Xavier Closes Regular-Season Action vs Seton Hall on Senior Day

Sunday, March 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

Tickets

Xavier Closes Regular-Season Action vs Seton Hall on Senior Day

02.28.25 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center on Sunday, March 2

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier closes regular-season action on Sunday, March 2 vs Seton Hall. 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.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the Senior Day ceremony is slated to begin at 1:38 p.m.

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.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (6-22, 1-16) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (20-8, 12-5)
Game Info - Sunday, March 2 - 2 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224)
Live Stats - bit.ly/41F0NN6
Watch Live (FloCollege) - flosports.link/3zR1kxj

ABOUT SETON HALL

2024-25 Record: 20-8 (12-5 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 17-15 (8-10 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: WBIT - First Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 22-3
Last Meeting: Seton Hall 72, Xavier 47 (Feb. 8, 2025 - South Orange, N.J.)

NOTABLES
• Seton Hall was picked to finish seventh in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Sophomore guard Savannah Catalon was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Three Pirates are averaging 10 or more points per game: Faith Masonius (15.5), Savannah Catalon (14.2) and Jada Eads (14.1). Masonius has added a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game.
• Seton Hall ranks fourth in the BIG EAST and 80th in the NCAA in scoring defense (59.8). The Pirates als rank second in the BIG EAST and 27th in the NCAA in steals (11.0).
• The Pirates lead the BIG EAST in turnovers forced per game (19.9), while ranking 35th in the NCAA.
• Seton Hall ranks second in the BIG EAST in the free-throw percentage (.775), while ranking 19th in the NCAA.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 22-3. The Musketeers have dropped 12 straight games in the series and are 2-9 vs the Pirates at Cintas Center.

• Xavier's last win over the Pirates was on Feb. 1, 2019 in South Orange, N.J. (W, 80-76). Xavier's last home win over the Pirates was on Jan. 6, 2019 (W, 63-62 in OT).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS SETON HALL
Feb. 8, 2025 - Seton Hall 72, Xavier 47 (South Orange, N.J.)
Feb. 10, 2024 - Seton Hall 86, Xavier 62 (South Orange, N.J.)
Jan. 13, 2024 - Seton Hall 61, Xavier 47 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
March 3, 2023 - Seton Hall 84, Xavier 58 (Uncasville, Conn.)
Feb. 13, 2023 - Seton Hall 72, Xavier 59 (South Orange, N.J.)

LAST TIME OUT VS SETON HALL

Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools this season, 72-47, in Walsh Gymnasium.
Aizhanique Mayo scored 12 points to go along with three rebounds, one steal and one assist. Loren Christie posted 12 points, three rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Meri Kanerva finished with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Xavier committed a season-high 33 turnovers vs the Pirates. Seton Hall converted the miscues into 37 points.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 62-37 road loss at Marquette. The Golden Eagles led from start to finish and held a 27-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Meri Kanerva led the Musketeers in scoring with 12 points, her 16th game of the season in double figures. The guard was 6-for-13 from the floor and added five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Irune Orio finished with seven points and three rebounds. Tae'lor Purvis added a game-high five assists to go along with five points. The guard also recorded a team-high six rebounds and three 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 87 assists this season, ranking fourth all-time at Xavier in assists by a freshman. She is eight 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 (60). The senior guard has added 6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. She is two steals away from moving into 10th place in Xavier single-season history (10th - 62 steals - Taru Tuukkanen - 2000-01).
Tae'lor Purvis ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (2.1), while ranking 98th in the NCAA. Her 60 total steals also ranks 79th in the NCAA.
Tae'lor Purvis has helped Xavier force 17.3 turnovers per game, ranking third in the BIG EAST and 118th 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 (3.4) and total rebounds (57). She also leads the team in total steals (34) in BIG EAST only games.

NOTABLE

Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (10.5) and assists (3.1). The freshman guard has added 36 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 (4.0), while ranking second in scoring (8.0). The forward ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.4), while ranking 84th in the NCAA.
Loren Christie ranks 84th in the NCAA in total blocks (39). She is one block 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 42 three pointers, ranking 11th in the BIG EAST. Her 42 three pointers are the most by a Xavier player since 2019-20 (Lauren Wasylson made 44; Morgan Sharps made 48).
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 (.416) 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 (5.5).
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 35 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

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.