NEW ORLEANS, Louis-- A poor first-half performance put an end to the University of Mobile women's basketball team's 5-game winning streak, as the Lady Rams fell to conference foe Xavier University 73-70 Thursday evening.

In the opening half, the Lady Rams took their first lead of the game at the 11:10 mark, when a Johnitia Williams basket put Mobile up 14-13. But, the Gold Nuggets went on a surge over the next 5 minutes that would doom Mobile. A 14-2 run, sucked the life out of the Lady Rams and helped the home team a 44-28 edge heading into the break.

In the half, Mobile shot only 33% from the field and was led by 11 points from Angela Bounds. The home team got a combined 20 points from Jerry Cleaves and Erica Turnbull.

The second half saw the Gold Nuggets open like they closed out the first period and take a commanding 21-point lead with only 8:45 left to play. That's when the light seemingly went on for Mobile, as Sherri McIntosh poured in 14 second-half points, and the team shot a scorching 63% from the field.

Mobile used an impressive 22-5 run over the next 5:57 to make their move. The Lady Rams trimmed the lead down to 72-70 with 22 seconds remaining when Crystal Hutchinson put in a deuce for Mobile. After Jerryn Cleaves went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, the Lady Rams had a last-second shot to tie the game, but a desperation 3-pointer from the corner came up empty and dropped Mobile to 8-8 (4-1).

The Lady Rams next play Saturday, January 19th at home against LSU-Shreveport. Game-time is set for 2:00 pm.

McIntosh led Mobile with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Bounds finished with 18 points, Crystal Hutchinson added 14, and Danielle Goodly chipped in 11 for the Lady Rams.