GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Sophomore guard Whitney Gathright scored a career-best 19 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 15 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 69-63 women's basketball victory against Langston.
     It was the season opener for both teams.
     Gathright, from New Orleans and a former John Curtis Christian School standout, was 5-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line in 31 minutes. She scored 11 second-half points and finished with four assists and three steals. Gathright and Danielle Tucker made two 3-pointers apiece, all in the first half.
     Paige Gauthier had 16 points, four assists and four steals for the Gold Nuggets, and Tucker had 12 points and seven rebounds. Gauthier scored 14 in the second half.
     Lynette Holmes, a transfer from the University of Arizona, and Alex Adekunle scored 19 points apiece for Langston, and Amber Kinlaw had 10. Holmes scored 15 in the second half.
     Xavier trailed 11-6 through the first six minutes, then Tucker and Gathright combined for 18 points to rally the Nuggets and give them a 32-25 halftime lead. Freshman Taylor Norman made two free throws to give Xavier its biggest lead, 53-33, with 8:20 remaining.
     Three times Langston cut Xavier's lead to four points, all in the final 90 seconds, but did not draw closer. The Lady Lions committed four turnovers in the final 2½ minutes.
     Xavier outshot Langston 44 to 35.5 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Lady Lions 43-36. Chelsea Broussard and Emoni Harvey also grabbed seven rebounds for the Nuggets. Harvey, a sophomore guard, more than doubled her previous career best of three rebounds.
     Xavier extended its regular-season win streak to 13 games.
     Xavier's next game will be its home opener at 4 p.m. Saturday against Spring Hill at the Convocation Center. That game will follow a 2 p.m. matchup between the XU men and Albany State.