Women's Basketball Opens BIG EAST Road Swing at Georgetown

Sunday, January 4

Washington, D.C.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Women's Basketball Opens BIG EAST Road Swing at Georgetown

01.02.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+XU Notes (PDF)

Xavier takes on the Hoyas on Jan. 4 at McDonough Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier opens a two-game BIG EAST road swing at Georgetown on Sunday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from McDonough Arena with the game being aired on ESPN+.

The Musketeers conclude the road trip on Thursday, Jan. 8 at Villanova. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. from Finneran Pavilion.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-6, 1-4) at GEORGETOWN HOYAS (8-5, 1-3)
Game Info - Sunday, Jan. 4 - 2 p.m. ET - McDonough Arena (2,500) - Washington, D.C.
Live Stats - statb.us/v/xavi/609926
ESPN+ - bit.ly/44NprfC

ABOUT THE HOYAS

2025-26 Record: 8-5 (1-3 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 12-19 (4-14 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Georgetown leads, 17-10
Last Meeting: Georgetown 63, Xavier 36 (Feb. 5, 2025 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Georgetown was picked to finish seventh in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Victoria Rivera was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Khia Miller leads the team in scoring (10.9) to go along 3.6 rebounds per game. She has added 20 assists and 20 steals. Cristen Carter is averaging a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game to go along with 7.1 points per game.
• The Hoyas rank second in the BIG EAST in steals per game (10.4), turnovers forced per game (19.5) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.280).
• Georgetown also leads the conference in free throws made per game (14.5) and free throws attempted per game (20.0).

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Georgetown, 17-10. The Musketeers have dropped eight straight in the series.
The Musketeers are 3-8 when playing at McDonough Arena since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14. Xavier is looking for its first win over the Hoyas since Jan. 28, 2022 (W, 70-67 in overtime at McDonough Arena).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS GEORGETOWN
Feb. 5, 2025 - Georgetown 63, Xavier 36 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Dec. 30, 2024 - Georgetown 64, Xavier 41 (Washington, D.C.)
March 8, 2024 - Georgetown 62, Xavier 40 (Uncasville, Conn.)
March 2, 2024 - Georgetown 66, Xavier 46 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 20, 2024 - Georgetown 77, Xavier 49 (Washington, D.C.)

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 67-54 loss vs Marquette at Cintas Center on Jan. 1. Mariyah Noel scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Mariyah Noel was 6-for-24 from the floor. The 24 attempts are ranked tied for sixth in single-game school history (last time someone took 24 shot attempts was on Dec. 2, 2010 vs Southern California; Amber Harris). The 24 attempts are tied for the fourth most attempts in a game by a BIG EAST player this season.
Vivien Nejašmić posted 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting in 28 minutes of action off the bench. The guard now has five career double-figure scoring games.
Meri Kanerva finished with 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting. She also dished out a game-high seven assists. The guard now has 24 career double-figure scoring games.
Xavier posted a season-high 13 steals, the 12th time the Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in a game over the last two seasons. The Musketeers forced 23 Marquette miscues, the most turnovers in a game by the Golden Eagles this season.

NOTABLES

A win on Sunday would be Xavier's first road BIG EAST victory since Feb. 20, 2022 at Butler (W, 73-54), snapping a 30-game losing streak in road conference games.
Mariyah Noel is averaging 15.5 points per game, ranking fifth in the BIG EAST and 133rd 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 (6.6), while ranking eighth in the BIG EAST. Noel is one of three players who rank in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in both rebounding and scoring.
Savannah White is averaging a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game to go along with 6.5 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 232rd in the NCAA. The forward also ranks third in the BIG EAST and 55th in the NCAA in blocks per game (1.6). White has added a team-high 21 blocks and 20 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 9.3 points per game. She has added a team-high 60 assists to go along with 18 steals. The guard is averaging 37.4 minutes per game, ranking second in the NCAA.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 5.2 assists per game in BIG EAST only games, ranking third in the conference.
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this season. She averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game last season. Givens ranks second on the team in field-goal percentage (.480). Her 10.7 points per game average ranks 19th in the BIG EAST.
Xavier ranks third in the BIG EAST and 52nd in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.754). 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 fifth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (3.9) and fifth in turnovers forced per game (17.1). Xavier also ranks sixth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.388), while ranking 148th in the NCAA.
Vivien Nejašmić is averaging 13.4 points per game in BIG EAST only games with a .513 field-goal percentage (ranking fifth in the conference). She has added 4.0 rebounds per game. The guard has led the team in scoring in three of the team's five conference games.
Vivien Nejašmić scored a team-high 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting in 25 minutes of action off the bench at Butler on Dec. 19. She is one of only two Xavier players to make 10 or more field goals in a game since the start of the 2022-23 season (Meri Kanerva also had 10 field goals vs Kent State on Nov. 14, 2025).
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).

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
Dec. 15 - MacKenzie Givens - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 22 - Vivien Nejašmić - 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 played 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 71 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 57-19 mark at Cintas Center.
Xavier played 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 played 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