Xavier Opens BIG EAST Road Swing at DePaul

Sunday, February 22

Chicago, Ill.

3 p.m. ET

Xavier University

DePaul

02.20.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Wintrust Arena

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier opens a two-game BIG EAST road trip at DePaul on Sunday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena with the game being aired on ESPN+.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-15, 4-13) at DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (6-22, 3-14)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 22 - 3 p.m. ET - Wintrust Arena (10,387) - Chicago, Ill.
Live Stats - statb.us/v/xavi/623641
ESPN+ - bit.ly/4b1rm3m

ABOUT THE BLUE DEMONS

2025-26 Record: 6-22 (3-14 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 13-19 (8-10 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: DePaul leads, 29-3
Last Meeting: Xavier 71, DePaul 61 (Jan. 13, 2026 - Cintas Center)

NOTABLES
• DePaul was picked to finish eighth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Senior guard Kate Clark was named to the preseason all-conference team. DePaul is led by first-year head coach Jill M. Pizzotti who spent 14 seasons with the program before being promoted to head coach.
• DePaul ranks third in the BIG EAST in steals (9.5) and fourth in turnovers forced per game (17.9). The Blue Demons also rank third in the conference in assists (16.4) and fifth in three pointers attempted per game (20.8).
• Kate Novik leads the Blue Demons in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (12.3). Natiah Nelson has added 7.9 points per game, while Alayna West has chipped in 7.4 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series, 29-3. The Musketeers have won two straight in the series.
A win on Sunday would be Xavier's first road win in the series.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Jan. 13, 2026 - Xavier 71, DePaul 61 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
March 7, 2025 - Xavier 80, DePaul 73 (Uncasville, Conn.)
Jan. 22, 2025 - DePaul 57, Xavier 50 (Chicago, Ill.)
Jan. 2, 2025 - DePaul 65, Xavier 60 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 16, 2024 - DePaul 79, Xavier 47 (Chicago, Ill.)

FIRST MEETING VS DEPAUL

Xavier defeated DePaul, 71-61, on Jan. 13 in the first meeting between the two schools this season.
DePaul led by as many as 14 points (48-34) with 3:01 left in the third quarter and took an 11-point advantage (53-42) into the final quarter.
Xavier responded by outscoring DePaul, 29-8, in the fourth quarter to pull off the come-from-behind victory. The Musketeers went 8-for-12 from the floor and 12-for-15 from the foul line in the final quarter. Meri Kanerva scored 11 of her 15 points in the final quarter. The 29 fourth-quarter points are a season-high by the Musketeers in a quarter.
Four Musketeers reached double figures: MacKenzie Givens (18), Mariyah Noel (16), Meri Kanerva (15) and Savannah White (11). White added a game-high 13 rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 64-55 home loss vs Seton Hall on Feb. 18.
Seton Hall led by as many as 15 points (55-40) with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Xavier responded by going on a 12-0 run on 5-for-11 shooting, closing within three points (55-52) with 4:09 left in regulation.
The Pirates finished the game on an 8-3 run on 3-for-3 shooting to escape Cintas Center with their 16th straight win in the series.
MacKenzie Givens finished with 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Mariyah Noel scored 10 points and dished out six assists. Meri Kanerva added nine points and a game-high eight assists.

NOTABLES

A win on Sunday would give the Musketeers five BIG EAST wins, the most conference wins since the 2015-16 season (won eight conference games). A win on Sunday would also give the Musketeers 12 wins, the most wins in a season since 2016-17 (finished 12-18).
Mariyah Noel is averaging 14.9 points per game, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST and 177th 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 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.
Mariyah Noel ranks second in the BIG EAST in free-throw attempts (124), while ranking 102nd in the NCAA.
Savannah White is averaging a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game to go along with 6.8 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 226th in the NCAA. The forward also ranks third in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.5), while ranking 56th in the NCAA. White has added a team-high 38 blocks and 33 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 9.8 points per game. She has added a team-high 100 assists to go along with 32 steals. The guard is averaging 38.2 minutes per game, ranking first in the NCAA.
Meri Kanerva is the first Musketeer to have 100 or more assists in back-to-back seasons since Aaliyah Dunham (2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons).
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 10.8 points and 4.4 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 (.482).
Xavier ranks seventh in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.404).
Xavier ranks eighth in the BIG EAST and 160th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.720). 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 (3.4) and seventh in turnovers forced per game (16.1).
Xavier has 88 blocks on the year, one blocks away from moving into 10th place in single-season school history. Savannah White has 38 blocks this season, three blocks away from moving into 10th place in single-season school history with Joei Clyburn (2006-07).
Vivien Nejašmić is averaging 7.6 points per game in BIG EAST only games with a .456 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