Xavier Travels to Marquette on Thursday

Thursday, February 27

Milwaukee, Wis.

7:30 p.m. ET

Xavier University

Marquette

02.25.25 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET from the Al McGuire Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier travels to Marquette on Thursday, Feb. 27 for the team's final BIG EAST road game of the regular season. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET from Al McGuire Center.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-21, 1-15) at MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (19-8, 11-5)
Game Info - Thursday, Feb. 27 - 7 p.m. ET - Al McGuire Center (3,700)
Live Stats - bit.ly/2Ei4mxU
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT MARQUETTE

2024-25 Record: 19-8 (11-5 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 23-9 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 24-7
Last Meeting: Marquette 67, Xavier 38 (Jan. 29, 2025 - 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 (15.2), Lee Volker (13.1) and Halle Vice (11.0). Vice has added a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game and a team-high .496 field-goal percentage (113-for-228).
• Marquette ranks second in the BIG EAST and 24th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage defense (.367). The Golden Eagles rank first in the BIG EAST and 29th in the NCAA in blocks. Marquette ranks second in the BIG EAST and 54th in the NCAA in rebounding margin (+5.2).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Marquette, 24-7. The Musketeers have dropped 17 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 3-19 vs the Golden Eagles since joining the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season. The Musketeers are 1-9 vs Marquette when playing at the Al McGuire Center since the start of the 2013-14 season. Xavier's last win at Marquette was on Dec. 30, 2014 (W, 74-71).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Jan. 29, 2025 - Marquette 67, Xavier 38 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
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.)

LAST TIME OUT VS MARQUETTE

Marquette defeated Xavier, 67-38, at Cintas Center on Jan. 29 in the first meeting between the two teams this season.
Loren Christie led the Musketeers in scoring with 10 points. The forward added two steals, one rebound and one assist.
Daniela López added nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc. Tae'lor Purvis finished with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Meri Kanerva chipped in six points. Irune Orio added four rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 58-54 road loss at Butler on Feb. 19.
Aizhanique Mayo led Xavier with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting with four 3-pointers. The guard added four steals and two rebounds.
Meri Kanerva finished with nine points, four assists and four steals.
Tae'lor Purvis chipped in a game-high five assists to go along with four rebounds, three points and two steals.
Xavier had 12 steals, the team's 10th game of the year with 10 or more 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 10.4 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 85 assists this season, ranking fourth all-time at Xavier in assists by a freshman. She is 10 assists away from passing Special Jennings (2007-08) and moving into third place.
Meri Kanerva is the first Xavier player to record 85 or more assists in a season since Shaila Beeler in 2021-22 (117 assists).

PURVIS BREAKOUT SEASON

Tae'lor Purvis leads the team in total steals (57). The senior guard has added 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She is five steals away from moving into 10th place in Xavier single-season history (10th - 62 steals - Taru Tuukkanen - 2000-01).
Tae'lor Purvis ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in steals (2.1), while ranking 106th in the NCAA. Her 57 total steals also ranks 89th in the NCAA.
Tae'lor Purvis has helped Xavier force 17.3 turnovers per game, ranking third in the BIG EAST and 123rd in the NCAA.
Tae'lor Purvis is the first Xavier player with 50 or more steals in a season since Aaliyah Dunham in 2019-20.
In BIG EAST only games, Tae'lor Purvis leads the team in both rebounding average (3.1) and total rebounds (51). She also leads the team in total steals (31) in BIG EAST only games.

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (10.4) and assists (3.1). The freshman guard has added 35 steals and 32 three pointers. She ranks fourth among BIG EAST freshman in scoring and third in assists.
Loren Christie ranks first on the team in rebounding (4.1), while ranking second in scoring (8.2). The forward ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.4), while ranking 82nd in the NCAA.
Loren Christie ranks 86th 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).
The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in 10 games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
Aizhanique Mayo ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 6.4 points per game. The guard has made a team-high 41 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 scoring defense (62.7). The Musketeers also rank fifth in steals (7.5).
In BIG EAST only games, the Musketeers rank seventh in the conference in three pointers made per game (5.8).
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 34 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

UP NEXT

Xavier closes its regular-season schedule vs Seton Hall on Sunday, March 2. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.
Xavier will recognize its three-person senior class and graduating student managers prior to tip-off vs the Pirates. The Musketeers three seniors are Loren Christie, Jordan Miller and Tae'lor Purvis.
The Musketeers will be the No. 11 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier takes on No. 6 seed DePaul in the first round on Friday, March 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena.