SHREVEPORT, Louisiana -- Whitney Gathright led a Xavier University of Louisiana record comeback and reached 1,000 career points Saturday in a 91-86 overtime women's basketball victory against Our Lady of the Lake at the LSUS Classic.
Gathright scored 16 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes of regulation after the Gold Nuggets (3-1) trailed 64-47, and the all-star senior point guard finished with a career-high 33. Gathright's only shot of overtime, a 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining, put Xavier ahead to stay, 89-86, and made her the 20th Gold Nugget to reach 1,000 career points.
It was the largest comeback victory in the Nuggets' history -- there were rallies from 16 down against Phillips (Miss.) in 1983-84 and four years ago at Georgetown (Ky.) -- and it was their first victory against a top-7 team in nearly nine years. Our Lady of the Lake (0-1) is ranked seventh in NAIA Division I, and Xavier is 21st.
"It looked like the game was over when we were down 17," said Gathright, who has 1,002 points in four seasons, "but we weren't quitting. We started trapping on defense. We were going to roll the dice and see what happens."
Gathright produced three steals in the comeback, and seniors Trana Hopkins (10) and Donyeah Mayfield (5) produced the other points in the rally.
"A lot of people stepped up today," Gathright said.
Mayfield scored a career-high 19 points and matched her best of 16 rebounds. Hopkins scored a season-high 15. Alesha Smith, scored six of her season-high 11 points in overtime, and Emoni Harvey had five steals. Smith and Harvey are seniors.
"What I like about this team is that the seniors are showing leadership, and everybody is showing accountability," said XU coach Bo Browder.
Taylor Hamilton scored 23 points, Sonji Green had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and Alyssa Ward scored 12 for the Saints, who in this event beat Xavier 77-76 a year ago and 92-86 in 2013.
"We played great early, got up by 10, and played great at the end," Browder said. “Middle of the game we didn’t play very well. But we hung around, kept knocking on the door, and made something happen.”
Xavier made its final nine field-goal attempts of regulation. "I didn't realize we shot it that well," Browder said. "I know this -- at some point you have to make some shots to win."
For the game, Xavier shot 42.3 percent from the floor and made 7-of-13 3-pointers. The Nuggets reached 90 points for the first time since a 99-43 home victory against Concordia (Ala.) on Nov. 23, 2009.
The Gold Nuggets will play 25th-ranked LSU-Shreveport at 4 p.m. Sunday in the final game of the event. The Pilots beat defending national champion Oklahoma City 72-60 in the second game Saturday. The Stars share the No. 7 ranking with OLLU.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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