Gold Nuggets lose in OT to NAIA No. 2 Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Xavier University of Louisiana led for nearly 33 minutes Friday before losing 72-70 in overtime to Oklahoma City in a matchup of ranked NAIA Division I women's basketball teams in the Capital City Classic.

Paige Gauthier had 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals for the Gold Nuggets (4-4), who are ranked 15th. Whitney Gaston-Loyd scored 11 points, and Carmen Holcombe had 10 points, a season high, plus five rebounds and four steals.

Yvonte Neal scored 24 points for the Stars (3-0), who are ranked second, and Autumn Lau had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Danielle Tucker's layup for Xavier with two seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 66. Oklahoma City scored the first six points of overtime to take its largest lead and held on after Gauthier missed a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play and the Nuggets trailing by two.

Xavier had one final possession after forcing a turnover with six seconds remaining but was unable to attempt a shot before the buzzer.

Xavier scored 33 points off of 31 Oklahoma City turnovers.

Gauthier's 3-pointer gave Xavier a 27-17 lead at 6:25 of the first half before the Stars scored 14 straight for a 31-27 halftime advantage.

Gauthier scored 10 points during a 12-4 run which gave Xavier a 44-40 lead with 13:28 remaining in regulation. The Nuggets led for nearly 13½ minutes in the second half before Lau's basket gave the Stars a 65-64 lead with 58 seconds to play. Tucker's overtime-forcing basket came after Neal made 1-of-2 free throws with 16 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma City had won its last nine non-conference home games by an average of 38.2 points. Xavier rebounded from a 75-46 loss to NAIA No. 23 Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday.

"Great effort by both teams. Great job by our ladies to bounce back after a very disappointing second half yesterday," XU coach Bo Browder said. "We put that game out of our minds and played hard for 45 minutes tonight. We didn't win, but we were very, very close against an Oklahoma City program which has always given us problems. That's encouraging.

"The key for us is bringing that focus and passion to every game. When we do, we'll be fine."

Xavier will fly home Saturday, then travel to NCAA Division I's Louisiana-Lafayette for a 2 p.m. game Sunday. The Gold Nuggets' next home game will start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday against William Carey at the Convocation Center.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA