NEW ORLEANS — Ariel Mitchell scored 13 points Saturday, including the tiebreaking basket with 3:52 remaining, to carry Dillard to a 49-48 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana in the Bleu Devil Classic at Lakefront Arena.
     The Lady Blue Devils (9-21 overall, 5-13 GCAC) ended a four-game losing streak and snapped their nine-game losing streak against the Gold Nuggets (22-8, 13-5).
     Mitchell's basket put Dillard ahead to stay at 47-45, and the Lady Blue Devils didn't score again after Lauren Daniel's two free throws made it 49-45 with 3:31 remaining. But Xavier scored just once in its final six possessions — on Shayla Boyd's 3-pointer from the right corner with 43.5 seconds remaining — and missed two field-goal attempts in the final six seconds.
     Joslyn Greenard added eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals for Dillard.
     Jasmine Grant, with 10 points, was Xavier's only double-figure scorer. Danielle Jones and Brittany Powell added nine points each.
     Xavier led 27-25 at halftime, and the Nuggets took their final lead when Johnna Williams scored to make it 40-39 with 9:01 remaining.
     Williams blocked three shots to set a Xavier season record of 61. She entered the game sharing the mark with Gwendolyn Brule, who blocked 58 shots in 1981-82.
     Dillard shot 34 percent from the floor but limited Xavier to 31.7 percent. The Nuggets committed 14 of their 20 turnovers in the second half, including five in their final 10 possessions.
     Xavier will be the No. 3 seed in the GCAC Tournament next week. The Nuggets earned a first-round bye and will play sixth-seeded Tougaloo in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Barn. Dillard is the No. 9 seed and will play at eighth-seeded Mobile in the first round at 7 p.m. Monday.