Xavier, St. John's Set for BIG EAST Tournament First Round Matchup

Friday, March 6

Uncasville, Conn.

4 p.m.

Xavier University

No. 6 seed St. John's

2026 WBB Preview vs St. John's - BIG EAST Tournament

Xavier, St. John's Set for BIG EAST Tournament First Round Matchup

03.05.26 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Peacock Tournament Central XU Notes (PDF)Bracket (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, March 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 11 seed Xavier takes on No. 6 seed St. John's in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Friday, March 6. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The winner advances to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament vs No. 3 seed Seton Hall on Saturday, March 7 at 9:30 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION

No. 11 XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-18) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (21-10)
Game Info - Friday, March 7 - 4 p.m. ET - Mohegan Sun Arena (10,000) - Uncasville, Conn.
Live Stats - bit.ly/4r3GVg1
Peacock - bit.ly/3OCKpZr
Tournament Central - bit.ly/4rXIs8k

ABOUT THE RED STORM

2025-26 Record: 21-10 (11-9 BIG EAST)
2024-25 Record: 16-15 (5-13 BIG EAST)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 24-2
Last Meeting: St. John's 71, Xavier 52 (Feb. 4, 2026 - Queens, N.Y.)

NOTABLES
• Brooke Moore was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, while Sa'Mya Wyatt picked up honorable mention honors.
• Brooke Moore leads th team in scoring (12.0), while ranking second in rebounding (4.8). Sa'Mya Wyatt leads the team in field-goal percentage (.515), while ranking second in scoring (11.0) and third in rebounding (4.7). Daniela Abies lead the team in rebounding (6.9).
• St. John's ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (61.2), field-goal percentage defense (.395), blocks per game (4.7) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.294). The Red Storm also rank second in rebounding margin (+3.3).

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with St. John's, 24-2. The Musketeers have dropped 22 straight in the series.
Xavier's last win over St. John's was on March 1, 2015 at Cintas Center (W, 74-61).

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Feb. 4, 2026 - St. John's 71, Xavier 52 (Queens, N.Y.)
Jan. 17, 2026 - St. John's 66, Xavier 64 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 2, 2025 - St. John's 55, Xavier 44 (Queens, N.Y.)
Jan. 11, 2025 - St. John's 60, Xavier 39 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 31, 2024 - St. John's 67, Xavier 55 (Queens, N.Y.)

2025-26 SERIES VS ST. JOHN'S

Xavier dropped both games of the series this season. The Musketeers averaged 58.0 points per game with a .431 field-goal percentage. St. John's averaged 68.5 points per game with a .419 field-goal percentage.
Mariyah Noel averaged 25.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She added a .514 field-goal percentage (18-for-35) to go along with seven assists and three steals.
MacKenzie Givens averaged 13.0 points per game with a .625 field-goal percentage. Savannah White added 7.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with a .583 field-goal percentage (7-for-12).

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Xavier is 2-12 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament action. Last season, the Musketeers posted their first conference tournament win since 2015 (W, 80-73 vs No. 6 seed DePaul on March 7, 2025).
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the Musketeers have never been higher than the No. 7 seed (twice). Xavier has been the No. 10 seed four times, the No. 11 seed four times, the No. 9 seed twice and the No. 8 seed once.
The No. 11 seed is 8-21 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament action (1-4 record when No. 6 vs No. 11 in the first round for 2021-present bracket format; 3-4 record when No. 11 vs No. 14 in the first round for 2008-13 bracket format; 4-13 record when No. 6 vs No. 11 in the first round for the 1996-2008 bracket format).
All told, Xavier is 37-31 in conference tournament history. The Musketeers posted a 28-12 record in Atlantic 10 Tournament action (1996-2013) with six championships.
Xavier and St. John's are meeting for the third time in the BIG EAST Tournament.

XAVIER VS ST. JOHN'S - BIG EAST TOURNAMENT RESULTS
2022 - No. 7 seed St. John's 76, No. 10 seed Xavier 69
2021 - No. 8 seed St. John's 65, No. 9 seed Xavier 57

TOURNAMENT BRACKET

2026 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament
presented by Jeep
Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Conn.
* All 10 games will be aired on Peacock

March 6 – First Round
Game 1: No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 Butler, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Providence vs. No. 10 DePaul, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 St. John's vs. No. 11 Xavier, 4 p.m.

March 7 – Quarterfinals
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 UConn, Noon
Game 5: No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 5 Creighton, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 2 Villanova, 7 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. No. 3 Seton Hall, 9:30 p.m.

March 8 – Semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 5 p.m.

March 9 - Final
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m.

All times Eastern

NOEL EARNS ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

Mariyah Noel was named to the 2026 All-BIG EAST Second Team, becoming the first Xavier player to earn second-time honors since joining the conference in 2013-14.
The guard leads the team in scoring (15.0), while ranking second in rebounding (6.3). She has added 71 assists, 28 steals and 12 blocks.
Noel is the first Xavier player to average 15 or more points per game in a season since A'riana Gray in 2019-20 (averaged 15.8 points per game).
Noel has 99 made free throws this season, the most since the 2016-17 season (Raeshaun Gaffney made 105 free throws).

XAVIER ALL-BIG EAST HONOREES
2025-26 - Mariyah Noel - Second Team
2024-25 - Meri Kanerva - All-Freshman Team
2023-24 - Aizhanique Mayo - All-Freshman Team
2022-23 - Fernanda Ovalle - All-Freshman Team
2021-22 - Ayanna Townsend - Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2019-20 - A'riana Gray - Honorable Mention
2018-19 - A'riana Gray - Honorable Mention
2017-18 - Aaliyah Dunham - All-Freshman Team
2016-17 - Raeshaun Gaffney - Honorable Mention
2015-16 - Briana Glover - Honorable Mention
2013-14 - Maddison Blackwell - All-Freshman Team

500 MILESTONE

Petra Oborilova has 495 career points, five points away from 500 career points.
Savannah White has 484 career points, 16 points away from 500 career points. The forward also has 496 career rebounds, four rebounds away from 500 career rebounds.
Mariyah Noel hit the 500-career points milestone with her 13-point performance against Creighton on March 1. The guard now has 509 career points.

KANERVA ASSIST RECORD

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). The guard had 104 assists in 2024-25, the second most by a Xavier freshman. She has 113 assists this season (currently the fifth most assists in single-season school history by a sophomore).
Meri Kanerva is the only player in school history to record 100 or more assists in a freshman and sophomore season.

LAST WEEK

Mariyah Noel averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game in two contests last week. The guard posted a .607 field-goal percentage (17-for-28) and added 6.0 rebounds per game.
MacKenzie Givens added 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Meri Kanerva chipped in 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game.
Savannah White averaged 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 points per game. The forward added a team-high 11 assists and seven steals.

NOTABLES

A win on Friday would give the Musketeers 12 wins, the most wins in a season since 2016-17 (finished 12-18). A win on Friday would also be the first time Xavier has won conference tournament games in consecutive years for the first time since 2010-11.
Xavier has 17, 20-point performers this season: Mariyah Noel (9), MacKenzie Givens (6), Meri Kanerva (1) and Vivien Nejašmić (1). The Musketeers only had 20, 20-point performances in the previous four seasons combined.
Xavier has two players averaging six or more rebounds per game this season in Savannah White (7.2) and Mariyah Noel (6.3). The last time Xavier had two or more players average six or more rebounds per game was during the 2013-14 season: Jenna Crittendon (6.9) and Leah Schaefer (6.0).
Xavier has three players averaging 10 or more points per game: Mariyah Noel (15.0), MacKenzie Givens (11.8) and Meri Kanerva (10.2). The last time Xavier had three or more players average 10 or more points per game in a season was in 2015-16: Briana Glover (11.1), Raeshaun Gaffney (11.1) and Aliyah Zantt (10.1).
Mariyah Noel is averaging 15.0 points per game, ranking fifth in the BIG EAST and 156th 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 (6.3), while ranking eighth 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 (130), while ranking 138th in the NCAA.
Savannah White is averaging a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game to go along with 6.8 points per game. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and 177th in the NCAA. The forward also ranks third in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.5), while ranking 70th in the NCAA. White has added a team-high 41 blocks and 41 steals.
Meri Kanerva is averaging 10.2 points per game. She has added a team-high 113 assists to go along with 34 steals. The guard is averaging 38.3 minutes per game, ranking first in the NCAA.
Sophomore MacKenzie Givens is averaging 11.8 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 (.494).
Xavier ranks eighth in the BIG EAST and 145th in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.726). 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 seventh in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (3.2) and turnovers forced per game (15.9).
Xavier has 94 blocks on the year, ranking eighth place in single-season school history. Savannah White has 41 blocks this season, ranking tied for 10th place in single-season school history with Joei Clyburn (2006-07).
Vivien Nejašmić is averaging 7.4 points per game in BIG EAST only games with a .438 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 three Xavier players to make 10 or more field goals in a game since the start of the 2022-23 season (Meri Kanerva and Mariyah Noel are the others).
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).
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 EARNS PRESEASON HONORS

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).

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