XU Nuggets begin title defense against Fisk at noon Thursday

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's women's basketball team, in search of a fourth consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship, will play Fisk at noon Thursday in the opening round at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark.

The Gold Nuggets (24-4) are seeded first in the tournament after winning the regular-season championship by one game over Talladega and SUNO. Fisk (8-20) tied for seventh place with Edward Waters in the regular season but is seeded eighth after losing a tiebreaker.

Xavier closed the regular season with 12 consecutive victories, including a 63-41 decision against Fisk on Jan. 21 at XU's new Convocation Center and 68-45 against Fisk in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 11. The Gold Nuggets' last loss was 63-56 at home to SUNO on Jan. 14, but Xavier made amends with a 72-67 victory at SUNO on Feb. 16.

Xavier defeated Fisk 73-49 in the tournament's opening round at Jacksonville, Fla., a year ago. Xavier is 5-0 all-time against the Lady Bulldogs.

Philander Smith will use two sites — the other is Mims Gym on its campus — to play host to all the women's and men's first-round games on Thursday. The women's and the men's top two seeds will play at Barton Coliseum, and for Xavier fans that results in a doubleaheader. After the Nuggets' game Thursday, Xavier's top-seeded men will play Dillard at Barton at 2:30 p.m.

Barton Coliseum will be the site of Friday's semifinals and Saturday's championship games. The Xavier-Fisk winner will play fourth-seeded Tougaloo or fifth-seeded Philander Smith in the semifinals at noon Friday. The championship game will start at 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by the men's final at 4:30.

The Gold Nuggets defeated Talladega 58-50 in the GCAC Tournament final a year ago.

The women's tournament winner will receive the GCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I National Championship, which will begin March 13 at Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky. Xavier qualified for the national tournament 16 times in the past 18 seasons and reached the second round in 2011 and 2012. The Gold Nuggets never have reached the national quarterfinals. Xavier is ranked 10th nationally with a new top 25 to be announced by late Tuesday afternoon.

The tournament schedule:
 First Round — Thursday, Feb. 28
#4 Tougaloo vs. #5 Philander Smith, noon at Mims Gym
#1 Xavier vs. #8 Fisk, noon at Barton Coliseum
#3 SUNO vs. #6 Dillard, 5 p.m. at Mims Gym
#2 Talladega vs. #7 Edward Waters, 5 p.m. at Barton Coliseum
Semifinals — Friday, March 1
At Barton Coliseum
Tougaloo-Philander Smith winner vs. Xavier-Fisk winner, noon
SUNO-Dillard winner vs. Talladega-Edward Waters winner, 5 p.m.
Championship — Saturday, March 2
At Barton Coliseum
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

Gold Nuggets 10th in NAIA for third consecutive

 NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's women's basketball team has its highest national ranking entering a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament since 2003.

 The Gold Nuggets are 10th for the third consecutive week in NAIA Division I Coaches' Top 25 Poll announced Tuesday afternoon. Voting was based on games through Sunday. It's the sixth time in 11 polls this season that Xavier has been in the top 10.

Xavier (24-4) closed the regular season with two GCAC victories — 71-61 at Tougaloo, 67-43 at home against Dillard — and will enter its GCAC Tournament first-round game against Fisk with a 12-game win streak, its longest since 2010. The Xavier-Fisk game will tip off at noon Thursday at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark.

Xavier is the tournament's top seed after winning the regular-season championship by one game over SUNO and Talladega. The Gold Nuggets seek their fourth consecutive GCAC Tournament championship.

The Gold Nuggets entered the 2003 GCAC Tournament at No. 10 nationally, then lost 71-70 to Mobile in the semifinals. But Xavier made amends at the NAIA National Championship by beating 14th-ranked Trevecca Nazarene in the opening round — the Nuggets' only victory at nationals during Bo Browder's first 11 seasons as head coach.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 24) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Freed-Hardeman (6) 29-1 277 1 2 Oklahoma City (5) 24-2 276 2 3 Westmont 24-3 263 4 4 Lubbock Christian 26-3 251 5 5 Westminster (Utah) 25-3 245 3 6 Cumberland 26-2 236 6 7 Lee (Tenn.) 27-2 228 tie-7 8 Vanguard 21-3 220 tie-7 9 MidAmerica Nazarene 26-2 209 9 10 Xavier 24-4 197 10 11 The Master's 25-4 194 11 12 Benedictine (Kan.) 25-4 180 12 13 Shawnee State 22-7 166 14 14 Rogers State 22-8 165 13 15 Columbia (Mo.) 24-6 154 15 16 Georgetown (Ky.) 20-8 148 18 17 Lyon 27-3 134 17 18 Campbellsville 21-8 126 16 19 Faulkner 25-5 123 19 20 Wiley 25-3 114 20 21 Our Lady of the Lake 27-2 102 21 22 Bethel (Tenn.) 20-9 82 23 23 William Woods 23-5 81 22 24 Carroll (Mont.) 19-8 67 RV 25 LSU-Shreveport 23-4 65 25 eceiving votes: Southern Poly 58, St. Catharine (Ky.) 50, Auburn Montgomery 25, Cumberlands 17, Central Methodist 16, Coastal Georgia 15, Baker 9, SUNO 8.

TSU's Gaines Impresses at the NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Former Tennessee State offensive lineman Rogers Gaines performed well during the 2013 NFL Combine over the weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Gaines measured at 6' 6", 334 pounds with an arm length of 36 1/4 inches and hands at 10 5/8 inches. He tied for 14th among OL with 28 reps on the bench press and ran a 5.24 second 40-yard dash.

According to Gaines' profile on NFL.com, he, "possesses the tall, athletic build NFL teams like at the left tackle spot, can get out of a two-point stance in a hurry. But he’s no finesse player, as he can land a strong initial punch and is willing sustain blocks around the pocket, finish run blocks through the whistle, and shove opponents standing around as the play goes downfield. FCS defensive ends aren’t going to beat him very often once he gets his powerful hands on their jerseys; if they put up a fight, he uses his great length, flexibility, wide stance and good lateral movement to mirror. Uses his foot quickness for positional run blocking, connecting on reach blocks, as well as getting downfield to shield linebackers."

The Goodlettsville native redshirted his first year at TSU and then played in three games as a freshman and eight contests in 2010 as a reserve. But in his first year as a starter in 2011, Ohio Valley Conference coaches voted him second-team all-conference for his efforts. Gaines was a Phil Steele second-team preseason All-American heading into 2012. He was named to the all-OVC first team as a senior, as well as being a first-team All-American selection by the Associated Press and a second-team All-American selection by The Sports Network.

 

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COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Gold Rush are 13th in NAIA after climbing three places

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was one of five teams to climb three or more places Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The XU men (24-6) climbed three spots and are 13th, their highest ranking in three weeks.

It's the fourth time in 11 polls this season that the Gold Rush ranked 13th. Xavier has been as high as 11th twice this season, most recently on Feb. 5.

 Voting was based on games through Sunday. Xavier closed the regular season with a pair of Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victories, and the winning margins were its two largest of the year. The Rush won 75-54 at Tougaloo — Xavier's first victory there since 2005 — and 70-46 at home against Dillard.

Xavier repeated as GCAC regular-season co-champion and will play Dillard at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark. Xavier, the tournament's top seed, seeks its third consecutive berth in the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Kansas City, Mo.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 24) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Columbia (Mo.) (11) 30-0 281 1 2 Lee (Tenn.) 28-1 272 2 3 Lindsey Wilson 26-3 263 4 4 John Brown 25-5 244 3 5 Lewis-Clark State 26-4 242 5 6 Southwestern Assemblies of God 26-3 238 7 7 Cal State San Marcos 23-5 223 6 8 Oklahoma Baptist 24-6 221 9 9 Evangel 22-5 199 10 10 Pikeville 23-5 195 12 11 Westmont 24-6 194 8 12 William Carey 23-4 193 11 13 Xavier 24-6 160 16 14 Emmanuel (Ga.) 26-3 156 17 15 Montana Western 21-8 151 22 16 Georgetown (Ky.) 21-7 149 tie-13 17 Hope International 24-6 131 18 18 Martin Methodist 20-9 123 24 19 Faulkner 25-5 110 21 20 Montana State Northern 22-8 91 tie-13 21 LSU-Shreveport 21-6 89 19 22-tie Culver-Stockton 22-7 79 25 22-tie Philander Smith 21-8 79 23 24 Arizona Christian 18-8 78 RV 25 Bethel (Tenn.) 24-6 69 15 Others receiving votes: Concordia (Calif.) 62, Westminster (Utah) 47, Science & Arts 37, St. Thomas (Texas) 33, MidAmerica Nazarene 29, Robert Morris (Chicago) 13, Campbellsville 6, Park 6. By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAATHLETICS XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Virginia Union advances to semifinals after 57-55 victory over Virginia State

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It's always tough to beat a team three times in a season and Wednesday morning's Battle of Virginia proved just that.

The Virginia Union Lady Panthers needed every last second to defeat Virginia State University 57-55 in the quarterfinal round of the CIAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.

After Virginia State's Pryncess Tate-Dublin banked a three-pointer from the right wing to bring the Lady Trojans within one at 56-55 with just five seconds left, Virginia Union's Melyce Brown sank 1-of-2 free throws to extend her team's lead back to two.

The rebound fall into the arms of Virginia State's Alexandria Massado but the Lady Trojans couldn't get a shot off as time expired, sending the Lady Panthers to the semifinals of the CIAA Tournament.

"That was a great game," said Virginia Union head coach Barvenia Wooten-Cherry on Virginia State. "Having to play against a team three times and beating them is tough, but they really brought it. We just had to match their intensity. We are just thankful for their hustle and their fight because I think that has prepared us for the next round."

Ashle Freeman finished with 16 points, including a second half stretch where she scored six straight points, to lead Virginia Union. Parress Davis recorded a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds to earn the game's Most Valuable Player award.



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Elizabeth City State Outlasts St. Augustine’s University

CHARLOTTE, NC- Elizabeth City State proved yet again that they are a force to be reckoned with on Wednesday afternoon in the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Lady Vikings grabbed a 74-68 victory over the Lady Falcons of St. Augustine's University to advance to the CIAA Tournament Semifinal. Elizabeth City State entered the contest as the top seed in the Northern Division, with St. Augustine's as the fourth seed out of the South.

Elizabeth City will take on the winner of Shaw and Winston-Salem State on Thursday with a tip-off slated for 3:00pm. Stephanie Harper led her squad with 19 points in the victory, with Shawnte Taylor adding 14 points in the win.

For St. Augustine's, Jeanne-Marie Wilson and CIAA Rookie of the Year Regime McCombs collected 12 and 11 points in the loss respectively.

Both teams came out matching each other's intensity, and fought hard to hang on to any sort of lead.



The Lady Falcons and Lady Vikings Li'esa Barnett opened up the contest with a jumper for the Lady Falcons. Jasmine Boyd's lay-up for the Lady Vikings put Elizabeth City on the board. St. Augustine's defeated Chowan University in the first round of the tournament to advance to the quarterfinal contest, while Elizabeth City State earned the first round bye.

Elizabeth City State Head Coach Alico Dunk stated, "It was a hard fought game, a tough game. We knew coming in that this team was going to be very scrappy and they fought hard to the end. They posed a lot of problems for us because they play five guards. I think we did a good job of guarding them in the second half. In the first half, we were just trying to find our way. But as always, we found a away to win."

The contest remained tied through the first seven minutes of play, each team matching the other's baskets. With the score 10-10 at the first media time out, each team feverishly worked to take control of the contest.

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FSU Lady Broncos overcome cold shooting night to advance to semifinals

CHARLOTTE, N.C.  –  Fayetteville State handled Lincoln (Pa.) 60-46 in the CIAA Tournament Women's basketball quarterfinals at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday despite frigid shooting by both teams.

The Lady Broncos (23-4), ranked 22^nd nationally in the USA Today Division II poll, breezed to Friday's semifinals against Virginia Union because of their defense and free throw shooting. They scored 21 points off 22 turnovers by Lincoln (Pa.) which helped them overcome off shooting games by their top players. The Lady Broncos also was 23-for-32 at the charity stripe for 72 percent.

CIAA Player of the Year Kristen Hanzer scored 15 points but was 4-for-14 from the floor. She did add eight rebounds and two steals. Hanzer also hit 7 of 12 free throws.

"Most games we try to attack and get to the free-throw line," said FSU Head Coach Eva Patterson-Heath, whose squad will face Virginia Union in Friday's semifinals at 1 p.m. The Lady Broncos are the Southern Division champions and the top seed in their division.



Alicia Person scored 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting and Akysia Resper added 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting. All-CIAA inside player Shaunda Ashford was the best shooter for the Lady Broncos, making 4 of 9 shots for 12 points in addition to 12 rebounds.

As a team, the Lady Broncos shot 29 percent but they scored off free throws and rebounds which was enough to beat the Lady Lions, seeded fourth in the Northern Division. The Lady Lions (10-18 overall) made only 24 percent of their shots.

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