JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Senior guard Jasmine Grant scored 15 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 60-53 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Edward Waters.
     The Gold Nuggets (20-8 overall, 10-2 GCAC) reached 20 victories for the 11th consecutive season, which extends a school record. Bo Browder tied the Louisiana collegiate record for consecutive 20-win seasons by a women's basketball coach with 11. Leon Barmore established the record at Louisiana Tech from 1991-2002.
     Browder is in his 13th season as Xavier's head coach and has reached 20 victories 12 times. He is 318-110 with the Gold Nuggets. This is the 19th time in 20 seasons that the XU women won 20 or more games.
     Grant, the Nuggets' only double-figure scorer, also had seven assists to tie her career best for the second straight game.
     Xavier led 30-24 at halftime and extended its lead to 51-40 with 5:43 remaining. Edward Waters held a pair of one-point leads in the first 10 minutes, but Grant passed to freshman Jessica Savannah for a pair of baskets, and Carmen Holcombe made two free throws in a 6-0 run which put the Nuggets ahead to stay, 17-12, at 8:24.
     Holcombe and SiMon Franklin scored nine points apiece for the Nuggets.
     Tiffany Tolbert scored 16 points for Edward Waters (8-22, 4-10). Ebony Presha scored 14 points, and Jessica Georges had her sixth double-double of the season, 11 points and 13 rebounds.
     The Gold Nuggets won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a month. They completed a two-game regular-season sweep of Edward Waters and improved to 6-0 all-time against the Lady Tigers. Xavier remained in a first-place tie in the GCAC with Talladega, an 84-60 winner at Philander Smith. Both co-leaders have two conference games remaining.
     Xavier will stay on the road and play GCAC opponent Fisk at 5:30 p.m. Monday in Nashville, Tenn.