A’riana Gray led the way for Xavier with a near triple-double in the win

by joe clark, sports editor

Xavier women’s basketball got their fifth win of the season on Sunday for Senior Day, as the Musketeers defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 58-48.

It was also the Play4Kay Pink Game, and both teams were decked out in pink to celebrate the life of Kay Yow, the former women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State who passed away after multiple battles with breast cancer. 

Xavier got out to a 10-0 run and didn’t miss a shot during the run. For the first quarter, they shot 61.5% and took a 23-11 lead.

 Xavier scored five straight points to open up the second quarter off a three from senior forward Deja Ross and a basket from sophomore guard Kae Satterfield (four points, four rebounds). 

Georgetown cut the Xavier lead to ten on a layup by junior Jillian Archer (23 points, nine rebounds), but the Musketeers took a 35-23 lead into the half. 

With a 12-point lead, senior guard Aaliyah Dunham (10 points, six steals) hit a three-pointer with 5:09 left off an assist from fellow senior forward A’riana Gray (14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists).

Xavier led by ten at the end of the third quarter and had a lead of 14 with 5:20 left in the half. 

Georgetown went on a 10-2 run to get within six with 2:20 to play, but Xavier held steady to close out the game and take home the 58-48 win. 

The win moved Xavier to 5-9 on the year and 2-8 in the conference. 

Xavier’s defense was strong, as they turned over the Hoyas 21 times. 

“We said we got to speed it up and controlling the tempo of who has it more is gonna be the winner today. Our kids had the tempo the whole game, and we made them play a little bit faster than they wanted to play. And that was huge for us to get this win,” Xavier Head Coach Melanie Moore said. 

“What an unbelievable fight. From the start, how aggressive we came out, and it started with our seniors,” Moore said. “They will forever remember that their last home game was a W,”  Moore continued.

The win also clinched the nine seed in the Big East Tournament, and Xavier will take on the No. 8 seed St. John’s on Friday at 11 a.m. at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

“It’s confidence moving forward,” Moore said. “It sums up everything we talk about in practice, and they carried over in every category in the game. That’s what it’s about. It’s the buy in, the belief, and then the discipline for them to go out there and execute the game plan.”