HATTIESBURG, Miss. —
Jasmine Grant's basket with 41 seconds
remaining Thursday lifted Xavier University of Louisiana to a 62-60 Gulf Coast
Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over William Carey.
The Gold Nuggets (20-7 overall, 11-4 GCAC) reached
20 victories for a school-record-tying eighth consecutive season and the 16th
time in 17 seasons. Xavier clinched a quarterfinal home game March 4 in the GCAC Tournament.
Grant finished with 12 points and scored in double
figures for the first time since Dec. 20. She passed to
Brittany Powell for
a basket which tied the score at 60 with 1:10 remaining, then hit the
game-winner after a
Shayla Boyd steal. The Nuggets preserved the victory
on
LaTashia Wise's steal in the final five seconds.
SiMon Franklin scored 13 points and Powell 11 for
Xavier, which trailed 48-40 with 9:40 remaining.
Kim Lewis led William Carey (14-10, 9-6) with 19
points and 10 rebounds. Shonte Kennedy had 14 points and eight rebounds,
and Corissa Tillman scored 11. The Lady Saders missed 11 free throws, and
the Nuggets limited Fallon Hartfield to three points and five rebounds in
35 minutes. Hartfield entered the game averaging 10.4 rebounds, which
ranked fourth in NAIA Division I, and 16.9 points.
Xavier outshot William Carey 42 to 39 percent
from the floor, but the Lady Saders had a 41-35 rebound advantage. Both
teams committed 21 turnovers, and the game had seven ties and 12 lead changes.
Grant entered the game shooting 31 percent from the
floor and 27 percent from 3-point range but made 5-of-7 from the floor,
including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, against the Lady Saders.
The victory produced a milestone for Xavier's
Bo Browder, who became the fourth coach in Louisiana women's college basketball
history to reach 20 wins in eight consecutive seasons and the fifth state
coach to win 20 games nine times. This is Browder's 10th season as the Nuggets' coach.
Xavier remained in third place in the conference,
two games behind GCAC leader Loyola and one game behind LSU-Shreveport.
Both the Wolfpack and the Lady Pilots won Thursday.
Xavier and William Carey will play GCAC road games
at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Nuggets will travel to Mobile, and the Lady Saders
will visit SUNO.
