Xavier women’s basketball’s 10-year postseason losing streak is over.
Xavier, the No. 11 seed in the Big East Tournament, upset No. 6 DePaul Friday night, 80-73, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Xavier’s last Big East Tournament victory was exactly 10 years ago, on March 7, 2015, over Georgetown at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
“So incredibly proud of this group and their resiliency,” second-year head coach Billi Chambers said. “Watching them in the locker room, they work so hard, and they haven’t really seen the result they wanted this year. It fills me up to see their hard work come to fruition and win a big one for Xavier. I’m super proud of this group.”
Xavier women’s basketball Meri Kanerva
Xavier freshman guard Meri Kanerva led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a memorable second-quarter buzzer-beater from beyond half court to give the Musketeers a 33-19 halftime lead. Kanerva also dished out 4 assists and went 11-of-13 at the free-throw line to help Xavier pull away.
“Watching her (Kanerva) throw that in just reminded our team that we were good, we got this,” Chambers said of the momentum swing. “It’s something we practice the day before games, anyway. Everybody gets to take a halfcourt shot. They were pumped that she made it this time around.”
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Sophomore guard Aizhanique Mayo also had a career scoring night with 27 on 9-of-14 shooting, including a half-dozen 3-pointers. Guard Tae’lor Purvis was the third Musketeer in double figures with 12.
“It was almost like that sophomore slump this year. She (Mayo) had been so sped up all season,” Chambers said. “Watching her put it all together. You could visibly see the game slowing down for her. It was incredible to watch her.”
‘We’re doing this the right way.’
The Xavier women’s basketball program was going through an obvious rebuild in the first two seasons of the Chambers era.
After winning just once last season, Xavier had a five-game improvement in the win column this season.
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On Jan. 18, Xavier snapped a 47-game Big East losing streak by beating Butler at Cintas Center. The Musketeers then finished the regular season on an 11-game losing streak ahead of the Big East Tournament but were competitive in a slew of conference games they simply couldn’t pull out in the end.
Though the record didn’t reflect it, there were clear signs of improvement.
“Even though you feel that progress, you understand it’s very early in your process. You can start to waver a little bit. You can start to wonder, ‘gosh, is it coming? Am I doing the right things to build?'” Chambers said. “I think it’s a very good reminder to our staff that we’re doing it the right way. We’re loving these kids up. We’re teaching them as much as we can. We gotta stay true to our course and true to our process.”
No. 11 Xavier plays No. 3 Seton Hall Saturday night in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier women’s basketball wins 1st Big East Tournament game since 2015
