Gold Nuggets beat Mobile for 5th consecutive victory

NEW ORLEANS -- Whitney Gathright and Whitney Gaston-Loyd scored 13 points apiece Monday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 72-60 women's basketball victory against Mobile in the Xavier Classic.

LSU-Shreveport defeated Faulkner 75-65 in the opening game.

The Gold Nuggets (9-5) won their fifth in a row overall and extended their home winning streak to 10. All the victories during their home streak are by double digits.

Gaston-Loyd scored 10 points and Gathright seven to help Xavier take a 35-26 halftime lead. Mobile never got closer than five points in the second half.

Vinnie Briggs had 10 points and five rebounds for Xavier. Chelsea Broussard had seven points and a season-high eight rebounds, Emoni Harvey had a career-best five steals, and Alesha Smith scored a career-high seven points.

Deonica McCormick scored 20 points and Jakela Johnson 12 for Mobile (7-3). McCormick scored 15 in the second half, 11 in the first four minutes. Johnson and Kierra Anderson grabbed eight rebounds apiece.

Xavier outshot the Lady Rams 42.2 to 38.6 percent from the floor, committed 18 turnovers and gained 25. Xavier made 5-of-12 3-pointers -- Gathright made two -- and Mobile made 1-of-6.

Gathright scored in double figures for a team-leading 10th time this season. Tucker grabbed three rebounds to reach 500 for her college career.

Xavier avenged a 64-59 loss at Mobile from Nov. 11.

The two-day event will conclude Tuesday. Mobile will play LSU-Shreveport at 3 p.m., and Xavier will play Faulkner at 5 p.m.

 

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

TONIGHT: FAMU Rattler Pride Video Special On New Year's Eve

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  FAMU Athletics  will broadcast a special live on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m called “Rattler Pride”.  The special is a recap of the year so far and a look forward to the Spring semester. 

The special will be highlighted by a very special one-on-one interview with former FAMU football player Maurice Freeman, coach of the Brooks County Trojans.  Freeman’s story is about how the coach instantly became one of the most important people in the county, and how the county came together on one accord after a tragedy.

The one hour show will be broadcasted in full 1080p HD.  The piece will include an interview with interim athletic director Michael Smith about some welcome changes coming to FAMU Athletics.   He will also make a few important announcements about FAMU Athletics during his piece.  In addition we will have interviews from throughout the year including Darlene Moore and Wayne Angel, coaches of the MEAC champion cross country teams.

The show will be broadcast live on Rattler Vision free of charge.  We will also have some pieces from around campus.

One of the highlights of the hour special will be a look around the Florida Classic.  Our interns went around to capture all the tailgating and fun surrounding the family and school reunion, known as the Florida Blue Florida Classic.  There will also be pieces from homecoming 2013.

While the pieces will all be pre-produced, your interaction via social media during the show will be live.  We will air posts from our Facebook and Twitter pages, live on the show.  So, it’s your chance to watch the show and get in the action.

We want every Rattler fan to tune in for this special so you can laugh, cry, be thankful and filled with Rattler Pride.   Check it out at http://www.famuathletics.com.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

DE Javancy Jones leaving Jackson State

JACKSON, Mississippi  --  Jackson State’s Javancy Jones is transferring to Southwest Mississippi Community College.

Jones was named SWAC Freshman of the Year, finishing with 54 tackles, 14 TFL and 5 sacks. The defensive end initially planned on transferring since joining the program but had second thoughts as the season progressed. But the firing of Rick Comegy as head coach and the football coaching staff made his decision to leave a no brainer, Jones said.

“I enjoyed my time at Jackson State,” Jones said. “I’m not taking anything about from Jackson State. The coaching staff treated me like a son. I felt like I meant something to them.”

The Macon (MS) native chose JSU over Duke to be closer to home for personal reasons.



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Brown Women's Basketball Edged by Alabama State in Overtime, 82-81

Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament at Atlanta, Georgia

ATLANTA, Georgia  -- Lauren Clarke's buzzer-beater sent the game to overtime, but it wasn't enough as Brown suffered an 82-81 loss to Alabama State on Monday at McCamish Pavilion.

 

Brown falls to 5-6 while the Hornets improve to 7-4 with the overtime victory on Monday.

 

Sophie Bikofsky (Newton, Mass.), Carly Wellington (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Lauren Clarke (Colts Neck, N.J.), Jordin Alexander (Fishers, Ind.), and Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.) all scored in double figures for Brown on Monday.  Wellington's 16 points were a career-high while Alexander shot 70.6 percent from the field (12-of-17) over the two games at Georgia Tech.

Musgrove added seven assists for the Bears - tying her season-high in helpers.  The freshman guard also notched seven assists against Rhode Island on December 4.

 

Clarke tossed in 17 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds while connecting on 4-of-7 attempts from long distance.

 

Brown jumped out to an early 9-4 lead at the first media timeout, paced by Clarke's five points and the team's three steals in the opening four minutes of play.

 

Continuing their success of creating turnovers, Alexander picked off an errant pass and scored to give the Bears their largest lead at 18-10 at the 11:27 mark. Brown finished with 11 steals overall, the fifth time they tallied double-digits in thefts this season.

 

After the Hornets battled back to grab a one-point lead, treys from KJ Veldman (Spirit Lake, Iowa) and Bikofsky gave the Bears a five-point cushion with just under four to play in the half.

 

The 15-2 run late in the half on the strength of Bikofsky's put back at the 1:25 mark gave the Bears their largest lead of the game at 12.  Alabama State closed the gap with a 6-0 run in the final minute to draw within six points at the half.

 

Alexander found senior Carly Wellington (Lake Oswego, Ore.) on a nice backdoor feed to put the Bears up by five again with under 14 minutes to play.

 

A 6-0 run, capped by Danielle Ewert's free throws gave Alabama State its first lead since the halfway through the opening half at 53-52 with just over 10 minutes to play.

 

Facing its biggest deficit of the day at five, the Bears got a crucial trey from Bikofsky to make it a two-point game with eight minutes to play.  Alexander's back-to-back layups gave Brown the lead once again just a few moments later at 59-57.

 

The Hornets battled back, taking a 73-69 into the final minute before Clarke's trey cut the deficit to one with 30 seconds left. The Bears had the ball, trailing by two as Bikofsky's three was short, but Clarke grabbed the rebound and laid it in at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

 

The teams battled in the extra frame as Alabama State clung to an 82-81 lead with just seconds to play.  Wellington's bid from long range with the clocking running down rimmed out, the Bears grabbed the offensive rebound but weren't able to get another shot off before time expired.

 

Monday marked the first overtime loss for the Bears since falling 71-69 to Rhode Island on December 8, 2010.

 

Brown will return to the friendly confines of the Pizzitola Sports Center on Friday to battle New Hampshire at 7 p.m.

COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Second Half Surge Leads Georgia Tech Past Hampton

ATLANTA, Georgia  --  The Georgia Tech women's basketball team (10-3) used a strong second half to defeat Hampton University (10-4), 89-70, and win the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament.

Senior Tyaunna Marshall led the Yellow Jacket's scoring effort, recording 22 points against the Pirates. Marshall also dished out four assists and recorded three steals on her way to being named the MVP of the tournament. The senior was also named the MVP of the LIU Turkey Classic earlier this season. Marshall averaged 19 points and eight rebounds over the past two days.

Both Kaela Davis and Sydney Wallace were named to the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament All-Tournament Team. Davis scored 19 points against the Pirates and recorded three steals. In the win against Alabama State, the freshman led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Wallace scored 11 points against Hampton and recorded 10 against Alabama State.

Not only did Marshall's 22 points lead the Jackets, but they moved the Upper Marlboro, Md. native into third place on the Jackets' all-time scoring list with 1,726 career points. Marshall is now just 230 points from breaking Kisha Ford's all-time record of 1,955 points.

With the win against the Hornets, Tech finished the non-conference season with a 10-3 record and went 7-0 at home. Georgia Tech averaged 92 points per game during home nonconference games this season.

The first half was close between the two non-conference opponents, as the two teams headed into the locker room at halftime tied 36-36. Following the 15 minute break, the Jackets came alive in the second half, outscoring Hampton, 53-34, on their way to their second-straight victory.

The Yellow Jackets began to pull away at the 11:44 minute mark thanks to an 8-0 that lasted 1:31 and put them ahead by eight, 60-52. Davis contributed four points during the run and assisted on Katarina Vuckovic's fast break layup at 10:02.

Vuckovic would then join forces with Aaliyah Whiteside to put together a 13-0 run. Whiteside would score eight points during the run while Vuckovic contributed five to put Tech 16 points ahead of the Pirates, 73-56, with 6:51 on the clock.

Whiteside scored 13 points overall against the Pirates and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

The Jackets would maintain their lead for the remainder of the game and they took their largest lead of the contest, 21 points, with 1:04 remaining after Marshall hit a jump shot to put Tech up, 89-68.

From the start of the game, the Jackets had to battle back from being down to Hampton. The Pirates jumped to an early 10-4 lead but Marshall and Wallace led the Jackets to tie it, 14-14. Marshall and Wallace combined to score the Jackets' first 11 points of the game, with Marshall scoring seven of the 11.

Back-to-back layups from Nariah Taylor pulled the jackets within two of the Pirates 20-18 lead at 9:32.

Hampton made five three pointers in the first 11 minutes of the game on its way to a 25-20 lead.

A Tech scoring surge at the end of the half would tie up the game, 36-36. The Jackets utilized a 7-0 run to tie it up the game that began after Marshall hustled for a steal at midcourt. She then found Whiteside who made her layup while being fouled. Whiteside sank the foul shot to complete the 3-point play and the game was tied at 34-34.

Hampton's Kenia Cole would hit two free throws on court to give the Pirates a 36-34 lead.

Whiteside would tie it up again, hitting both shots of her one-and-one, tying up the game heading into halftime, 36-36.

Davis would give the Jackets its first lead of the game 20 seconds into the second half, after sinking two free throws to make it 38-36 in favor of Tech.

Davis would break a tie again, this time at 43-43, scoring two-straight baskets to put Tech ahead, 47-43 with 11:43 left. The Jackets began their game-changing run shortly thereafter.

Hampton was led by Malia Tate-Defreitas who scored 27 points against the Jackets. Alyssa Bennett had a double-double for the Pirates, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets open up conference play on January 5 at 2 p.m. when they host Duke at McCamish Pavilion. For an inside look at the program, follow Georgia Tech women's basketball on Twitter, @GTWBB, Instagram, GTWBB, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensBasketball.

Final Stats




Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament All-Tournament Team
Quentori Alford (Alabama State)
Malia Tate-Defreitas (Hampton)
Kenia Cole (Hampton)
Kaela Davis (Georgia Tech)
Sydney Wallace (Georgia Tech)
MVP: Tyaunna Marshall (Georgia Tech)

COURTESY GEORGIA TECH ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Ram Ramblings: Coaching search continues for Maynor's replacement

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  -- I didn’t bother calling Bill Hayes, who is WSSU’s very busy athletics director, today to get an update on the coaching search.

One reason I didn’t call is he’s going to be busy going through eight phone interviews with the candidates to replace Connell Maynor.

Now that I’m back from vacation there will be plenty of basketball to cover but there’s also the coaching search to keep me busy.

 

Hayes has kept me updated through e-mails but he’s been in this business long enough - and I’ve been doing this long enough - to know he’s not going to give me names.

 

When Maynor announced his decision to leave for Hampton a few days before Christmas, Hayes knew he would be ...

 

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Alabama A&M hires James Spady to Lead Football Program

JAMES SPADY
HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
AAMU BULLDOGS
(Courtesy AAMU Athletics)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Director of Athletics, Bryan Hicks, announced the hiring of Nevada assistant coach, James Michael Spady as the next Head Football Coach at Alabama A&M University.

He is in his fourth year as the Tight Ends and Co-Offensive Line coach with the Wolf Pack staff.  Spady was the Offensive Coordinator at Grambling from 2007-2009.  He also had coaching stops at North Carolina Central and South Carolina State.  He began his coaching career in 1995 at his alma mater (UTEP) where he started at center for the Miners from 1985-1988.

He also completed two NFL Minority Coaches Internships with the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles.  In 2008, the NCAA selected Spady to participate in the highly regarded Expert Football Coaches Academy, a program focused on assisting qualified, minority, assistant coaches with the skills and tools they need for career advancement.

"I am excited that Coach Spady has accepted our offer to join the Bulldog Family"! said Hicks.  "He represents another giant step on our journey toward excellence in athletics.  Many thanks to President Hugine, Dr. Kevin Rolle and the Board of Trustees for their continued support."

Brian Polian, Head Football Coach at Nevada had this to say about Spady, "Congratulations to James Spady and his family on this wonderful opportunity to lead the Alabama A&M football program.  James is a terrific football mind, teacher, and an exceptional recruiter who will no doubt raise the standard of Bulldog football.  I know that he will have a positive effect on every student-athlete he encounters and in the community as well.  We wish James and Barb nothing but the best as they begin this new journey."

A press conference to introduce Coach Spady will be held on Friday, January 3^rd at 11:00 am in T.M. Elmore Gymnasium.

COURTESY ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELEASE