CINCINNATI – The Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team will face Xavier University in a preseason exhibition Friday night at the Cintas Center.
 
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and admission is free for all fans. Spectators are encouraged to arrive early for the best parking and seating availability.
 
Xavier finished the 2024-25 season with a 7-24 overall record and a 1-17 mark in Big East Conference play. The Musketeers advanced to the Big East quarterfinals after an 80-73 upset of No. 6 seed DePaul at Mohegan Sun.
 
EKU is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2001-02, along with consecutive appearances in the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in eight years. Since 2022, the Colonels' 61 victories rank second among NCAA Division I programs in Kentucky, trailing only Louisville.
 
The Colonels return five players from last year's roster and added seven newcomers from the transfer portal and prep ranks.
 
Following the exhibition, sophomore guard Liz Freihofer and graduate guard Althea Kara Angeles will represent EKU at the Atlantic Sun Conference Tipoff event Oct. 19-20 in Jacksonville, Florida.