2-time state-champion point guard is XU Nuggets' first signee

WHITNEY GATHRIGHT

NEW ORLEANS — Whitney Gathright of New Orleans, the starting point guard for two state-championship teams at John Curtis Christian School, is Xavier University of Louisiana's first women's basketball signee for 2012-13.

Gathright, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall, signed a scholarship Wednesday afternoon at Curtis in suburban River Ridge, Louisiana.

Gathright averaged 8.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals for Curtis this past season. She averaged 13 points in five playoff games and led Curtis with 14 points in the Patriots' 55-42 victory against Iota in the Class 2A championship game March 10. Curtis finished 34-1 and won its final 22 games.

As a freshman in 2009 she averaged 11.8 points in five playoff games and had 10 points and four assists in the Patriots' 51-41 victory against South Beauregard in the 2A championship game.

In each of her final three seasons she was selected to The Times-Picayune's All-Metro small schools team and earned 2A All-State honorable mention. Curtis was 115-20 during her tenure, and she recorded 1,295 points (9.8 average) and 393 assists (3.0) in 132 games. In Gathright's final two seasons she made 38.6 percent of her 3-pointers (93-of-241) and 77.4 percent of her free throws (127-of-164).

Xavier will replace five seniors from this past season. Coach Bo Browder's Gold Nuggets were 26-9 in 2011-12, won Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and, for the second consecutive year, reached the second round of the NAIA Division I National Championship. The GCAC Tournament title was the Nuggets' third in a row.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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