MARSHALL, Texas — Brittany Powell scored a career-high 25 points Tuesday to lead NAIA No. 18 Xavier University of Louisiana to an 80-64 women's basketball victory over Wiley.
     Powell, the first Xavier player to score 20 points in a game this season, also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a season-high three shots. Powell surpassed her previous high — when she was a freshman at San Jose State — of 24 points against Idaho on Feb. 1, 2007.
     SiMon Franklin scored 14 points for the Gold Nuggets (6-1), and Shayla Boyd had a season-high 12 points and a career-high-tying five assists.
     It was the third consecutive victory for Xavier and its second in five days against Wiley. The Nuggets won 63-53 Friday in the Xavier Classic.
     Katrina Harris scored 17 points for the Lady Wildcats (3-7), who have a four-game losing streak, and Kristi Alexander and Ashley Welch scored 10 apiece.
     Xavier led 35-27 at halftime and offset a season-worst 31 turnovers by shooting a season-high 55.6 percent from the floor. The victory margin was the Nuggets' largest at an opponent's venue since a 69-53 victory at New Orleans on Nov. 15, 2004.
     Bo Browder matched the best seven-game start in his 10 years as Xavier's head coach. The Gold Nuggets also won six of their first seven in 2004-05.
     Xavier's next game will start at 2 p.m. Saturday against Paul Quinn at The Barn. It will be the Nuggets' final home game before Jan. 15. Wiley will play host to Tougaloo at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.