Gold Nuggets bounce back with 39-point home victory

NEW ORLEANS -- Danielle Tucker scored a season-high 16 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 9 Xavier University of Louisiana in a wire-to-wire 80-41 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Tougaloo.

The Gold Nuggets (12-3 overall, 2-1 GCAC), playing their first conference game in their new Convocation Center, knocked the Lady Bulldogs (10-4, 2-1) out of a first-place tie in the GCAC. Xavier bounced back strongly from a 68-65 Monday loss at Talladega, the only unbeaten team in conference.

SiMon Franklin scored six points during a 13-1 run in the first 5½ minutes. Whitney Gaston-Loyd, Paige Rochelle and Jessica Savannah scored four points each during a 14-0 burst which gave Xavier a 37-9 lead at 4:03. The Nuggets led 46-12 at halftime.

Tucker, a junior forward in her first XU season after transferring from NCAA Division II Mars Hill, scored 13 second-half points. Gaston-Loyd matched her career high of 13 points for the second consecutive game, and Savannah scored a season-high 10 points. Chelsea Broussard grabbed a season-best eight rebounds and matched her career high of three steals.

Tucker's basket with 4:44 remaining gave Xavier its biggest lead, 80-33.

Erin Wells led Tougaloo with eight points. The Lady Bulldogs' Portia Craft, a junior guard who entered the game No. 2 in NAIA Division I with 20.7 points per game, scored two points in 24 minutes. She was 1-of-9 from the floor and scored her only points on a steal and layup with 7:29 remaining.

Xavier shot a season-high 48.6 percent from the floor and limited Tougaloo to 29.6 percent. Xavier committed a season-low 11 fouls and outrebounded the Lady Bulldogs 45-34. Xavier committed 16 turnovers and gained 28.

The winning margin was Xavier's largest against Tougaloo in 12 years. The Nuggets extended their GCAC home win streak to 23 and defeated Tougaloo at home for the 32nd consecutive time. Xavier has won 13 straight GCAC home openers.

Xavier will continue a four-game GCAC home stand at 5:30 p.m. Monday against SUNO, which is tied for second place in the conference with Xavier and Tougaloo.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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