NEW ORLEANS — A return to New Orleans Arena, and games against NCAA Division I opponents Northwestern State and Grambling are among the highlights of the Xavier University of Louisiana 2007-08 women's basketball schedule.
Coach Bo Browder announced the schedule, which consists of 30 regular-season games, on Wednesday.
The Gold Nuggets will play their regular-season finale on Saturday, March 1 against Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and city rival Dillard in New Orleans Arena. Xavier will be the home team, and it will be the fifth time that Xavier and Dillard meet in that facility, which seats 17,200, for a women's/men's doubleheader. The schools attracted 7,189 fans to New Orleans Arena for their doubleheader on Feb. 1, 2003.
Xavier will visit Northwestern on Friday, Nov. 16 and play Grambling at The Barn on Friday, Nov. 23 in the final game of the two-day Xavier Classic. Xavier will play Northwestern for the first time since the 1979-80 season and Grambling for the first time since 1984-85.
Xavier, an NAIA Division I school, lost its only game this past season against an NCAA Division I opponent, Central Arkansas, but was 3-0 in 2004-05 in road games against Tulane, New Orleans and Nicholls State.
Also on the schedule are games against NAIA Tournament quarterfinalists Langston and Houston Baptist. The Nuggets will begin the regular season at Langston on Thursday, Nov. 1 and play Houston Baptist at The Barn on Saturday, Dec. 1 in the opener of a tripleheader which includes two men's games in the adidas Hardwood Classic.
Two days after Langston, the Nuggets will play their home opener against Texas College at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Links to opponents
• College of the Bahamas
• Belhaven
• Central Methodist
• Christian Brothers
• Concordia (Ala.)
• Dillard
• Grambling
• Houston Baptist
• Langston
• LSU-Shreveport
• Loyola
• Mobile
• Northwestern State
• Robert Morris (Chicago)
• SUNO
• Spring Hill
• Sterling
• Texas College
• Tougaloo
• Wiley
• William Carey
Dillard, Grambling, Langston, Robert Morris (Chicago) and Texas College will join Xavier in the Xavier Classic, which will begin Thanksgiving afternoon (Nov. 22) and conclude the following day.
There will be four first-time opponents: Christian Brothers, College of the Bahamas, Sterling and Central Methodist. The Nuggets will play Christian Brothers the day after the Northwestern game, making the 422-mile drive from Natchitoches, La., to Memphis, Tenn., and giving Nuggets all-star senior guard Jarryn Cleaves a game in her hometown. Xavier will play College of the Bahamas on Nov. 29 to cap a month in which the Nuggets play six home games.
Sterling and Central Methodist, both NAIA Division II members, will be Xavier opponents Dec. 18-19 in the Cruzin Classic in south Florida. Sites for those games have not been determined, and Xavier fans can take an optional cruise with the team following the tournament.
Eleven games, including the first four, will be against HBCUs — Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Xavier will open its 18-game GCAC schedule at Belhaven on Thursday, Jan. 3. The first GCAC home game will be Thursday, Jan. 10 against SUNO. The Nuggets will play eight of their first 11 conference games on the road but play five of the next six at The Barn.
The Nuggets, who finished second to Loyola this past season in the GCAC regular season and tournament, will play the Wolfpack on Thursday, Jan. 31 at Loyola and Thursday, Feb. 28 at The Barn.
There will be no Monday GCAC games, a departure from a longtime tradition. Virtually all conference games will be played Thursday or Saturday, with an exception being the Nuggets' visit to LSU-Shreveport on Wednesday, Jan. 23.
Browder, in his ninth season as the Nuggets' head coach, needs seven victories to reach 200 at Xavier. The Nuggets were 23-12 in 2006-07 and qualified for the NAIA Division I Tournament for a school-record-tying sixth consecutive time. Eight letterwinners return, including Cleaves, an honorable-mention NAIA All-American and a third-team All-Louisiana selection.
Coach Dannton Jackson will announce Xavier's 2007-08 men's basketball schedule on Thursday.
Call (504) 520-7329 for ticket information.
2007-08 Xavier University of Louisiana Women's Basketball Schedule
Date Opponent Site Time
November
1 Thursday at Langston Gayles Gymnasium, Langston, Okla. 6 p.m.
3 Saturday TEXAS COLLEGE THE BARN 7 p.m.
9 Friday CONCORDIA (ALA.) (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
10 Saturday WILEY (DH) THE BARN 3:30 p.m.
16 Friday at Northwestern State Prather Coliseum, Natchitoches, La. 5:45 p.m.
17 Saturday at Christian Brothers Canale Arena, Memphis, Tenn. TBA
22 Thursday ROBERT MORRIS (CHICAGO) (Xavier Classic) THE BARN 7 p.m.
also Nov. 22: Dillard vs. Texas College, 3 p.m.; Grambling vs. Langston, 5 p.m.
23 Friday GRAMBLING (Xavier Classic) THE BARN 5 p.m.
also Nov. 23: Robert Morris vs. Texas College, 1 p.m.; Dillard vs. Langston, 3 p.m.
29 Thursday COLLEGE OF THE BAHAMAS THE BARN 7 p.m.
December
1 Saturday HOUSTON BAPTIST (TH) THE BARN 3 p.m.
18 Tuesday Sterling (Cruzin Classic) TBA (Florida) TBA
19 Wednesday Central Methodist (Cruzin Classic) TBA (Florida) TBA
January
3 Thursday * at Belhaven (DH) Rugg Arena, Jackson, Miss. 5:30 p.m.
5 Saturday * at Spring Hill (DH) Outlaw Center, Mobile, Ala. 5 p.m.
10 Thursday * SUNO (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
12 Saturday * at Tougaloo (DH) Kroger Gym, Tougaloo, Miss. 5 p.m.
17 Thursday * MOBILE (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
19 Saturday * WILLIAM CAREY (DH) THE BARN 5 p.m.
23 Wednesday * at LSU-Shreveport (DH) The Dock, Shreveport, La. 5:30 p.m.
26 Saturday * at Dillard (DH) Dent Hall, New Orleans 5 p.m.
31 Thursday * at Loyola (DH) The Den, New Orleans 5:30 p.m.
February
2 Saturday * at William Carey (DH) Clinton Gym, Hattiesburg, Miss. 5 p.m.
7 Thursday * at SUNO (DH) The Castle, New Orleans 5:30 p.m.
9 Saturday * BELHAVEN (DH) THE BARN 5 p.m.
14 Thursday * LSU-SHREVEPORT (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
16 Saturday * TOUGALOO (DH) THE BARN 5 p.m.
21 Thursday * SPRING HILL (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
23 Saturday * at Mobile (DH) Pharr Gym, Mobile, Ala. 5 p.m.
28 Thursday * LOYOLA (DH) THE BARN 5:30 p.m.
March
1 Saturday * DILLARD (DH) NEW ORLEANS ARENA 5 p.m.
TBA Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament TBA TBA
19 Wednesday-
25 Tuesday NAIA Division I National Tournament Oman Arena, Jackson, Tenn. TBA
With the exception of the March 1 game against Dillard, home games (in bold type) are played at The Barn (capacity 1,300), Xavier University campus, New Orleans.
* Gulf Coast Athletic Conference game. DH — doubleheader with Xavier's men.
TH — tripleheader with second day of men's adidas Hardwood Classic. TBA — to be announced. All times are Central.
Posted By: Jehan Bunch
Thursday, August 30th 2007 at 2:39PM
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