St. Thomas (Fla.) rallies late to end Nuggets' road streak
December 4, 2010

Box score

     MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Freshman forward Dannisha Pierce scored 17 of her career-high 22 points in the second half Saturday to rally St. Thomas (Fla.) to a 66-52 women's basketball victory over NAIA No. 22 Xavier University of Louisiana.
     The Lady Bobcats (3-1) used a 19-1 run in the final eight minutes to stun the Gold Nuggets (9-2), who had won 13 straight on opponents' courts.
     Pierce, who was 10-of-14 from the floor, also grabbed 10 rebounds.
     Christina Warren scored 12 points and Marchelle Jones a season-high 10 for Xavier, which lost for just the third time in 33 games. St. Thomas ended Keldra Hall's three-game double-double streak, limiting her to eight points and four rebounds.
     Xavier, which led by 13 points in the first half and 35-26 at halftime, held a 51-47 advantage after Paige Rochelle's free throw with 8:17 remaining. But the Nuggets went 0-of-8 from the floor, 1-of-4 from the line and committed seven turnovers thereafter. Brandi Young's free throw at 3:33 was XU's only point in the final eight minutes.
     An Amanda Fernandez basket tied the score at 51 with 7:23 remaining — Xavier had led since scoring off the opening tip — and Pierce's basket at 6:44 put St. Thomas ahead to stay at 53-51.
     Nickerline Montina scored 21 points — she was 8-of-10 from the floor — and Maddie Cummings had 12 for St. Thomas, an NAIA Division II school and a 21-game winner last season.
     Xavier suffered its first double-digit loss since a 66-51 decision at city rival Loyola on Feb. 4, 2009. The Nuggets entered the game as the NAIA Division I leader in scoring defense (47.2) and allowed its first 10 opponents to shoot 30.3 percent from the floor, but St. Thomas shot 51 percent. Xavier, which shot 50 percent in the first half, made 5-of-22 from the floor in the second half to finish at 37.5 percent.
     The Gold Nuggets' next game will start at 5:30 p.m. Monday against NAIA No. 12 Lee (Tenn.) at The Barn. It will be Xavier's final home game of the fall semester.