Xavier Nuggets rout Dillard, win third consecutive GCAC title

2012-2013 GCAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA GOLD NUGGETS
(click photo to enlarge)
ROSTER

NEW ORLEANS -- Chelsea Broussard enjoyed a rare moment in the spotlight Saturday, scoring 11 points to lead NAIA No. 10 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 67-43 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic.

The Gold Nuggets (24-4, 12-2) won their 12th in a row to claim their third consecutive GCAC regular-season championship, this time by a game over SUNO and Talladega. Xavier will play Fisk at noon Thursday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark.

Broussard, a reserve junior forward, scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and the ninth time in her career. It was the first time she led Xavier in scoring since the 2011-12 season opener. In 15 minutes she was 2-of-3 from the floor and a career-best 7-of-8 from the line. She and Carmen Holcombe led Xavier with five rebounds each.

No one else scored more than eight points for Xavier, but 14 Gold Nuggets scored. Holcombe scored eight points, and Paige Gauthier had seven.

Jazzmin Smith scored 19 points -- including a career-best 13-of-18 free throws -- for Dillard (6-21, 4-10), and J'Ashala Haynes scored 12. The Lady Bleu Devils had just seven available players.

Xavier took the lead for good in the fourth minute and had a 32-25 halftime advantage, but the Gold Nuggets did not pull away until the middle of the second half, scoring 10 consecutive points in less than 2½ minutes to take a 52-35 lead with 9:12 remaining. SiMon Franklin, honored during a senior day ceremony at halftime, assisted on all five baskets during the run and finished with a career-best six. But leading the Gold Nuggets in assists was freshman reserve Whitney Gathright with a career-best seven in 19 minutes.

Xavier outshot Dillard 48.1 to 24.4 percent from the floor -- just the third time this season the Gold Nuggets reached 45 percent -- and had a 39-27 rebound advantage.

Dillard has a six-game losing streak.

Xavier defeated Dillard for the ninth consecutive time and the 18th time in the last 19 meetings. This was the first time the longtime rivals met in XU's new Convocation Center, which opened in November. It was the Gold Nuggets' sixth consecutive home victory and their 15th in 17 home games this season.

Xavier, the three-time defending GCAC Tournament champion, will play Fisk in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. That winner will play Tougaloo or Philander Smith in the semifinals at noon Friday. The championship game will start at 2 p.m. Saturday.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA