Musketeers Close BIG EAST Road Trip at Providence

Sunday, February 8

Providence, R.I.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

Providence

Musketeers Close BIG EAST Road Trip at Providence

02.06.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN+XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Alumni Hall on Sunday, Feb. 8

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier closes its BIG EAST road swing at Providence on Sunday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Alumni Hall with the game being aired on ESPN+.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-12, 4-10) at PROVIDENCE FRIARS (10-14, 3-10)
Game Info - Sunday, Feb. 8 - 1 p.m. ET - Alumni Hall (1,854) - Providence, R.I.
Live Stats - bit.ly/4aAytQ4
ESPN+ - bit.ly/3Moh6ZH

ABOUT THE FRIARS

2025-26 Record: 10-14 (3-10 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 13-19 (6-12 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Providence leads, 13-12
Last Meeting: Xavier 61, Providence 47 (Dec. 4, 2025 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Providence was picked to finish 10th in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. The Friars are led by third-year head coach Erin Batth.
• The Friars have lost four straight games and are looking for their first win since Jan. 17 vs Creighton (80-77). Providence is 8-6 in home games this season.
• The Friars rank fourth in the BIG EAST in rebounds per game (36.4) and fifth in free throws made per game (10.6). Providence also ranks sixth in scoring defense (63.9) and 10th in scoring offense (59.5).
• Sabou Gueye leads the team in scoring (14.5), while ranking second in rebounding (5.7). Teneisia Brown has added a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game to go along with 9.9 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Providence leads the all-time series, 13-12. Xavier's 14-point win in the first meeting this season snapped a six-game losing streak in the series.
The Musketeers are 4-7 vs the Friars at Alumni Hall. Xavier has lost three straight road games in the series.
Xavier's last win at Providence was on Feb. 13, 2022 (W, 62-60).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Dec. 4, 2025 - Xavier 61, Providence 47 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 12, 2025 - Providence 61, Xavier 53 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 15, 2025 - Providence 51, Xavier 45 (Providence, R.I.)
Feb. 18, 2024 - Providence 66, Xavier 42 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 27, 2024 - Providence 69, Xavier 60 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

FIRST MEETING VS THE FRIARS

Xavier won the first meeting, 61-47, at Cintas Center on Dec. 4. The Musketeers never trailed in the game.
Mariyah Noel scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting. She added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Savannah White finished with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. The guard/forward added a team-high five assists and two blocks.
MacKenzie Givens added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 71-52 road loss at St. John's. The Musketeers led by one point (30-29) at the break, but were outscored, 42- 22, in the second half.
Mariyah Noel posted her third career double-double, posting a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. She now has eight career 20-point performances and four career double-figure rebounding games.
Savannah White finished with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. The forward added five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

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 15.9 points per game, ranking fourth in the BIG EAST and 112th 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 (6.5), 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 7.4 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 174th in the NCAA. The forward also ranks second in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.7), while ranking 41st in the NCAA. White has added a team-high 37 blocks and 31 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 9.5 points per game. She has added a team-high 89 assists to go along with 29 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 seventh in the BIG EAST and 112th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.732). 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 (3.6) and sixth in turnovers forced per game (16.1).
Xavier ranks sixth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.401).
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 .473 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