NEW ORLEANS -- Brandy Broome scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half Sunday and lead top-seeded SUNO to a 55-47 women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at the Convocation Center.
The Lady Knights (21-4) won the tournament for the second time in three years and earned the GCAC's automatic berth to the NAIA Division I National Championship, which will begin March 18 at Independence, Mo. The Gold Nuggets (18-15), are expected to miss the national tourney for the first time since 2009 and just the third time in the last 21 seasons.
Broome, the tournament MVP and the GCAC's regular-season player of the year, narrowly missed a triple-double. The senior guard had 13 rebounds, five assists and nine steals, all game highs.
Marquetta Stokes scored 12 points for SUNO, and Rayvin Miller had 10 points.
Trana Hopkins scored 16 points and Vinnie Briggs 10 for Xavier, and Whitney Gathright grabbed a career-best nine rebounds.
Xavier led 25-22 at halftime. Miller's basket with 12:59 remaining put SUNO ahead to stay, 35-34. It was still a 1-point game in the final six minutes before Kishaun Williams scored a pair of baskets in an 8-0 run. Williams' second score concluded the run and gave SUNO a 51-42 lead with 1:19 remaining.
SUNO outshot Xavier 38.9 to 25.8 percent from the floor, 42.9 to 24.1 in the second half.
SUNO denied Xavier its fifth GCAC Tournament title in six years. The Gold Nuggets won the tourney in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
This was the closest of three meetings this season between the longtime city rivals. SUNO defeated the Gold Nuggets by 30 points at Xavier in January and by 10 at SUNO in February.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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