2024-25 Red River Athletic Conference women's basketball standings

        NEW ORLEANS — Double-doubles by Lauren Banks and Sierra Headquist carried Xavier University of Louisiana to an 85-48 Red River Athletic Conference women's basketball victory Satuday against Texas A&M-San Antonio.
        The Gold Nuggets (4-0 overall, 2-0 RRAC) share first place in the conference with LSU-Shreveport, LSU-Alexandria and Huston-Tillotson.
        Banks had 17 points and 12 rebounds and made all 10 of her free throws. Headquist, who did not start, had 16 points and 15 rebounds and was 7-of-8 from the floor.
        XULA's Kam Shelley scored a game-high 19-points, and teammate Joy Campbell had 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and — for the second straight game — seven assists.
        XULA shut down a TAMUSA team that entered with four of the Red River's five leading scorers. Evelyn Lorenzo, No. 1 before Saturday with 20.5 points per game, scored nine points and was 2-of-11 from the floor. Maya Simon scored 11 points.
        The Gold Nuggets led 41-23 at halftime and built their largest lead, 85-43, on Kyla Cage's free throw in the final minute. The 37-point winning margin followed XULA victories by five, four and seven points.
        "The energy was there," Banks said. "We came out hard and finished hard. There was no energy change during the game."
        Banks — a 5-foot-10 graduate student in her first XULA season after transferring from NCAA Division II Saint Augustine's — is averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 points in four games. It was the third time this season she did not miss a free throw; she's 24-of-26 overall.
        "We've been trying to keep each other up and have each other's backs," Banks said. "It became a reality today."
        XULA outshot the Jaguars 43.8 to 26.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 63-32.
        Texas A&M-San Antonio, in its first season of basketball, is 3-2 and 1-1.
        XULA will visit a city rival, NAIA No. 25 Loyola (2-2), at 5:30 p.m. Monday at The Den. It will be a doubleheader; the men of XULA and Loyola will tip off at 7:30 p.m. XULA will bus to Texas for RRAC doubleheaders Thursday at North American and Saturday at Huston-Tillotson.
        Elsewhere in the Red River:
        •  Huston-Tillotson won 72-66 at Southwest (N.M.)
        •  Paul Quinn won 76-63 at home against North American.
        •  LSUA won 77-67 at Texas A&M-Texarkana.
        •  LSUS won 64-50 at Jarvis Christian.
        •  Louisiana Christian won 75-60 against Our Lady of the Lake. They played at LSU-Alexandria because of water damage to LCU's H.O. West Fieldhouse.