ALEXANDRIA, La. —
Two second-half surges helped second-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball
clinch a 68-54 victory Friday against seventh-seeded Huston-Tillotson in the quarterfinals of the
Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Gold Nuggets (24-5) will play
third-seeded LSU-Alexandria (23-5) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday.
That winner will meet top-seeded LSU-Shreveport (27-2) or fifth-seeded Southwest (14-15)
for the championship at 2 p.m. Sunday.
XULA's 10-1 third-quarter run erased
the Rams' final lead, 39-38, and put the Gold Nuggets ahead to stay. A 15-2 fourth-quarter run,
capped by
Sierra Headquist's 3-pointer, gave XULA its largest lead, 63-47, with 2:27 remaining.
Patricia Sosa Lora had 12 points and seven rebounds
for XULA.
Zaria Harleaux had 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and
Taylor Dewitt
produced 10 points and seven rebounds.
The win was XULA's fifth in a row and 13th in its last 14 games.
Destiny Stanford and Summer Thomas scored
11 points apiece for Huston-Tillotson (11-14), which dropped its fifth straight.
The Rams played without Dyana Offutt, who averaged 20 points in two regular-season losses to XULA.
XULA trailed 13-5 through eight minutes but rallied for a tie at 27 by halftime.
Overall the Gold Nuggets outshot the Rams 36.8 to 31.3 percent from the floor, and
XULA was plus-14 in rebounds and plus-7 in turnovers.
2024 Red River Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
at Rapides Parish Coliseum, Alexandria, La.
Quarterfinals — Friday, March 1
Texas A&M-Texarkana (No. 4 seed, 13-15) vs. Southwest (N.M.) (No. 5 seed, 13-15), 8 a.m. —
Southwest 64, Texas A&M-Texarkana 52
LSU-Alexandria (No. 3 seed, 22-5) vs. Our Lady of the Lake (No. 6 seed, 10-17), 9:45 a.m. —
LSU-Alexandria 61, Our Lady of the Lake 45
XULA (No. 2 seed, 23-5) vs. Huston-Tillotson (No. 7 seed, 11-13), 11:30 a.m. —
XULA 68, Huston-Tillotson 54
LSU-Shreveport (No. 1 seed, 26-2) vs. Louisiana Christian (No. 8 seed, 11-15), 1:15 p.m. —
LSU-Shreveport 90, Louisiana Christian 47
Semifinals — Saturday, March 2
XULA (No. 2 seed, 24-5) vs. LSU-Alexandria (No. 3 seed, 23-5), 1 p.m.
LSU-Shreveport (No. 1 seed, 27-2) vs. Southwest (N.M.) (No. 5 seed, 14-15), 3 p.m.
Championship — Sunday, March 3
Semifinal winners meet at 2 p.m.
