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| 2014 GCAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE |
The Gold Nuggets (20-9) will play Dillard (3-15) at 5 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. All four women's games that day will be played at Dillard's Dent Hall. Xavier is seeded second, and Dillard is seventh.
Xavier closed the regular season Saturday with a 63-56 victory at Dillard. The Nuggets also defeated the Lady Bleu Devils 71-60 at Xavier on Jan. 25. Coach Bo Browder's teams are 5-0 in the postseason against Dillard -- his first postseason game was a 62-58 overtime victory against Dillard in the 1999 GCAC quarterfinals at Mobile, Ala.
It will be the 81st meeting between the Nuggets and Dillard. Xavier leads the series, which began in the 1977-78 season, 61-19 and won the last 11 meetings. Xavier is 7-0 against Dillard at Dent Hall during the past nine seasons.
All tournament rounds will be played in New Orleans. No. 8 seed Voorhees will play No. 9 Fisk in the women's first round at 5 p.m. Thursday at Dillard. The final two women's rounds will be played at Xavier's Convocation Center -- semifinals on Saturday and the championship game at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Xavier was 10-2 during the GCAC regular season, finishing second and a half-game behind Talladega. The Lady Tornadoes' only conference loss this season was 66-50 at Xavier on Jan. 20.
This is the first time since 2009 that Xavier is not the No. 1 seed. Fisk upset Xavier 64-52 a year ago, giving the Nuggets their first GCAC quarterfinal loss since 2000. Xavier won the tournament in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
If the Nuggets reach the semifinals, they will play third-seeded SUNO or sixth-seeded Tougaloo at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The tournament winner will receive the GCAC's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I National Championship, which will begin March 19 at Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky. Xavier qualified for the national tournament each of the past four seasons and 17 times in the past 19 seasons. Xavier is ranked 25th nationally, and a new top 25 will be announced late Tuesday afternoon.
The tournament schedule:
First Round -- Thursday, March 6
At Dillard's Dent Hall
#8 Voorhees vs. #9 Fisk, 5 p.m.
Quarterfinals -- Friday, March 7
At Dillard's Dent Hall
#4 Philander Smith vs. #5 Edward Waters, noon
#1 Talladega vs. Voorhees-Fisk winner, 2 p.m.
#2 Xavier vs. #7 Dillard, 5 p.m.
#3 SUNO vs. #6 Tougaloo, 7 p.m.
Semifinals -- Saturday, March 8
At Xavier's Convocation Center
Philander Smith-Edward Waters winner vs. Talladega-Voorhees-Fisk winner, noon
Xavier-Dillard winner vs. SUNO-Tougaloo winner, 2 p.m.
Championship -- Sunday, March 9
At Xavier's Convocation Center
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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