Nuggets lose to NAIA's No. 7 team in Vegas opener

LAS VEGAS, Nevada  —  Natahnee Spencer scored 20 points and made five 3-pointers to lead NAIA No. 7 Lewis-Clark State to a 68-49 women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in the last of three Friday games at the Las Vegas Shootout.

The Warriors (7-0) outscored the Gold Nuggets (3-3) in every quarter but dominated most in the second period. LCSC won that quarter 24-11 and outscored XULA 13-0 in the final four minutes to take a 39-24 halftime lead.

Brittany Tackett had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, Megan Risinger grabbed 11 rebounds, and Caelyn Orlandi — an NAIA second-team All-American last season — had eight assists and three steals.

Freshman Maya Trench scored a career-high 11 points for XULA. The 5-foot-2 point guard also grabbed a team-best six rebounds — twice as many as the Gold Nuggets' post players combined — and had six assists and three steals. Mikayla Bates scored a career-high-tying 10 points, and Terriel Ross scored nine.

XULA dropped its third in a row. The Gold Nuggets' points and .268 field-goal percentage were season lows, and their minus-22 rebound margin was their worst of the last 11 seasons. LCSC won the boards 59-37. There was a positive statistic for the Nuggets — their 14 turnovers were a season low.

LCSC shot 36.8 percent from the floor and made 18-of-33 free throws to XULA's 6-of-9.

All three Frontier Conference teams won Friday. Rocky Mountain defeated Northwest Christian 70-52, and 25th-ranked Carroll (Mont.) beat Arizona Christian 70-63. XULA will play Carroll at 5 p.m. PST Saturday.

BOX SCORE

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