HBU Tayler Jefferson's Career Night Not Enough in Women's Basketball's OT Loss to Delaware State

HOUSTON, Texas  –  Tayler Jefferson scored a career-high 29 points, leading four Huskies in double figures, but visiting Delaware State scored four points in the final two seconds of overtime to defeat Houston Baptist, 84-83, Saturday evening from Sharp Gym.

Jefferson went 8-of-10 from the floor, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-10 from the line in her memorable night for HBU (3-13). Shanice Steenholdt had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Rachel Arthur scored a career-high 14 points, while Erin McGarrachan added 10. HBU had a season-high eight blocks in the game, four by Ashleigh Nwanguma and three by Steenholdt.

Tierra Hawkins came off the bench to score 29 points for Delaware State (3-10), while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Tasia Bristow had 18 points, while Keyanna Tate had 12 points and Chelsea Dukes had 10.

There were three ties in the first four minutes of the game before HBU used a 13-4 run to lead DSU by 9, 19-10, with 13:35 left in the first half.

Leading 27-19 with seven minutes to go in the opening half, HBU scored six-straight points for its largest lead of the game, 14, 33-19, with 5:22 remaining, after a layup by Wiebke Bruns.



The Lady Hornets closed out the first half on a 16-5 run to trail HBU by just three, 38-35.

Jefferson led HBU with eight points at halftime, while Hawkins had 16.

Dukes' three pointer two-and-a-half minutes into the second half tied the game at 40-all. A three pointer by Jefferson jump-started the Huskies, who led the Lady Hornets by seven, 49-42, after a layup by Steenholdt.

DSU answered with seven-straight points to tie the game at 49-all with 9:41 remaining in regulation. The ninth-straight points by the Lady Hornets, by Bristow at the 9:28-mark, gave DSU its first lead of the contest, at 51-49.

After the seventh tie of the game, the two teams traded baskets and leads before Jefferson took over, nailing two treys in a span of less than a minute to give the Huskies a 57-55 lead with 6:49 left in regulation.

The Lady Hornets got as close to two points and trailed the Huskies by as many as seven, on two separate occasions. With HBU leading 67-60 with 1:20 left in regulation, DSU outscored HBU 10-3 to send the game to overtime. N'Kayah Kersey hit a three-pointer to start the rally and Bristow made a basket and the ensuing free throw for a three-point play to tie the game at 70.

With momentum clearly on the DSU side, the Lady Hornets opened overtime on an 8-3 run for their largest lead of the game, 78-73, with 2:26 remaining.

HBU battled back to tie the game at 78-all with 1:36 remaining, following a basket by McGarrachan and free throws by Devyn Weymouth and Steenholdt.

HBU led DSU by three, 83-80, with 10 seconds remaining after a made free throw by McGarrachan. After an HBU timeout, Dukes banked in an off-balance long two-pointer with two seconds remaining. The leading scorer for the Lady Hornets, Hawkins, then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass, spun around, and made a layup at the buzzer, completing an improbable comeback by DSU.

HBU will look to regroup as the Huskies head to New Orleans to face the New Orleans Privateers on Sat., Jan. 12 at 2 pm.

Box Score

COURTESY HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY HUSKIES ATHLETICS

Tennessee State Men's Basketball Rallies to Knock Off JSU 66-57

Jacksonville, Alabama  -  The Tennessee State men's basketball team extended its win streak to four games with a 66-57 comeback win over Jacksonville State on Saturday.

The victory pushes the Tigers' record to 9-7 overall and they lead the OVC's East Division with a perfect 3-0 mark.

It is the first time since the 1994-95 season that the Tigers started 3-0 in OVC play. TSU is also 13-2 in its last 15 conference games.

For the second game in a row, M.J. Rhett came up big for the Tigers, scoring ten points and grabbing a career-high 16 boards.
 

Patrick Miller led TSU in scoring for the third game in a row with 19 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Miller was also 12-of-16 from the line and tallied a game-high four assists.

Kellen Thornton and Jordan Cyphers also finished in double-figures in points with 14 and 11, respectively. Thornton also had a double-double with 14 boards.

Tennessee State came out of the gate strong, winning the tip and starting on an 8-0 run. Rhett had four points during the charge including a powerful two-handed alley-oop that added an exclamation mark to the end of the streak.

Jordan Cyphers provided the assist on Rhett's slam and then found Thornton on another lob at the 11:50 mark to give TSU a 14-8 advantage.

Thornton had a team-high eight points on four-of-seven shooting (57 percent) and seven boards at the break.

The Tigers clung to their lead for much of the first half until a 10-0 JSU run made the score 24-20 in favor of the Gamecocks. Jacksonville State ended the run by Darion Rackley converting a rare four-point play with just over three minutes to play in the opening stanza.

Cyphers narrowly missed a half-court heave as the first half horn expired, and TSU went into halftime trailing the Gamecocks 24-26.

All of TSU's nine first half field goals occurred inside the paint, allowing the Tigers an 18-8 advantage down low and a ten percent higher shooting percentage (38 to 28).

Tennessee State hit its first outside jump shot five minutes into the second half when Tashan Fredrick canned a three to tie the game at 34 apiece.

The score remained close for the better part of the half, but TSU eventually went up by five when Cyphers converted a layup with11:58 left in the game.

From there, JSU wound up putting TSU in the double bonus with more than eight minutes left in the game. The Tigers responded by nailing 10 free throws, which were the team's only points during the seven-minute stretch.

Thornton finally broke the charity stripe streak by slamming home a dunk with just over two minutes left in the game. His slam put the Tigers ahead for good at 60-53.

Thornton added another slam at the 24 second mark and TSU rallied to defeat the Gamecocks 66-57.

TSU held the Gamecocks to 17-of-52 shooting for just a 32.7 percent line. The Tigers also dominated JSU on the glass, winning the battle 47-28.


COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Howard Snaps Four Game Losing Streak

Baltimore, Maryland  --  Mike Phillips scored a team-high 15 points to lead four players in double as Howard University defeated Coppin State, 70-60 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at the Physical Education Complex. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bison.

Howard (4-12, 1-1 in the MEAC) took the early lead and never trailed, en route to a 31-25 lead at the half. Prince Okoroh (9 points) and Simuel Frazier (8 points) combined for 17 of Howard's first half points. The Bison shot 54 percent from the field in one of its better shooting performances of the year.

In the second half, Phillips picked up the slack, tallying 10 of his points. The Bison got some surprise production from its bench as Brandon Ford scored a season-high 10 points, eight coming after intermission.

A combination of some stifling defense and good work on the boards propelled Howard to a key 10-1 run that opened a 15-point lead, the largest of the game. Phillips, Okoroh and Simuel Frazier took turns to keep the Coppin State (3-13, 0-1 in the MEAC) at bay.

The Eagles were able to make a run and reduce the deficit to eight but Ford and Tre Lee were able to convert from the free throw line to put the game away. For the game, Howard shot 77 percent from the charity stripe.

On a down note, Calvin Thompson, the team leader and second leading scorer, went down with an injury at the start of the second half with an ankle injury that has been diagnosed as a dislocation. His status for the future is unknown.

Phillips added 7 rebounds to his 15 points, Okoroh and Frazier each scored 13 and Ford contributed 10.

The Eagles were led by Troy Franklin, who led all scorers with 24 and Michael Murray, who chipped in with 11.

NEXT UP: Howard hosts Hampton University on Saturday, January 12 at 4 pm in its conference home opener.

COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

GSU Eagles Close Non-Conference Play with Loss to North Carolina A&T

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Men’s Basketball closed non-conference play with a 71-65 loss to North Carolina A&T at Hanner Fieldhouse on Saturday night. The Eagles open league play in one week at Wofford on Saturday night, January 12th.

“I really felt like we were turning the corner with our effort and consistency, but consistency has been the word that has haunted us the entire non-conference season,” said Head Coach Charlton “C.Y.” Young. “We’ve got to do a better job of playing better early in games, we gave them a lead early tonight. The thing we learned tonight is that we need to do a better job at managing close games late.”

Junior Eric Ferguson, the SoCon Player of the Month in December, paced the Eagles with his fifth double-double of the season. He scored 22 points and 13 rebounds as he became the first SoCon player to post five double-doubles this season.

Tre Bussey and C.J. Reed each posted matching 12 points outings. Reed made a pair of baskets from downtown, but went 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe against A&T. Bussey reached double figures with four field goals, one from downtown and a trio of free throws. Reed added five assists to lead the Eagles.

North Carolina A&T had three players in double figures with both Adrian Powell and Jean Louisme scoring 23 points each. Jeremy Underwood added 12 off the bench as the Aggies scored 24 points in the paint and 18 off offensive rebounds. A&T out-rebounded the Eagles 38-34 and had 16 offensive rebounds to the Eagles’ 13.

Cleon Roberts broke a streak of three-straight games without a point with nine points in the contest. He made his first three attempts from beyond the arc as the freshman regained the hot-hand.

With 13:27 remaining in the first half, Ferguson picked up his 500th career rebound with a board on the offensive side. He becomes the 11th member of the 500 rebound club at Georgia Southern and the 10th player to score 1,000 career points and pull 500 career rebounds.

A 15-2 run by the Aggies in the first half allowed the visitors lead by as many as 11 points in the first half and take a 34-28 advantage into the halftime break.

Just a few moments into the second half, Georgia Southern went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 36-36 thanks to back-to-back bombs from downtown by Roberts, the second coming with 17:30 remaining. The teams traded the lead with neither squad able to pull an advantage of more than four points over the better part of the next 10 minutes.

Georgia Southern entered the final five minutes of the game down by three points, 56-53. A three-pointer by Reed with 4:09 brought the Eagles even at 56-56. A pair of back-to-back baskets by A&T, the second coming with 2:26 remaining gave the Aggies a 62-58 lead.

Coming out of the final media timeout, Ferguson made an old fashioned three point play to cut the lead to one at 62-61 with just better than a minute remaining. Over the final minute, A&T outscored the Eagles 9-4 to take the 71-65 victory over the Eagles.

Georgia Southern returns to SoCon play next weekend with a trip to Wofford on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Georgia Southern returns home on Monday, January 14th, for a crucial home date with the Davidson Wildcats.

Fans can follow their Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.

FINAL STATS (PDF)

COURTESY GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Norfolk State Holds Off Furious Navy Rally, 74-68

NORFOLK, Va. -- Norfolk State built a 26-point lead, then withstood a furious Midshipmen rally to hand the Navy men's basketball team a 74-68 setback on Saturday afternoon at Echols Hall.

The loss drops Navy to 6-10 overall as the Mids wrapped up non-conference play. Norfolk State, last year's MEAC champion and third-round NCAA Tournament participant, improved to 7-10 overall. Navy trailed 54-28 with 13 minutes to play, and 56-34 with 10:22 to play when head coach Ed DeChellis inserted sophomore guard Kevin Alter (Rumson, N.J.) into the ballgame.

Alter ignited a rally with six three-pointers in a 10-minute span that saw Navy cut Norfolk State's lead from 26 (54-28) to six (71-65) with 13 seconds left. But Pendarvis Williams buried a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left and Navy could get no closer than five points at 73-68 with eight seconds left on Alter's sixth trifecta of the contest as Norfolk State held off the Midshipmen, 74-68.

Alter entered the game having scored just 35 career points with seven career three-pointers. He surpassed his career high of six points with his third three-pointer with six minutes to play and finished with a career-high 18 points and three assists in just 10 minutes of action. He finished 6-of-10 from the field, all from three-point distance.

"I'm really happy for him. He is an early guy and a late guy. He comes in early and stays late. He was feeling it tonight and fueled our comeback," said DeChellis.

"He is a great young man with great leadership skills and he earned some more time tonight. Hopefully, it will be a wake-up call for some other guys." Navy struggled immensely on both ends early on, as NSU sprinted out to a 17-4 cushion just seven minutes into the contest while shooting 5-of-7 from the field while the Midshipmen were just 2-of-12 during the same span.

The Midshipmen would trim the margin to 19-11 on a Tilman Dunbar (Fr. / Woodbridge, Va.) jumper with 10:10 remaining in the first half, but the Spartans countered with a 20-6 burst to grab a 39-17 lead with 3:29 to play, before settling for a 44-22 halftime advantage.

Norfolk State would shoot 15-of-24 (.625) from the field and 9-of-15 (.600) from three-point range in the first half, while Navy was 9-fo-27 (.333) from the field and 4-of-12 (.333) from deep. In addition, Navy had eight turnovers and was out rebounded, 15-11.

"We just ask the guys to do one thing and that is to give us everything they have and we did that the last 10 minutes. The first half we were just walking around. You can't play the game that way. We didn't compete the way we needed to compete," said DeChellis.

"The last 10-12 minutes we put some new guys in there and we said, `Let it go and go out there and compete and have fun.' We played the way Navy is supposed to play the last 10 minutes." For the contest, Navy shot 26-of-63 (.413) from the field, 12-of-30 (.400) from three-point range and just 4-of-6 (.667) from the free throw line, all coming in the second half. Navy had 14 turnovers and rebounds were even at 29.

Norfolk State shot 24-of-44 (.545) from the field, 9-of-22 (.409) from three-point range and 17-of-26 (.654) from the free throw line. Norfolk State was guilty of 17 turnovers.

The Spartans were 0-of-7 from three-point range in the second half after going 9-of-15 in the first half. Alter led the Midshipmen with 18 points and three assists in just 10 minutes of action. Dunbar added 12 points and three assists, while Worth Smith (So. / Mooresville, N.C.) narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Kendall Knorr (Fr. / Concord, N.C.) added nine points on three triples and Brennan Wyatt (Jr. / Greensboro, N.C.) recorded five points and five assists.

Navy's bench scored 41 of its 68 points, shooting 11-of-24 from three-point range.

Williams (21), Malcolm Hawkins (17) and Rob Johnson (15) combined for 53 of NSU's 74 points by going a combined 18-of-28 from the field and 9-of-17 from three-point range.


COURTESY NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETICS

Complete team effort leads to TSU Lady Tiger victory over Gamecocks

Jacksonville, Ala. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team shot a season-high 53.4 percent from the field and posted a season-high in points to defeat Jacksonville State, 88-68, Saturday afternoon in Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The 88 points is the most points scored since posting 90 against UT Martin last season.

Tennessee State (5-8, 1-1 OVC) had four players score in double-digits led by Kesi Hess' 22 points. The Dublin, Ohio native knocked down six three-pointers in the contest.

Destiney Gaston came off the bench to score 18 points while Jasmin Shuler finished the game with 16 points and three steals. Chelsea Hudson nearly recorded a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Tanesha Stenson also had a solid game for TSU with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rachel Allen dished out a game-high seven assists.

Jacksonville State (0-15, 0-3 OVC) was led in scoring by Marikate Gardler with 22 points while Briana Morrow added 14.

Both teams jumped out the gates on fire as each team was shooting at least 50 percent from the floor through the first five minutes. The teams battled and traded buckets over the next several possessions.

TSU managed to build its lead up to six on a couple of occasions but JSU continued to strike back.

Later in the half, Tennessee State was leading, 28-27, when a bucket by Chelsea Hudson sparked a 13-0 run that put the Lady Tigers on top, 41-27, with 3:42 remaining in the frame. The rally, fueled by TSU's defensive intensity, included five steals by the Lady Tigers.

The Gamecocks answered with a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit down to eight but seven straight points by the Lady Tigers, including Kesi Hess' three-pointer at the buzzer made the score, 48-33, at the break.

TSU shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the field in the first half, including 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from long range.
 

In the second half, TSU continued to build on the lead and stretched the advantage to 57-37 following a short jumper by Hess with 16:42 on the clock.

JSU cut into the lead after outscoring TSU, 7-2, but the Lady Tigers answered with a rally that made the score, 66-47, at the 11:44 mark.

The Lady Tigers maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

Tennessee State finished the game shooting 53.4 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Lady Tigers also had 15 steals and outrebounded the Gamecocks, 39-35. The TSU bench outscored the JSU bench, 40-28.

Next, the Lady Tigers will travel to Cookeville to face Tennessee Tech on Monday, Jan. 7. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Eblen Center.

Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers, Twitter @TSU_Tigers and YouTube

FINAL STATS

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Franklin flourishes after Xavier gives her a second chance

SiMon Franklin: "I had to take ownership for what I
had done. I had to own up for it and get focused on
 what I’ve done and what needed to be done. All of
 this brought me closer to God. When I trust in Him,
 that is when I succeed. I am nothing without God."

NEW ORLEANS — SiMon Franklin, Xavier University of Louisiana's talented women's basketball guard, knows plenty about disappointment and coming back stronger.

In 2010, low grades disqualified her from registering for XU's second summer session. She appealed to the university and lost and was not readmitted until January 2011 after winning a second appeal.

"It was very humbling for me," said Franklin, now a fifth-year XU senior and a graduate of St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge, La. "I thought, wow — is this really happening to me?"

But look at Franklin now. She changed majors — it's business management after many struggles in chemistry/pre-pharmacy — and has excelled. Since XU readmitted her, Franklin has passed 78 hours with a 3.5 GPA on a 4-point scale. Franklin's 3.67 GPA in 2011-12 qualifed her for the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Honor Roll. She produced the highest GPA on her team in 2011-12 and tied for seventh among Xavier's 73 student-athletes. Best of all, she's on course to receive a bachelor’s degree from Xavier on May 11.

"That's what I respect about Monee Franklin," XU head coach Bo Browder said. "She got knocked down, but she got up fighting."

Franklin said determination and faith in God were the keys to her comeback.

"I had to take ownership for what I had done," she said. "I had to own up for it and get focused on what I've done and what needed to be done. All of this brought me closer to God. When I trust in Him, that is when I succeed. I am nothing without God."

Franklin was ineligible to play for the Gold Nuggets in 2010-11 after starting her first two seasons for teams which were a combined 51-15, but last season she picked up where she left off. Franklin led the Nuggets with 10 points per game and 74 made free throws and was second with 70 steals. She was All-GCAC and chosen MVP of the GCAC Tournament, which Xavier won for the third consecutive year. The Gold Nuggets finished 26-9 after reaching the second round of the NAIA Division I National Championship.

Through the first 12 games this season — Xavier is 10-2 and ranked ninth in NAIA D-I — Franklin leads the Nuggets with 9.5 points per game. She had career highs of 25 points and nine rebounds Saturday in a 66-64 loss to NAIA No. 24 Faulkner in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, Ala. — that helped her earn her first GCAC Player of the Week award — but Franklin isn't shooting for those numbers every game.

"I just want to be a solid player," said Franklin, who needs 70 points to become the 19th XU woman to reach 1,000 in a career. "I want to be able to contribute on offense and defense. I want to be a great team player and bring energy to the floor. We have a very talented team. It could be anyone's night (to score 25)."

Franklin is the team's only senior and the captain.

"Monee leads by example," Browder said. "She communicates very well, but she leads by example even better. She's the hardest worker on the team, and that's what you want from your captain."

Said Franklin, "To be a team captain, you have to have great preparation and be able to communicate to a group of people. You have to be able to motivate people and create an atmosphere where people are excited to work together. I'm blessed to have this opportunity. It's definitely great preparation for the real world. I have a very understanding boss in Coach Browder, but he's very demanding."

After basketball season, Franklin will compete on XU's track and field team — she was a Class 5A state champion in the 800-meter run as a 10th-grader — then enter the workforce after graduation.

Eventually, she'll pursue a master's degree.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

GW Women's Hoops Wraps Up Non-Conference Play at North Carolina A&T on Sunday

WHO: GW Women's Basketball (6-7)
WHAT: Game #14 at North Carolina A&T (8-5)
WHERE: Corbett Sports Center (5,700), Greensboro, N.C.
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 6 at 6:00 p.m.
STATS: Via NCATAggies.com
TWITTER: @GW_WBB
NOTES: GW Notes

WASHINGTON,  D. C.  -  The George Washington women's basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Sunday evening with its first-ever matchup with North Carolina A&T. Tipoff from the Aggies' Corbett Sports Center is set for 6 p.m.

GW (6-7) dropped its second straight game last Sunday, falling at Saint Mary's, 79-49.

Seniors Danni Jackson and Shi-Heria Shipp each scored 13 points in the loss. A win over the Aggies this weekend would give the Colonials a 7-7 record against non-conference opponents for the second year in a row, their most out-of-league victories since also winning seven in 2008-09.

Sunday's game is the third of GW's four-game road swing, which began out west with games against No. 8 California (Dec. 28) and Saint Mary's (Dec. 30) and also includes a trip to Massachusetts (Jan. 12) to open Atlantic 10 play. By the time the Colonials return to the Smith Center to host Saint Joseph's on Jan. 17, it will have been 26 days since their last game at home on Dec. 22.

Senior Megan Nipe (9.8 ppg) paces a very balanced Colonials' offense in which four players are averaging better than eight points per game. Graduate student Tara Booker is GW's top rebounder with 5.9 rpg, while Jackson is averaging 5.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game, ranking third and second, respectively, in the A-10.

GW's trip to North Carolina represents a homecoming for Shipp and head coach Jonathan Tsipis. Shipp is a native of Salisbury, N.C., which is approximately 50 miles southwest of Greensboro, while Tsipis went to high school in Durham (50 miles east of Greensboro) and graduated from the University of North Carolina.

North Carolina A&T (8-5) is coming off a 56-47 win over UNC-Wilmington on Thursday.

JaQuayla Berry led the Aggies with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Aggies have won two in a row and eight of their last 11 games. Two of their three losses in that span came against GW's Atlantic 10 rivals, Richmond and Charlotte. A&T and GW share two common non-conference opponents, William & Mary and Virginia Tech.

Both teams defeated the Tribe and lost to the Hokies. Berry paces the Aggies with 12.5 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per contest this season.

Amber Calvin is the top three-point threat in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, shooting at a 48.9 percent clip from long distance. A&T leads the MEAC in three-point percentage (.331) and ranks second in field goal percentage (.395).

Tarrell Robinson is in his first year as head coach at North Carolina A&T. He inherits a team that posted a 15-16 overall record in 2011-12 and returns all five starters.

The Aggies were picked to finish fifth out of 13 teams in the MEAC preseason poll. Berry was tabbed to the preseason all-conference first team, while Calvin and Tiffanie Adair were each named to the second team.

While Sunday's game marks the first-ever meeting between the Colonials and Hokies, GW has already played a pair of MEAC opponents this season, defeating Morgan State, 75-40, on Nov. 28, and Howard, 61-60, on Dec. 15.


COURTESY THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

ECSU Lady Vikings move forward after big win

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina  --  There are just fleeting moments when Alico Dunk wants to take a glance at last season.

One of those came Thursday on the heels of his Elizabeth City State women’s basketball team’s 96-86 win against defending Division II national champion Shaw.

After the victory in the team’s CIAA opener, Dunk can be pleased with his club’s improvement to begin 2013 after injuries and close defeats marked a 13-14 finish in 2011-12.

One of the close defeats came to Shaw, and another came to today’s opponent in St. Augustine’s.

The Lady Vikings would like to better serve last season’s memories to the past with another strong effort today against the Lady Falcons.

The 5:30 p.m. game is the second of three-straight CIAA contests at the R.L. Vaughan Center, with the third Monday against Fayetteville State.

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WSSU knows that Lincoln is no longer a pushover

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --   Winston-Salem State will take a seven-game winning streak into today’s game at Lincoln (Pa.).

It wasn’t long ago that Lincoln (8-2) was easy pickings in the CIAA — but not anymore. The Lions were picked to finish fifth in the Northern Division but have done very well under Coach John Hill, a former WSSU assistant who is in his third season.

The Lions have a 68-62 road win against Howard on their resume and also had a close loss to 14th-ranked Saint Leo’s.

Today’s game at 4 p.m. will, in Coach Bobby Collins’ view, start an important two-game stretch for the Rams (8-2, 1-0 CIAA). WSSU will play at Bowie State on Monday.

“Both teams are playing very well,” Collins said of Lincoln and Bowie State, the favorite in the coaches’ preseason poll to win the Northern Division. “They are both talented, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Kenny Sharpe, a 6-3 point guard, leads the ...

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Miles College loses SIAC opener 65-59 at Claflin University

FAIFIELD, Alabama – The Miles College (3-6; 0-1) men's basketball team was looking to get back in the win column with a victory over Claflin University, but it was not to be as Claflin defeated the Golden Bears 65-59 on Thursday, January 3 in Orangeburg, SC.

Miles went to half down 27-29, as the team hit 9-of-33 (27.3%) shots from the field, while making 7-of-8 (87.5%) free throws. Claflin sank 12-of-25 shots and was 3-of-3 (100.0%) from the foul line.

Miles had three players in double figures for the first time this season as sophomore forward Andrew Gilmore, Jr. (Birmingham, AL), sophomore point guard Ty Lollar (Columbiana, AL) and junior point guard Carlos Clayborn (Huntsville, AL) had 12 points apiece. Gilmore pulled down 5 boards and scored on 4-of-10 shots, hit 4-of-7 three's and blocked one shot. Lollar went 4-of-10 from the floor, hit 3-of-7 three's while making 1-of-2 free throws. Clayborn made 3-of-9 shots and went 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Junior point guard Stephon Allen (Atlanta, GA) added a team-high 7 rebounds and four points.

Marcellus Dunn led Claflin in scoring with 14 points, while Terrence Bowman and David Glover added 13 points each.

For the game, the Golden Bears scored on 18-of-59 (30.5%) shots from the floor, 16-of-25 (64.0%) in free throws and hit 7-of-25 (28.0%) from behind the arc. Claflin hit 24-of-57 (42.1%) shots on the night, made 13-of-17 (76.5%) points at the foul line.

The Golden Bears grabbed 38 rebounds to Claflin 41 and had 11 turnovers to 14. Miles bench added 28 points, but only scored 14 points in the paint all game.

Miles will host Benedict College on Saturday, January 5 at 3 p.m.

Live stats will be available for the game by going to www.milesgoldenbears.com .


COURTESY MILES COLLEGE ATHLETICS
 

Southern men take on SWAC favorite

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  The Southern men’s basketball team not only won its Southwestern Athletic Conference opener Wednesday night, the Jaguars put on the kind of show against Texas Southern that kept fans in the F.G. Clark Activity Center glued to their seats.

After leading 2-0 in the opening minute, Southern wasn’t ahead again in the 63-57 win until 9 minutes, 37 seconds remained. The Jaguars were rightfully giddy as they celebrated the latest step in their fast start, moving above the .500 mark by surviving a game Texas Southern led by 13 points late in the first half.

What worries coach Roman Banks, however, is how little time they have to turn the page — and who they’re playing next.

Southern (7-6, 1-0) returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday when Prairie View A&M (5-9, 0-1) visits in a game that matches the Jaguars against the only team picked ahead of them in the SWAC preseason poll.

“Now we’ve got to bounce back, find some energy from somewhere and regroup,” Banks said. “We’ve got the team picked to win the league coming in here.”

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Southern hoops deals with crazy SWAC schedule

Florida A&M tabs 3 finalists for football coaching job

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Florida A&M has narrowed its football coaching search down to three candidates: John Eason, John Hendrick and Earl Holmes.

Athletic Director Derek Horne officially announced the three finalists and their interview times late this afternoon.

Rick Comegy, whose application was omitted from the original list of applicants, has decided that he will stay at Jackson State and is no longer in the running; he has one year remaining on his contract there.

Holmes, who has been acting coach since Joe Taylor retired in November, will be first to have a face-to-face interview with members of the search committee, Horne and interim president Larry Robinson. That is scheduled to take place Friday.

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FINALIST COACHING PROFILES  (Click Each Name)

• Earl Holmes, Florida A&M University Interim Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
• John Eason, Ph.D., University of Georgia Director of Player Development
• John Hendrick, Alabama State University Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Ends Coach

Washingtonian Joe Taylor stays busy in retirement

Former FAMU football coach sets book tour and a little golf, too 

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Beverly Taylor wasn’t exactly shocked when her husband, Joe, said to her over breakfast on Christmas day a year ago that he was contemplating retiring from coaching college football.

She wondered if he wasn’t moving too fast. There was the possibility of a contract extension as head coach at FAMU. Plus, he was just a few victories from becoming the second-winningest coach in black college football history.

“Soon as he said it, I said, ‘Are you sure,’” Beverly Taylor recalled. “‘Are you sure you’re at peace with not getting up every day at 4 (in the morning)?’ He said, ‘I’m going to be OK with that.’

“There was never any reservation, any second-guessing. It was always moving forward.”

Joe Taylor told the world 10 months later, announcing his retirement with two games remaining on the Rattlers’ 2012 schedule. At the same time, he said he’d turn his attention to promoting a book titled, “The making of a champion. Success is an inconvenience,” which he’d written with Ronald L. Mann.

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XU Gold Nuggets beat 12th-ranked Bethel (Tenn.) in 2 OTs

NEW ORLEANS -- Junior guard Andraquay Quinnine scored six of her career-high 18 points in extra periods to help Xavier University of Louisiana earn a 75-67 double-overtime victory against Bethel (Tenn.) in a matchup of ranked NAIA Division I women's basketball teams Wednesday.

The Gold Nuggets (10-2), ranked ninth, never trailed in earning their third victory against ranked opponents, their most in a regular season since 2002-03.

Paige Gauthier had a career-high 14 points, a career-high-tying eight rebounds, a season-high seven assists and four steals for Xavier. Carmen Holcombe scored a season-high 12 points -- her first game of the year in double-figures -- and grabbed seven rebounds.

Alisha Gentry scored a season-high 23 points for 12th-ranked Bethel (12-3). Jasmine Taylor scored 15 points, and Perica Glenn matched her season highs of 13 points and 14 rebounds. Gentry made 4-of-9 3-pointers, but her teammates were a collective 0-of-16.

Gauthier scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in a 13-2 run during the final 2:49, to give Xavier a 36-24 halftime lead. But after Quinnine's 3-point play with 18;48 remaining gave the Nuggets their largest lead, 39-26, Bethel used a 15-2 run to tie the score at 41 at 11:37. Xavier led 57-52 and had possession in the 38th minute, but Bethel rallied again, with Gentry's 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining capping a 7-1 run which tied the score at 58 and sent the teams to overtime.

Xavier missed two shots in the final 20 seconds of the first overtime after Gentry's basket gave the Lady Wildcats their fourth and final tie at 64 with 48 seconds remaining. The Nuggets outscored Bethel 11-3 in the second overtime and never lost the lead after Whitney Gaston-Loyd's basket at 4:25 and Paige Rochelle's two free throws -- her only points of the game -- at 3:25. Bethel's Lorna Hudson scored a 3-point play at 2:21 to cut the margin to 68-67, but Xavier scored the final seven points, all on free throws.

"It was a very good game with two ranked teams fighting it out," said Bo Browder, whose teams are 8-3 in overtime during his 14 seasons as XU's head coach. "I was pleased with our effort. Any time you win in double overtime, that's special. Winning in double overtime says your team is tough."

It was Xavier's first overtime game since January 2011, its first overtime victory since January 2008 and its first home overtime game since January 2007. It was the Nuggets' first multiple-overtime game since a 70-67 double-OT victory at city rival Dillard on Jan. 29, 2000.

The teams combined for 52 fouls and 55 turnovers, and each had two starters foul out. All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference guard SiMon Franklin, the Nuggets' season scoring leader, fouled out at 1:58 of the second half with six points on 3-of-9 from the floor. But Browder said he wasn't concerned.

"We don't count on one person to win," Browder said. "Everybody knows that."

Xavier shot 33.9 percent from the floor -- the 10th time this season the Nuggets finished at less than 40 percent -- but limited Bethel to 31.4 percent. The Nuggets scored a rare victory at the line, making a season-high 29 free throws -- one less than the school record -- in 34 attempts. Bethel made 19-of-32. Xavier made 11-of-12 free throws in overtime. For the game, Holcombe made 8-of-8 free throws, Quinnine made 8-of-9, and Gauthier was 4-of-4. It was the second consecutive game and the fourth time this season that the Nuggets finished at 85 percent or higher.

Xavier won for the eighth time in nine games at its new Convocation Center, which opened Nov. 3, and for the 48th time in its past 51 home games.

Xavier, the two-time defending GCAC regular-season champion, will open its conference schedule at 3 p.m. EST Saturday against Edward Waters in Jacksonville, Fla. The next home game wll start at 5 p.m. on Jan. 12 against Tougaloo.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Hampton Defeats Boston College Women's Basketball, 60-57

HAMPTON, Virginia  --  The Boston College women's basketball team ended a two-game road trip with a tough 60-57 loss to non-conference foe Hampton at the HU Convocation Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Eagles are now 6-6 on the season, while Hampton improved to 10-5.

BC was led by senior Kerri Shields with 17 points, three assists and three boards. Katie Zenevitch added 12 points while Kristen Doherty had 11 points, seven boards and had three assists.  Hampton was led by Olivia Allen with 19 points and Keiara Avant with 18.

BC battled all game, coming from 14 down in the second half to within one point against Hampton with 22 seconds to play.

The comeback started at 7:34, after Hamilton hit a three-pointer, which was the last field goal for the Pirates in the game.  BC Shayra Brown (six points, four rebounds) hit a foul shot, followed by a three-pointer from Shields. The Pirate lead was seven points with 5:42 to play. Free throws by the Pirates extended the lead but the BC pressure created turnovers. Tessah Holt hit a three, Doherty stole the inbounds pass and Brown hit a layup and BC was down three points. Two foul shots by Boudreau cut the lead to just one point with 22 seconds to play.

After a timeout, BC fouled Avant, who hit two freebies for a three point lead. After another timeout, BC pushed the ball up the floor and ran a number of screens hoping to free up Shields or Boudreau. Shields came up short but the Pirates turned the ball over on the inbounds and BC had a final shot. Boudreau's shot from the corner hit the front of the rim with two seconds left on the clock.

Boston College shot just 38 percent from the floor for the game and 33 percent from the three-point line. The Eagles committed 16 turnovers and lost the battle of the boards, 39-38.



The Pirates came out quicker than quick and shot out to a 9-3 lead behind Nicole Hamilton's seven points. BC slowly chipped away as the Eagles battle foul trouble and poor shooting.

The Eagles opened with three three's by Nicole Boudreau, Katie Zenevitch and Kerri Shields, and the team was back in the game. Zenevitch would pick up her second foul and sat the rest of the half.

BC shot just 38 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 11 times but was down only, 34-25.

Box Score


COURTESY BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETICS

A&T Aggies Free Throws Take Down Radford 81-77

GREENSBORO, North Carolina  -  Ya Anderson scored a career high for the second straight game, this time pouring in 21, but it was not enough to lift Radford in its road game at North Carolina A&T. The Aggies came away with an 81-77 victory.

Radford (6-8) entered the contest with a chance to even its out-of-conference record heading into Saturday's league opener vs. Charleston Southern. It was North Carolina A&T (6-9), however, that overcame a burst by R.J. Price in the opening minutes of the game and took control midway in the first half.

Price, who was making his first start in four games after recovering from an ankle injury, hit his first three shots, all from behind the three-point arc, to pace the Highlanders. But Aggies responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead to eight points with 10 minutes to play in the half.

RU responded with a strong defensive effort from Jalen Carethers and Lucas Dyer to hold the Aggies to just five more points in the final 10 minutes of the half. The Highlanders briefly took the lead 28-27 before an Austin Witten three-point basket gave A&T a 30-28 lead at the intermission.

Radford head coach Mike Jones applauded his team's effort in the latter part of the half. "We really started to defend, but couldn't sustain that momentum in the second half." The Aggies scored 51 points in the second half and shot 59 percent from the field.

A 10-4 run to open the second half by A&T put Radford in catch-up mode for the better part of the second half. To the Highlanders' credit, they did respond, mostly led by Anderson's hot shooting. The freshman scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including four of his career-high five three-point baskets.

Price added 14 points, and Javonte Green overcame early foul trouble to score 10 points. Green also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Carthers finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Statistically, the game about as even as possible. Both teams committed 14 turnovers and grabbed 38 rebounds. A&T outshot the Highlanders from the field, 49 percent to 46. The difference in the game came at the free throw line. The Aggies were 14-22, while just 4-8.


COURTESY RADFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Winthrop Eagles Fall 64-57 To North Carolina Central

NCCU Head Coach LeVelle Moton's Postgame Comments (Winthrop)

ROCK HILL, South Carolina  —  Winthrop couldn't overcome a slow start to the second half as it fell 64-57 to North Carolina Central, Wednesday evening at the Winthrop coliseum in men's basketball non-conference action.

With the loss, the Eagles finish their pre-conference schedule at 6-6 while NCCU improved to 7-7.

The second half didn't go well for the Eagles after Andre Smith made it a two-point game with a three pointer on Winthrop's first possession of the second half at the 19:25 mark. NCCU responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a Jeremy Ingram three-pointer for a 36-27 lead with 16:45 remaining.

Winthrop's Larry Brown ended the run with a jumper in the lane, but NCCU scored eight straight points to build its largest lead of the game, 44-29 with 14:55 to play. Over the eight and a half minutes the Eagles worked their way back into the game and cut the lead to single digits after a Derrick Henry pull-up jumper at the foul line in transition. Henry's jumper with 3:55 remaining cut the lead to five points, 53-48. The lead extended back to seven points after Ray Willis dropped two free throws only to have Brown score again on a tip-in to cut the lead back to five with 2:48 to play.

The Eagles defense got the stop it needed but had some wind knocked out of them on the offensive end when Brown looked like he had been bowled over and was on the ground, but was whistled for the illegal screen and the offensive foul. NCCU went down and scored on a jumper with 1:07 to play.

“I give a lot of credit to them (NCCU),” said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. “I told our team I think an NCAA tournament type team beat us today. I may be wrong as I haven't seen the rest of their conference but I think they have a chance of representing their conference in the NCAA Tournament this year. A good team beat us tonight and I got to tip my hat to them.”

Henry led the team in scoring with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting while Brown added a career-high 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and also pulled down seven rebounds. Gideon Gamble chipped in with nine points and three assists.

Winthrop fell behind 9-2 early as Ingram scored the first nine points of the game for NCCU. Both teams struggled shooting in the middle part of the first half as Winthrop slowly worked its way to a 10-8 deficit after Brown knocked down a jumper in the lane with 10:44 on the clock. NCCU answered with a deep three on the wing by Willis followed by another three by Drimir Ferguson for a 16-8 lead with 7:19 to play. The two teams traded baskets the next few possessions and NCCU even extended the lead to seven points with just under four minutes before the Eagles fought their way back.

Gamble capped off a 9-2 run with a jumper and a fast break lay-up off the assist from Henry to tie the game at 24-24 with 1:19 on the clock. The tie was short lived as Antonin Galaya pulled up quickly for a three to lead 27-24 where the score would stand at halftime.

Winthrop struggled to hit shots early in the half but finished the half shooting 39 percent while NCCU shot 44 percent (4-for-9 behind the arc). The Eagles, averaging 21 three-point attempts per game, only attempted three shots behind the arc in the first half.

NCCU was led by Ingram's 22 points as he was 8-for-8 at the foul line to pace his team that finished 18-for-20 at the charity stripe on the night. Stanton Kidd added 14 points and eight rebounds while Willis had 10 points.

The Eagles finished the night shooting 44 percent from the field and allowed NCCU to shoot 50 percent, which is the first in the last nine games to do so. Winthrop finished with a season-low 10 three-point attempts and was just 2-for-10. NCCU finished 8-for-17 behind the arc.

Winthrop will open up its Big South Conference slate this Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. when it hosts High Point University.

Box Score
www.winthropphotos.com 

COURTESY WINTHROP UNIVERSITY AND NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS   

Marshall's Offense Struggles in 53-51 Loss to Delaware State Hornets

HUNTINGTON, West Virginia  --  Elijah Pittman scored 17 points and Dennis Tinnon had 13, but overall the points were hard to come by in a 53-51 loss by the Marshall men's basketball team to Delaware State on Wednesday at the Cam Henderson Center.

Tinnon had 10 rebounds to go with his point total for his fourth double-double of the season. The senior forward was 4-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Pittman scored a game-high 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting including 2-of-4 from three-point range. The junior forward also shot well from the free throw line, making 7-of-8.

The two teams combined to score just 38 points in the first half as the Hornets (6-8) led 21-17. The Thundering Herd (7-7) shot just 30.4 percent from the field in the first half, while the Hornets shot 31.0 percent.

"We have to come to grips with what we are," said head coach Tom Herrion. "We are so inefficient on offense that it is damaging to us night-in and night-out." 

Delaware State led the entirety of the first half and reached its largest lead of 12, with 15:56 to play in the game. The Hornets led 31-21 at the 14:36 mark of the second half before the Herd went on an 18-7 run to get within one point, 38-37 with 5:42 remaining.

A pair of Pittman free throw gave the Herd its first lead of the game, 43-41 with 3:02 remaining.

A 46-46 tie was broke by a three-pointer by the Hornets' Jabari Joyner to give Delaware State a 49-46 lead with 58 seconds to play. Two more free throws by Pittman brought the Herd within one point, 49-48 with 43 seconds left, but that was as close as Marshall got due to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch by the Hornets.

Both teams shot better in the second half as Marshall was 41.7 percent and DSU was 50.0 percent.

For the game, Marshall finished 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) and DSU was 19-for-49 (38.8 percent).

"Our defense was good enough to win tonight," Herrion said. "But offensively, we had 15 turnovers. We left 10 points on the foul line."

Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Box Score (PDF)


COURTESY MARSHALL UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Savannah State Falls to Western Illinois 39-35

MACOMB, Illinois -- The Fighting Leathernecks trailed Savannah State 23-12 at halftime, but outscored the Tigers 27-12 in the second half, and held SSU to five points in the final 12 minutes of play to pick up their eighth straight win and improve to 11-3 on the season.

The 11-3 start is Western's best start since the 1979-80 season, and its eight consecutive victories is the most since the 1997-98 Leathernecks won nine straight.

Savannah State (5-8) pressured the Leathernecks throughout the first half, forcing nine Western turnovers while the Leathernecks shot just 33% from the field. Western came out hot early in the second and played defense as they crawled their way back to even things 33-33 with two minutes to play.

An Adam Link free throw gave the Leathernecks their first lead of the game with just over a minute to play, and Western was able to hold off the Tigers until the final buzzer sounded.
Link was the only Leatherneck to score double figures, recording 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Terell Parks tallied nine points in the win to go along with his eight rebounds and career-high seven blocks.

Don McAvoy III and Jack Houpt each finished with six points.

Western ended up shooting 44.4% from the field, while the Tigers shot just 32.6% from the floor.

The Leathernecks entered the game ranked fifth in the country in personal fouls (13.1 per game), and committed 16 less fouls than Savannah State Wednesday, 24-8.

Khiry White led the Tigers with 10 points.

Western continues Summit League play Saturday evening (Jan. 2) at home against IUPUI. Tip is slated for 7 p.m.

COURTESY WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Lady Rattlers Can't Hold Off FIU Panthers in 70-69 Loss

MIAMI, Florida  --  Finda Mansare nailed a jumper for FIU with six seconds left in the game to give the Panthers a 70-69 win over the Florida A&M Women's Basketball team, here Wednesday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

The Panthers took a 68-64 lead on a pair of free throws by Jerica Coley with 1:41 to go in the game.
FAMU regained the lead as Kimberly Sparkman scored the next five points for the Lady Rattlers as she she made a layup with 48 seconds left, followed by a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in the game, giving FAMU a 69-68 lead.

The Lady Rattlers opened the first half with a 6-4 lead on a made free throw by Keturah Martin.
FIU would tie the game at 6-6, the first of 10 ties in the game on a pair of free throws by Marita Davydova with 15:59 to go in the first.

Then FIU would extend their lead to 16-12 on a three pointer by Zsofia Labady at the 11:56 mark of the half, capping an 8-3 run by the Panthers.

FAMU would regain the lead as they went on a 10-4 run, giving them a 22-20 lead, capped off by Sparkman layup with 8:51 left in the first.

The Lady Rattlers would then close out the half with a 15-8 run as Cristal Lirano scored FAMU's final two points of the half on a pair of free throws with one second left in the game.

FAMU finished the first half shooting 50-percent from the field (14-of-28), while FIU also shot 50-percent (11-of-22).

FIU opened the second half with a 7-0 run as they tied the game at 37-37, capped off by a layup Davydova with 17:29 to go in the game.

The combination of Sparkman and Grice would give the Rattlers a 42-37 lead as Sparkman made a layup at the 17:17, followed by a Grice three-pointer with 16:41 left.

FIU would regain the lead again on a Davydova layup with 13:33 left in the game, giving the Panthers a 45-44 lead.

A pair of field goals by Grice and Martin gave the Lady Rattlers a 50-47 lead with 11:50 left in the contest.

In the final 11 minutes, the lead would change times four times as FIU held on for the 70-69 win.
The Lady Rattlers finished the contest shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63), while the Panthers shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55). FIU held the rebounding advantage over FAMU, 42-27.

FAMU (3-10) was paced by both Grice and Sparkman as they both combined for 48 points with Sparkman scoring a team-high 28 points, and Grice chipping in 20 points. Martin led the Lady Rattles on the boards with five.

FIU (8-5) had three Panthers to score in double figures as Coley scored a game-high 35 points to lead all scorers, followed by Davydova with a double-double as she scored 11 points and pulled down 11 boards, while Mansare added 10.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION RELEASE

Franklin earns GCAC's weekly award after 2 career highs

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's SiMon Franklin, who recorded career highs in points and rebounds this past weekend, has been chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women's basketball for Dec. 24-30.

Franklin, a 5-foot-7 senior guard from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of St. Joseph's Academy, averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and three steals in two games at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Montgomery, Ala. She had 25 points — 16 in the first half — nine rebounds and three steals Saturday in the Gold Nuggets' 66-64 loss to NAIA No. 24 Faulkner. Her 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining tied the score at 64. Franklin produced 10 points and three steals Friday in a 63-47 victory against Belhaven.

Franklin needs 76 points to become the 19th XU woman to reach 1,000 in a career. Franklin began the season 29th on XU's career list and has climbed to 22nd with 924 points. In 21st place is Alisheian Graham (1999-2003) with 944 points.

Xavier, 9-2 and ranked ninth in NAIA Division I, will play 12th-ranked Bethel (Tenn.) at 2 p.m. Wednesday at XU's new Convocation Center. The Nuggets will open defense of their GCAC championship at 3 p.m. EST Saturday against Edward Waters at Jacksonville, Fla.

By Ed Cassiere, SID
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA