Same points for Nuggets, who resume schedule at LOC

NEW ORLEANS — For the second consecutive time, Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball received 10 points in the NAIA Division I coaches poll. But the new rankings announced Wednesday placed the Gold Nuggets among the "others receiving votes" at 33rd, three spots lower than they were Dec. 4.
     
XULA (10-4) will play LeMoyne-Owen (5-8) of NCAA Division II at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at LOC's Bruce-Johnson Hall in Memphis, Tenn. It will be the Gold Nuggets' first game in 16 days. Then on Monday, XULA will open its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference schedule at 5:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center against Tougaloo.
     
The XULA women have won five of their last six games.
     
XULA was one of two GCAC teams to receive votes in this week's poll. The other was Talladega, whose No. 12 ranking is the highest for the GCAC since the Gold Nuggets were ninth on Dec. 8, 2015. Talladega's ranking is its highest since Jan. 28, 2014, when it was 11th.
     
Defending national champion Freed-Hardeman climbed from second to first and received all nine first-place votes.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Dec. 31)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS
1	2	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (9)	12-0	219
tie-2	4	Columbia (Mo.)	9-2	205
tie-2	6	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	11-1	205
4	9	Montana Western	11-0	200
5	1	Vanguard (Calif.)	11-2	193
6	3	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	10-2	184
7	5	Campbellsville (Ky.)	14-2	179
tie-8	7	Shawnee State (Ohio)	13-3	162
tie-8	8	Carroll (Mont.)	11-3	162
10	10	Oklahoma City	11-1	157
11	14	Menlo (Calif.)	11-2	154
12	15	Talladega (Ala.)	14-2	133
13	13	Providence (Mont.)	11-3	132
14	12	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	11-4	127
15	11	Westmont (Calif.)	9-4	126
16	RV	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	11-2	112
17	16	Bethel (Tenn.)	10-3	103
18	17	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	9-3	94
18	19	Lyon (Ark.)	10-1	94
20	20	William Penn (Iowa)	12-1	93
21	22	The Master's (Calif.)	10-4	88
22	18	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	11-3	73
23	24	Central Methodist (Mo.)	9-4	63
24	RV	William Jessup (Calif.)	12-2	48
25	RV	LSU-Alexandria (La.)	11-2	46

Dropped from the Top 25: No. 21 Arizona Christian, No. 23 Baker (Kan.), No. 25 Dillard (La.)

Others Receiving Votes: Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 29, Georgetown (Ky.) 28, Loyola (La.) 20, Baker (Kan.) 15, Arizona Christian 14, Huston-Tillotson (Texas) 13, William Woods (Mo.) 12, Xavier (La.) 10, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 7, Evangel (Mo.) 4

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