Saturday, March 12, 2016

XU Nuggets to play Campbellsville in national 1st round


NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana will lead off the 2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in a rematch with Campbellsville.
    
The Gold Nuggets (22-11) will play the Tigers (25-7) at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16 to lead off the 32-team event. Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Mo., is the tournament site for the second straight year. The NAIA announced Wednesday the tournament field and pairings.
    
Xavier and Campbellsville will meet for the third consecutive season. The Lady Tigers defeated Xavier 59-55 in the 2014 second round of nationals at Frankfort, Ky., and 74-62 in the Bethel Chamber of Commerce Shootout at McKenzie, Tenn., to open the 2014-15 season.
    
Xavier is one of four teams seeded seventh. Campbellsville is a No. 2 seed.
    
Xavier climbed to 25th in the coaches poll returned to the top 25 for the first time in five weeks. Campbellsville is ranked eighth and was preseason No. 1.
    
The Gold Nuggets earned an automatic bid to nationals by defeating Talladega 75-68 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game Sunday. This is the 19th time in the last 22 seasons that the Gold Nuggets qualified for nationals. They did not qualify a year ago.
    
Talladega remained at 15th in the coaches poll and will play Lindsey Wilson in the opening round at 4:30 p.m. March 17
    
Second-round games will be played March 18, followed by quarterfinals March 19, semifinals March 21 and the championship game March 22. The Xavier-Campbellsville winner will play The Master's or Loyola at 9 a.m. March 18.

PDF Bracket
 
NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 8)

RankTeamRecordPointsLast
1 Our Lady of the Lake (9)29-22191
2Westmont 28-32122
3Lyon29-32054
4Bethel (Tenn.)26-61943
5Shawnee State28-51908
6Vanguard 24-6180tie-6
7The Master's24-51735
8Campbellsville 25-7170tie-6
9MidAmerica Nazarene27-51689
10Freed-Hardeman 26-7157 10
11Wayland Baptist25-415312
12Columbia (Mo.)27-514011
13Lewis-Clark State25-613914
14Central Methodist26-413113
15Talladega23-511915
16Montana State-Northern23-811216
17Oklahoma City 20-8104 17
18Lindsey Wilson26-69918
19Benedictine (Kan.)26-69419
20Great Falls22-108821
21Carroll (Mont.)22-88220
22Baker24-86724
23Pikeville23-86322
24Loyola23-76225
25Xavier22-1150RV

    
Dropped from rankings:  No. 23 Langston
    
Others receiving votes:  Martin Methodist 43, Langston 32, Auburn Montgomery 22, Cumberland 20, LSU-Shreveport 18, Huston-Tillotson 11, Harris-Stowe 4

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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