Nuggets beat No. 17 Loyola, make school-record 12 3s

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana made a school-record 12 3-pointers Tuesday and needed every one of them to earn a 67-64 women's basketball victory against NAIA No. 17 Loyola at the Convocation Center.
     
Jas Hill scored 20 points and Essence Wells a season-high 16 for the Gold Nuggets (4-0), who defeated their city rival for the first time in five attempts. XULA leads the series 31-10.
     
Tay Cannon scored 18 points for the Wolf Pack (0-2), and Kaila Anthony had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
     
Maya Trench's first 3-pointer of the season put XULA ahead to stay, 27-24, at 3:25 of the second quarter, and Wells scored five points in a 12-0 run that gave XULA a 39-26 halftime lead.
     
XULA's previous high for 3s in a game was 11 at Mobile on Feb. 8, 2007.
     
The Gold Nuggets shot more than 100 points higher from 3-point range than they did from 2-point range. They shot 42.9 percent behind the arc (12-of-28) and 22.5 percent inside it (9-of-40). The overall percentage was 30.9, well below Loyola's 43.8.
     
Meanwhile, XULA was plus-10 in turnovers, committing 16 and gaining 26. The Nuggets scored 27 points off turnovers.
     
Trench and Mikayla Bates had five assists apiece, and Trench had four steals.
     
XULA led 50-31 after Hill's 3-pointer at 6:26 of the third quarter and 57-40 when Da'Jha Virgil made a 3-pointer — her only points of the game — at 7:34 of the fourth. Then Loyola rallied, getting six points from Cannon in a 15-2 run that cut XULA's lead to 59-55 at 3:15. The Gold Nuggets could not exhale until Megan Worry missed a 3 from the left side and Trench rebounded on the final Wolf Pack possession.

BOX SCORE
     
Worry committed seven turnovers but also had 10 rebounds and three of Loyola's nine blocked shots.
     
Loyola was the finale of a four-game XULA home stand to open the season. The Gold Nuggets' first road game will start at 7 p.m. Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, against NAIA No. 15 Our Lady of the Lake.



Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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