Gold Nuggets fall to 14th after dropping 3-of-4

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana fell five places to 14th Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

The Gold Nuggets, 11-5 after a 73-65 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference home victory Monday against Edward Waters, dropped out of the top 10 after closing December with three consecutive losses. They ended the streak Saturday with a 55-46 home victory against then-No. 22 LSU-Shreveport and knocked the Pilots out of the top 25.

Despite the drop, the Gold Nuggets have their fourth-highest ranking in the first January poll in Bo Browder's 17 seasons as head coach.

GCAC member Talladega joined Xavier in the top 25. The Lady Tornadoes are No. 23 and in the top 25 for the first time since April 2, 2014. Xavier will visit Talladega Jan. 16 and play host to the Lady Tornadoes Jan. 25.

Westmont received 8-of-9 first-place votes to capture its first No. 1 ranking since March 27, 2013. Vanguard, the No. 1 team in the previous poll, dropped to 12th after losing three in a row to top-10 opponents, two at home.

Xavier's next game will start at 5:30 p.m. Monday against GCAC opponent Philander Smith at XU's Convocation Center.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Jan. 3)
Rank Team Record Points Last

1 Westmont (8) 12-1 219 2
2 Montana State-Northern 12-1 205 3
3 Campbellsville 14-3 203 4
4 Bethel (Tenn.) 10-3 190 5
5 Carroll (Mont.) 12-1 189 6
6 Our Lady of the Lake 10-2 187 tie-10
7 Benedictine (Kan.) 12-1 181 8
8 Columbia (Mo.) (1) 14-0 173 16
9-tie Shawnee State 14-2 160 12
9-tie MidAmerica Nazarene 9-3 160 tie-10
11 Lyon 11-2 151 14
12 Vanguard 7-3 150 1
13 Freed-Hardeman 9-4 133 7
14 Xavier 10-5 118 9
15 Oklahoma City 5-4 117 13
16 The Master's 10-2 113 19
17 Langston 6-2 112 18
18 Cumberland 10-4 105 15
19 John Brown 9-5 95 17
20 Pikeville 14-0 89 23
21 Baker 10-2 73 RV
22 Rocky Mountain 10-4 62 tie-20
23 Talladega 11-3 51 RV
24 Martin Methodist 11-3 50 tie-20
25 Lindsey Wilson 13-2 46 RV

Dropped from rankings: No. 22 LSU-Shreveport, No. 24 Wayland Baptist, No. 25 Great Falls
Others receiving votes: Lewis-Clark State 40, Wiley 37, Wayland Baptist 37, Great Falls 24, Loyola 22, Central Methodist 19, Culver-Stockton 3, William Woods 3

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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