Nuggets' schedule has 7 games vs. NAIA tourney teams

NEW ORLEANS — Seven games against teams which competed in last season's NAIA Division I National Championship are on the 2013-14 Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball schedule.

Fifteenth-year head coach Bo Browder announced the schedule Tuesday.

The Gold Nuggets' games against 2013 postseason teams will be:

•  Nov. 15 against Our Lady of the Lake and Nov. 16 against LSU-Shreveport in the LSUS Classic at Shreveport, La.

•  Nov. 29 at Oklahoma City in the Capital City Classic.

•  Dec. 31 against Faulkner in the Xavier Classic.

•  Jan. 7 at Southern Poly.

•  Jan. 11 at home against SUNO.

•  Feb. 8 at SUNO.

Xavier will open the season at 6 p.m. on Nov. 2 against Langston at a neutral site in Grand Prairie, Texas, a Dallas suburb. The second game, Nov. 9 against Spring Hill, will be the Gold Nuggets' home opener.

Eight of the Gold Nuggets' first 10 games will be on the road, including a Dec. 1 game at Louisiana-Lafayette. It will be Xavier's first regular-season game against an NCAA Division I opponent since November 2010 and its first against the Ragin' Cajuns since the 1988-89 season.

The Gold Nuggets will play two games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the week before Christmas, but opponents and times have yet to be announced.

The Xavier Classic, a Thanksgiving event since it began in 2000, is moving to the week after Christmas this season with Faulkner, LSUS and Mobile in the four-team field. Browder said he plans to return the Xavier Classic to Thanksgiving week in 2014.

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference selected New Orleans as the host city for its 2014 women's and men's basketball tournaments. Xavier, one of three GCAC members from New Orleans, is committed to a role in the event, which will be played during the first full week of March. Venues, dates and times will be announced later. The Gold Nuggets are a three-time defending GCAC regular-season champion and won the GCAC Tournament four times in the past six years.

Xavier will play longtime HBCU, city and GCAC rival Dillard in the Crosstown Classic on Jan. 25 and Tougaloo for Senior Day on Feb. 22.

Still to be determined is which home contest will be the Play 4Kay Game for cancer awareness and fundraising.

It will be the second season of basketball in the Convocation Center, a $25 million facility which seats nearly 4,000. The Gold Nuggets were 15-2 in the building last season with a pair of six-game win streaks, one to close the season.

The GCAC Tournament women's champion will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Division I National Championship at Frankfort, Ky. Xavier qualified for nationals last season as an at-large selection and reached the tournament for the fourth consecutive year and the 17th time in 19 seasons. The Gold Nuggets were 24-6 in 2012-13, 12-2 in the GCAC and ranked 17th in the NAIA Division I postseason poll.

2013-14 Xavier University Women's Basketball Schedule.

2013-14 Xavier University Women's Basketball Schedule Click here for detailed schedule information Nov. 2 (Sat.):  Langston, 6 p.m. (1) Nov. 9 (Sat.):  SPRING HILL (DH), 4 p.m. Nov. 11 (Mon.):  at Mobile (DH), 5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 (Fri.):  Our Lady of the Lake, 5:30 p.m. (2) Nov. 16 (Sat.):  at LSU-Shreveport, 5 p.m. (2) Nov. 23 (Sat.):  TEXAS COLLEGE (DH), 2 p.m. (3) Nov. 28 (Thu.):  Oklahoma Baptist, 5 p.m. (4) Nov. 29 (Fri.):  at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m. (4) Dec. 1 (Sun.):  at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2 p.m. Dec. 3 (Tue.):  at Loyola, 7 p.m. Dec. 5 (Thu.):  WILLIAM CAREY (DH), 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 (Tue.):  TBA (5) Dec. 18 (Wed.):  TBA (5) Dec. 30 (Mon.):  MOBILE, 7 p.m. (6) Dec. 31 (Tue.):  FAULKNER, 5 p.m. (6) Jan. 4 (Sat.):  • at Fisk (DH), 3 p.m. Jan. 6 (Mon.):  • at Voorhees (DH), 5:30 p.m. EST Jan. 7 (Tue.):  at Southern Poly, 6 p.m. EST Jan. 11 (Sat.):  • SUNO (DH), 3 p.m. Jan. 18 (Sat.):  • EDWARD WATERS (DH), 3 p.m. Jan. 20 (Mon.):  • TALLADEGA (DH), 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25 (Sat.):  • DILLARD (DH), 3 p.m. (7) Feb. 1 (Sat.):  • at Tougaloo (DH), 3 p.m. Feb. 3 (Mon.):  • at Philander Smith (DH), 5:30 p.m. Feb. 8 (Sat.):  • at SUNO (DH), 3 p.m. Feb. 11 (Tue.):  at William Carey (DH), 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 (Mon.):  • PHILANDER SMITH (DH), 5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 (Sat.):  • TOUGALOO (DH), 3 p.m. (8) March 1 (Sat.):  • at Dillard (DH), 3 p.m. TBA:  GCAC TOURNAMENT IN NEW ORLEANS March 19-25 (Wed.-Tue.):  NAIA Division I National Championship, Frankfort, Ky. Home games (in bold and CAPITAL LETTERS) will be played at the Convocation Center (capacity 3,937), Xavier University campus, New Orleans • Gulf Coast Athletic Conference game TBA — To be announced All times are Central except where noted (DH) — doubleheader with Xavier's men (1) — at Grand Prairie, Texas (2) — LSUS Classic, Shreveport, La. (3) — Homecoming (4) — Capital City Classic, Oklahoma City (5) — at San Juan, Puerto Rico (6) — Xavier Classic (7) — Crosstown Classic (8) — Senior Day Call (504) 520-7329 for ticket information

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS