Xavier Opens Homestand vs Villanova

Wednesday, February 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

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02.10.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+Varsity Network

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier opens a two-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 11 vs Villanova. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. from Cintas Center with the game being aired on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network.

PROMOTIONS

Wine & Chocolate Event | 5 PM | Register here!

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-13, 4-11) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (19-5, 12-3)
Game Info - Wednesday, Feb. 11 - 6:30 p.m. ET - Cintas Center (10,224) - Cincinnati, Ohio
Live Stats - statb.us/b/621522
ESPN+ - bit.ly/4quiJmu
Varsity Network - bit.ly/43a3vKI

ABOUT THE WILDCATS

2025-26 Record: 19-5 (12-3 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 21-15 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: WBIT Semifinals
Series History: Villanova leads, 23-1
Last Meeting: Villanova 67, Xavier 50 (Jan. 8, 2026 - Villanova, Pa.)

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 has won four straight games and is 7-3 in road games this season.
• Villanova ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring offense (72.8), three pointers per game (9.0) and scoring margin (+10.9). The Wildcats also rank second in assists per game (18.5), third in steals per game (9.5) and fourth in scoring defense (61.9).
• Jasmine Bascoe ranks second in the BIG EAST on scoring (18.0), while ranking 51st in the NCAA. The guard also leads the conference in total assists (113), while ranking 45th in the NCAA. Brynn McCurry has added a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game to go along with 11.3 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 23-1. The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Jan. 8, 2026 - Villanova 67, Xavier 50 (Villanova, Pa.)
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.)

FIRST MEETING VS VILLANOVA

Xavier dropped the first meeting with Villanova, 67-50, at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 8.
Savannah White scored 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting. The forward added five rebounds, a game-high four blocks and two steals.
Mariyah Noel finished with 16 points. The guard added a game and career-high seven assists to go along with six rebounds and four steals.
Xavier won the battle on the glass, 33-32, and held a 24-20 advantage in points in the paint.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 66-50 road loss at Providence on Feb 8.
Meri Kanerva scored a team-high 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting. She added three rebounds, three assists and one steal. The guard went 4-for-5 from behind the arc (matched her career high in made three pointers).
Mariyah Noel finished with nine points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist. Savannah White chipped in a team-high seven rebounds to go along with six points.
Vivien Nejašmić had eight points and four rebounds in 36 minutes of action in her first career start.

NOTABLES

A win on Wednesday would give the Musketeers five BIG EAST wins, the most conference wins since the 2015-16 season (won eight conference games). A win on Wednesday would also give the Musketeers 12 wins, the most wins in a season since 2016-17 (finished 12-18).
Mariyah Noel is averaging 15.6 points per game, ranking fourth in the BIG EAST and 127th 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 five players who rank in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in both rebounding and scoring.
Savannah White is averaging a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game to go along with 7.3 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 176th in the NCAA. The forward also ranks second in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.6), while ranking 47th in the NCAA. White has added a team-high 37 blocks and 32 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 9.7 points per game. She has added a team-high 92 assists to go along with 30 steals. The guard is averaging 38.2 minutes per game, ranking first in the NCAA.
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. She averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game last season. Givens leads the team in field-goal percentage (.495).
Xavier ranks fifth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.402).
Xavier ranks seventh in the BIG EAST and 129th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.724). 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 sixth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (3.5) and sixth in turnovers forced per game (16.2).
Xavier has 83 blocks on the year, six blocks away from moving into 10th place in single-season school history. Savannah White has 37 blocks this season, four blocks away from moving into 10th place in single-season school history with Joei Clyburn (2006-07).
Vivien Nejašmić is averaging 7.9 points per game in BIG EAST only games with a .466 field-goal percentage. She has added 3.9 rebounds per game.
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).
Following the win over DePaul on Jan. 13, the Musketeers have reached double-figure wins for the first time since the 2018-19 season (posted an 11-19 record).
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 Musketeers forced 23 Marquette miscues, the second most turnovers in a game by the Golden Eagles this season. The Musketeers have posted double-figure steals 13 times over the last two seasons.
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
Jan. 19 - Mariyah Noel - 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).
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