NEW ORLEANS — Johnna Williams and Shayla Boyd scored 10 points apiece Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 60-49 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over SUNO.
     The victory was the third in row for the Gold Nuggets (19-7 overall, 10-4 GCAC) and their 77th in the past 80 games at The Barn. Xavier is in third place in the conference and trails the leader, Loyola, by two games with four games remaining.
     Six Nuggets scored during a 17-1 second-half run which lasted nearly 8½ minutes and turned their 35-29 deficit into a 46-36 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Brittany Powell's basket at 14:35 put Xavier ahead to stay at 37-35.
     Louvinia Hayes, with 18 points, was the only double-figure scorer for SUNO (9-12, 4-10).
     Xavier, which avenged a 55-46 loss at SUNO from Jan. 17, outshot SUNO 41 to 35 percent from the floor and committed 10 fewer turnovers, but the Lady Knights had a 47-36 rebound advantage. The teams combined to make 11-of-33 free throws.
     SUNO led 28-27 at halftime. The Lady Knights have lost 17 consecutive GCAC regular-season road games.