March 5, 2005

Turnovers tip title to Xavier

Mobile loses 78-63, but Lady Rams still in NAIA national tournament
Sunday, March 06, 2005
By TOMMY HICKS
Sports Reporter

NEW ORLEANS -- The University of Mobile Lady Rams couldn't hold on to their eight-point first-half lead because they couldn't hold on to the basketball Saturday afternoon.

As a result, they also didn't hold the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship trophy.

Strapped by disappointing guard play and a whopping 30 turnovers, Mobile dropped the title game 78-63 to Xavier at Tulane University's Fogelman Arena, giving the Gold Nuggets a sweep of the league's regular-season and tournament crowns this season.

No. 15-ranked Xavier (29-4) and No. 18 Mobile (25-8) both earned berths in the NAIA national tournament March 16-22 in Jackson, Tenn.

That was the lone consolation for the Lady Rams on Saturday.

" One turnover led to another turnover," Mobile coach Martha Gore-Algernon said. "Instead of bouncing back after a turnover or missed shot, we lost our focus and things just snowballed from there."
The Lady Rams held a 32-24 lead with eight minutes left in the first half but led only 40-36 at halftime.
Less than four minutes into the second half, Xavier tied it 44-44 and led 52-46 by the 14-minute mark before pulling away.

" We stopped being aggressive and stopped giving total effort," Gore-Algernon said. "We didn't attack like we had done the first 15 minutes of the game. We couldn't execute. We couldn't get the basketball where we wanted to go, we turned it over and they got layups on the other end."
Of the 30 turnovers committed by the Lady Rams, 20 came on the perimeter, leading to a number of easy Xavier baskets.

Tournament MVP Crystal Coston led Mobile with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kinga Rybarczyk added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Courtney Craft 11 points.

UM was just 2-of-11 from 3-point range and 15-of-28 at the free-throw line.

Xavier's Jarryn Cleaves scored 24 points, Sheronda Nash 18 and Kojavona Hamilton 12.

The final NAIA Top 25 women's poll will be released Tuesday and the seedings for the 32-team national tournament will be announced Wednesday.

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