Photo courtesy of Xavier Athletics | In her first start of the season, freshman forward A’riana Gray collected a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 22 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in her 27 minutes of action. For her strong performance, the Cleveland native was named the Xavier Athlete of the Week.
The Xavier women’s basketball team split its last two games, defeating the Grambling State Tigers on Nov. 16 and dropping its first game of the season to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Nov. 22.
The Musketeers battled hard for their third straight victory against Grambling State, defeating the Tigers by a score of 72-67.
Senior guard Jada Byrd and redshirt junior forward Imani Partlow led the way for the Musketeers, with Byrd putting up a career-high 18 points. Partlow recorded a double-double with 16 points and matching a career-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Aaliyah Dunham chipped in 11 points of her own while shooting 50 percent from three.
The Musketeers were productive from three-point range, hitting 10 of them in total. Sophomore Ashley Gomez led the team with three three-pointers. She notched a career high of nine points.
Xavier drained 46.7 percent of its shots from the floor, as well as going 10 for 20 in the second half.
Additionally, the team shot 45 percent from behind the arc throughout the game. The Musketeers held Grambling State to shooting just 39 percent from the field in the victory.
The free throw percentage for the game was also very high, with the team converting 20 of 28 free throws.
Xavier’s three-game win streak to start the season was halted in Minnesota with a 74-62 loss to the Golden Gophers.
The Musketeers moved to 3-1 while Minnesota stayed undefeated with a record of 5-0.
The Musketeers received a stellar performance from freshman forward A’riana Gray, who made her first career start. She posted a double-double with 10 points and a game high 11 rebounds. She was four for seven from the field in the 27 minutes she played.
Sophomore Na’Teshia Owens collected a team-high 12 points of her own, while a pair of freshmen, Deja Ross and Princess Stewart, both scored nine points, respectfully.
Ross also grabbed six rebounds in her 19 minutes of play off the bench.
Despite the loss to Minnesota, the Musketeers out rebounded the Gophers with a 42 to 36 advantage and also had a better shot percentage, shooting 41 percent compared to Minnesota’s 39 percent.
The Musketeers look to gain momentum back at home on Wednesday when they face off against a non-conference opponent, Fort Wayne, with a tip-off time slated for 7 p.m.
By: Jack Dunn ~Staff Writer~