Honnery's all-around performance helps Mobile stop XU
February 17, 2011

Box score

     MOBILE, Ala. — Junior center Alice Honnery had 15 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and six blocked shots Thursday to lead Mobile to a 63-59 women's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana.
     The Lady Rams (14-9) led for nearly all of the final 27 minutes and gained a split of their two-game season series with the Gold Nuggets (22-6), ranked 16th in NAIA Division I.
     Christina Warren had 16 points and a career-best 11 rebounds for Xavier in her second double-double of the season. Angelica Alexander tied her career high of 11 points, and Marchelle Jones scored 10, all in the second half. Keldra Hall also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.
     Honnery's 11 points and nine rebounds helped Mobile take a 33-27 halftime lead. Leana Tajkov's basket with 13:10 remaining gave the Lady Rams their biggest lead, 48-37.
     Xavier rallied but was 1-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-2 from the line in the final 3:04. Hall missed two free throws with 2:36 remaining and Mobile leading 59-57, and Brandi Young — who scored the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of Xavier's one-point victory over Mobile on Jan. 24 — missed a 2-pointer with five seconds remaining and Mobile leading 61-59. Alyssa Lane clinched for Mobile with two free throws with three seconds to play.
     The only time Mobile didn't lead in the second half was when Hall scored with 18:11 remaining to tie the score at 33. But Allison Michael's 3-pointer on the next possession put the Lady Rams ahead to stay.
     Honnery's double-double was her 10th of the season and her second against Xavier. Michael scored 14 points and made 4-of-6 3-pointers.
     Xavier struggled with its shooting, making 31.3 percent from the floor and 1-of-16 3-pointers. The Gold Nuggets are 7-of-59 from behind the arc in their last four games. Xavier made 6-of-13 free throws and has made seven or fewer free throws in six of its last eight games.
     Mobile shot 42.6 percent from the floor and made 17-of-21 free throws. Xavier, outrebounded 18-12 in the first 15:10, bounced back strongly to finish with a 48-39 rebound advantage. The Nuggets had 22 steals, including Young's career-best six and Warren's career-high-tying four.
     It was the fourth straight road game for Xavier, which will close the regular season with two Gulf Coast Athletic Conference home games. The Nuggets will play SUNO (18-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday at The Barn.