By Ella Grady, Staff Writer 

On April 5, 2023, the Xavier Women’s Basketball program hired their ninth head coach in school history, claiming Billi Chambers from MAC power Iona University of New Rochelle, New York. The rest will go down in Xavier Women’s Basketball history.

On March 7, 2025, the 11^th-seeded Xavier Musketeers upset the sixth-seeded DePaul University Blue Demons in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena. This was the first postseason win for the Musketeers since March 7, 2015 — a 10-year drought ended that day.

A Cheverly, Maryland native, Chambers was introduced to the sport of basketball in a house filled with chaos. When raising six daughters, her parents found the best way to get their girls’ energy out was through sports. They played all of them. 

For Billi, basketball stuck. In the fall of 1999, a jersey with her name on it was waiting at Hofstra University in Long Island. 

“I actually got recruited a little bit late and fell in love with their (Hofstra University’s) campus. I loved the idea of New York City being right down the street, and then decided that I kind of had a feeling I wanted to coach,” Chambers said. “My dad coached me growing up. My mom was his assistant in the little leagues.”

Chambers liked the idea of coaching but was not initially sold on it. Despite multiple injuries occurring during her collegiate career, it wasn’t until her senior year that the inkling became an inevitability. 

Chambers played nine games during her senior season at Hofstra before she got injured again. Felisha Legette-Jack, current head coach of the Syracuse Orange, was at the helm of the Pride women’s basketball team at the time. 

“Coach Jack — I could not play for her. She pulled me in and said ‘you’re not just going to sit on this bench. You’re going to learn the behind the scenes.’ She understood that I had an idea that I wanted to coach. From there, it was set ablaze. It was, ‘I have to do this’. All of those things of just wanting to be around the sport and then, impact young women’s lives,” Chambers said. 

Chambers thought that she would stay at Iona forever. However, when the opportunity arose to fly to Cincinnati and speak to Xavier’s athletic department, a “too good to be true” moment became reality. An opportunity to compete in the Big East and build a program was laid out before her.

This followed as Xavier Athletics and former head coach Melanie Moore mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season. Moore continued her collegiate coaching career as an assistant for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

Xavier Women’s Basketball is now rewriting the script on its stat lines from years earlier, where previous teams struggled to find wins in the Big East Conference. After a naturally tough first year of players buying into a new culture and basketball standard, the Musketeer coaching staff was hungry to continue growing. 

This included recruiting Petra Oborilova, one of Chambers’ former Iona players from Slovakia, after Chambers first year at the helm. As one of the top three-point shooters in the country for the 2023-2024 season at Iona, the system was relearned, this time in Cincinnati. 

Chambers and her coaching staff continued to capitalize on recruiting and the transfer portal as they rebuilt the Xavier program. This included recruiting Meri Kanerva from Finland in 2024, eventual 2025 Big East Freshman of the Year. Then followed Mariyah Noel from Ole Miss, Audia Young from Auburn and Savannah White from Indiana State and Wisconsin this past off-season, who all boast experience at the Power Four Conference level. 

“This team is fun. Fun in terms of the style of play starting to come alive a little bit. We’re able to play with a bit more pace and more ball movement. You see exciting stat lines from a different person each night,” Chambers said. “They’re also fun in their personalities. They’re such a great group of people who we just really enjoy being around.” 

The 2025-2026 squad is full of resilience. With the addition of new players in the transfer portal, retaining six players from the previous year’s roster, battling injuries that have sidelined Maya Moore and Kodee Williams-Sefo, the mission stays the same: this team is tough. The Big East is tough. They are up for the challenge.  

Chambers has fostered this environment through a 20-year coaching career, with an emphasis on personal reflection. From journaling to mindful meditation, Chambers wants not only to stay present for her women, but to be the living example of finding peace within the chaos. So far, she’s done just that.

“I am excited about the rest of the Big East slate,” Chambers said. “We can really continue to make a dent and climb up in the rankings and find a nice seed in the tournament. You want to be playing your best basketball at the tournament. We are continuing to stay together to find the growth and lessons in every single day.” 

The Musketeers face off next against the Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.