Feb. 15, 2013

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CINCINNATI- The Xavier women's basketball team will play host to the Rhode Island Rams Sunday afternoon for Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Cintas Center. Seniors Amber Gray and Jessica Pachko will be recognized following the game during a Senior Day ceremony.

About the Musketeers
Xavier (8-15, 2-7 A-10) defeated La Salle in a 58-53 thriller at home last Sunday. The Musketeers were able to erase a 14-point second-half deficit to overcome the Explorers. Amber Gray scored a team-high 14 points from 4-of-7 shooting from the field. As a team, XU ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in defensive rebounds (27.2) and defensive rebounding percentage (.717), third in rebounding defense (34.8), fourth in field goal percentage (.394) and fifth in rebounding margin (+3.4).

The Musketeers are led by Gray who averages 11.4 ppg. (17th A-10) while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 79.2 percent from the line (6th A-10). Junior Shatyra Hawkes dishes out a team-best 3.9 apg. (9th A-10) and holds a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio (7th A-10) and senior Jessica Pachko grabs a team-best 6.6 rpg. (15th A-10) and shoots at a 53.2 clip. Junior Ashley Wanninger sinks 35.7 percent of her shots from behind the arc (9th A-10) and averages 2.0 3-point baskets per contest (7th A-10).

Scouting Rhode Island
Rhode Island (0-8, 5-18 A-10) dropped a 56-45 decision at Temple Wednesday afternoon in the Owls' annual School Day mid-day game. The loss is the Rams' 12th straight. Brianna Thomas led Rhode Island with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting while Tayra Melendez corralled a team-high six boards. URI ranks seventh in the Atlantic 10 in 3-point field goal percentage (.307), eighth in field goal percentage defense (.383) and ninth in scoring defense (59.0).

The Rams are led by Melendez with 10.7 ppg. and 1.3 bpg. (11th A-10) while Samantha Tabakman averages a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest. Tabakman shoots at a .411 clip from the floor and Teneka Whittaker dishes out 1.9 apg. and tallies 1.1 spg. for Rhode Island. Megan Straumann is a serious threat from downtown, sinking 38.5 percent of her shots from beyond the arc (t-3rd A-10).

The Series
The Rams and the Musketeers have previously met 21 times with XU holding the 16-5 advantage in the series. Xavier has a six-game winning streak against Rhode Island, dating back to Feb. 25, 2007. XU holds a 7-1 record against URI in games played in Cincinnati.

Last Time Out
Senior Amber Gray dropped a team-high 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the and 6-of-7 from the free throw line as the Musketeers defeated La Salle 58-53 Sunday afternoon at Cintas Center. The Musketeers found themselves down 14 with 16:16 left in the second half and but were able to crawl out of the large deficit. Senior Jessica Pachko added 13 points and eight rebounds while junior Shatyra Hawkes dished out a game-high seven assists and scored eight points. XU out-shot LAS 41.3 percent to 35.0 percent while LAS out-rebounded XU 37-34.

Xavier Musketeers Women's Basketball

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