XU Gold Nuggets defeat Florida Memorial in opener, 72-48

Coach Robert "Bo"  Browder
Xavier Career Record: 299-102 (13th season)

NEW ORLEANS -- Keldra Hall and Chelsea Broussard scored 10 points apiece Friday to lead NAIA No. 16 Xavier University of Louisiana in a 72-48 women's basketball victory against Florida Memorial.

It was the opener for both teams. The Gold Nuggets won their home opener for the 20th consecutive season.

Hall, an All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference center this past season, scored all her points in 11 second-half minutes. Broussard, a sophomore forward, reached double figures for the third time at Xavier.

"I struggled the first half but I was more determined to be effective in the second half," Hall said.

Jasmine Grant, who missed the final 26 games of 2010-11 because of a knee injury, put Xavier ahead to stay at 7-4 with a 3-pointer during the third minute. The Gold Nuggets led by double digits for the final 24:52, including 37-25 at halftime, and the final margin was their largest of the game.

Dominique Jackson had 13 points and eight rebounds for Florida Memorial, a qualifier for the NAIA Division II National Championships a year ago, and Kalicia Battle had 10 points and six rebounds. The Lady Lions never led.

Xavier, the NAIA Division I leader in scoring defense the past two seasons, outshot the Lady Lions 37.3 to 25.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 53-46. Hall and Paige Gauthier grabbed seven rebounds apiece for the Nuggets, with Gauthier matching her career high.

Fifteen players saw action for Xavier, and 13 scored. SiMon Franklin, a junior guard who redshirted this past season, started and had nine points and three steals in a team-best 23 minutes. All four of the Nuggets' freshmen -- Jessica Savannah, Crystal Wallace, Cleosha Lee and redshirt Dalila Robinson -- scored, with Savannah and Robinson getting seven apiece.

"Our team played well after a disappointing exhibition loss at LSU," said Xavier coach Bo Browder, who is 299-102 in 13th seasons. "We need more work on defense and rebounding. Other than that it was a good night."

Xavier has won 11 straight at The Barn and 110 of its past 117 games in its campus facility.

NOTES: Xavier beat Florida Memorial in both teams' opener for the second straight year. It was 55-47 at The Barn last season . . . XU's 2010-11 team members received Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship rings in a pregame ceremony . . . Xavier's tournament next week at Georgetown (Ky.) changed sponsors -- it's now the Chick-fil-A Classic -- and game times. The Gold Nuggets will play at 6 p.m. EST next Friday against Indiana Wesleyan and 4 p.m. EST the following day against Georgetown.

Next Game: The Gold Nuggets will play Spring Hill at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 at The Barn. Bo Browder will try for his 300th victory as Xavier's head coach. He is the Gold Nuggets' winningest coach.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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