

KANERVA - XU FRESHMAN RECORDS

Meri Kanerva is averaging a team-leading 10.5 points per game. The guard currently ranks sixth all-time at Xavier in freshman scoring average. She also ranks third in assists per game average (3.1).
Meri Kanerva has 81 assists this season, ranking fourth all-time at Xavier in assists by a freshman. She is 14 assists away from passing Special Jennings (2007-08) and moving into third place.

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (10.5) and assists (3.1). The freshman guard has added 31 steals and 32 three pointers. She ranks fourth among BIG EAST freshman in scoring and third in assists.
Meri Kanerva averaged a team-high 16.0 points per game last week. The guard posted a .619 field-goal percentage (13-for-21) and went 4-for-8 from behind the arc. She added four assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Loren Christie ranks first on the team in rebounding (4.2), while ranking second in scoring (8.5). The forward ranks third in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.5), while ranking 76th in the NCAA.
Loren Christie ranks 70th in the NCAA in total blocks (38). She is two blocks away from moving into 10th place in Xavier single-season history (10th - 40 blocks - Courtney Prenger - 2022-23).
Tae'lor Purvis leads the team in total steals (55), while ranking third in field-goal percentage (.455). The senior guard has added 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. She is seven steals away from moving into 10th place in Xavier single-season history (10th - 62 steals - Taru Tuukkanen - 2000-01).
The Musketeers rank fourth in the BIG EAST in turnovers forced per game (17.1). Tae'lor Purvis ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals (2.1), while ranking 115th in the NCAA.
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in nine games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Aizhanique Mayo ranks fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.0 points per game. The guard has made a team-high 37 three pointers.
Xavier has made 10 or more three pointers in a game three times this season.
Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.420) and sixth in steals (7.3).
In BIG EAST only games, the Musketeers rank seventh in the conference in three pointers made per game (5.6).
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 33 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).
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 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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