Xavier Closes Road Trip at Villanova on Thursday

Thursday, January 8

Villanova, Pa.

11:30 a.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Xavier Closes Road Trip at Villanova on Thursday

01.06.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. from Finneran Pavilion

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier concludes a two-game BIG EAST road swing at Villanova on Thursday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. from Finneran Pavilion with the game being aired on ESPN+.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-6, 2-4) at VILLANOVA WILDCATS (12-3, 5-1)
Game Info - Thursday, Jan. 8 - 11:30 a.m. ET - Finneran Pavilion (6,501) - Villanova, Pa.
Live Stats - statb.us/v/xavi/619079
ESPN+ - bit.ly/4q5w855

ABOUT THE WILDCATS

2025-26 Record: 12-3 (5-1 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 21-15 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: WBIT Semifinals
Series History: Villanova leads, 22-1
Last Meeting: Villanova 57, Xavier 42 (Feb. 16, 2025 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Villanova was picked to finish fourth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll following its fourth straight 20-win season in 2024-25. The Wildcats advanced to the 2025 WBIT Semifinals. Jasmine Bascoe was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Villanova ranks 29th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (.466), 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.42) and 18th in three-point field-goal percentage (.373). The Wildcats also rank 26th in the NCAA in three pointers made per game (8.9) and 16th in assists per game (19.3).
• Jasmine Bascoe ranks third in the BIG EAST in 68th in the NCAA in scoring (17.5). The sophomore guard also ranks seventh in NCAA in field-goal attempts (262) and sixth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage (.401).

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 22-1. The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.
Meri Kanerva averaged a team-high 12.5 points per game in the series with the Wildcats last season. The guard posted a .625 field-goal percentage (10-for-16) to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Feb. 16, 2025 - Villanova 57, Xavier 42 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 25, 2025 - Villanova 67, Xavier 52 (Villanova, Pa.)
Dec. 30, 2023 - Villanova 86, Xavier 45 (Villanova, Pa.)
Jan. 17, 2023 - Villanova 76, Xavier 38 (Villanova, Pa.)
Jan. 1, 2023 - Villanova 77, Xavier 49 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

LAST WEEK

Xavier went 1-1 last week, most recently coming off a 52-51 win at Georgetown on Jan. 4. The win over the Hoyas snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series and snapped a 30-game BIG EAST road losing streak.
Meri Kanerva averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game last week. She added a .429 field-goal percentage (12-for-28) and went 2-for-7 from behind the arc. Kanerva added three steals and averaged 38.5 minutes per game.
Meri Kanerva was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Jan. 5.
Mariyah Noel added a team-leading 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last week. Savannah White also pulled down 7.5 rebounds per game last week, while Vivien Nejašmić chipped in 7.5 points per game.

NOTABLES

A win on Thursday would give the Musketeers back-to-back BIG EAST wins for the first time since Feb. 5, 2016 - Feb. 7, 2016 (W, 72-47 vs Providence on Feb. 5; W, 57-55 vs Creighton on Feb. 7).
A win on Thursday would also give the Musketeers 10 or more wins in a season for the first time since the 2018-19 season (posted an 11-19 record).
Mariyah Noel is averaging 14.9 points per game, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST and 169th 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 (6.7), while ranking sixth 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 7.1 rebounds per game to go along with 6.6 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 192nd in the NCAA. The forward also ranks second in the BIG EAST and 46th in the NCAA in blocks per game (1.7). White has added a team-high 24 blocks and 21 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 9.6 points per game. She has added a team-high 67 assists to go along with 20 steals. The guard is averaging 37.5 minutes per game, ranking first in the NCAA.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 5.5 assists per game in BIG EAST only games, ranking second in the conference.
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 10.3 points and 4.7 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 (.466). Her 10.3 points per game average ranks 21st in the BIG EAST.
Xavier ranks fourth in the BIG EAST and 61st in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.748). 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 (17.2). Xavier also ranks fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.387), while ranking 141st in the NCAA.
Vivien Nejašmić is averaging 11.5 points per game in BIG EAST only games with a .529 field-goal percentage (ranking fourth in the conference). She has added 3.5 rebounds per game. The guard has led the team in scoring in three of the team's six 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 season-high 13 steals vs Marquette on Jan. 1, 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.
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
Jan. 5 - Meri Kanerva - 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