MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Against the relentless pressure that is the hallmark of the Xavier women's basketball program, a 17-point, second-half Faulkner lead wasn't enough against the Gold Nuggets. The visitors from New Orleans, ranked 21^st in the NAIA, used a 14-point run that stretched from the end of the third quarter through the first five minutes of the fourth to get back in it, then made the shots down the stretch to escape with a 62-60 victory over the Lady Eagles here Saturday at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

A gallant effort by the Lady Eagles fell just short. After a Mikayla Bates' basket tied the game with 2:30 left, and Donyeah Mayfield 3-pointer gave Xavier its first lead of the game at 58-55 with 2:05 left. Faulkner's Brandy Alley cut it to 58-57 with just over a minute to play, and China Leary's free throw with 55 seconds on the clock deadlocked it again at 58. Mayfield gave the Gold Nuggets the lead for good with a driving layup and, after a Lady Eagle miss, Whitney Gathright made two free throws to push the advantage to four with 1.9 ticks left.

Surprisingly, Xavier fouled the Lady Eagles' China Leary on a desperation 3-point try, and the Faulkner guard made the first two but an intended miss on the third was rebounded by Xavier to end it.

"I think we made strides today as a team, and I think we can grow from this experience against one of the top teams in the country as we move forward toward our conference schedule," Faulkner head coach Reed Sutton. "When things have started to go wrong for us, as they did late in the third quarter, we've had a tendency to not be able to withstand it. Although we lost today, I was proud of the fight we showed even when things weren't going our way. From the start of the season through today, this team has continued to improve. We're disappointed we lost, but we'll keep working."

Faulkner held Xavier to 11 percent shooting in the first half, and built a 23-18 advantage at the break. A balanced,, third-quarter attack allowed the Lady Eagles to build the lead, with seven players scoring in the quarter. Ahead 44-27 with 1:20 left in the third quarter, Gathright and Kiera Robinson combined for the final six points of the period to trim the deficit to 11 headed to the fourth. Gathright and Bates each had nine points in the decisive quarter, allowing Xavier to improve to 8-2 on the season. The setback dropped Faulkner to 4-5.

The Lady Eagles shot 36 percent from the field for the game, and held the Gold Nuggets to just 25 percent shooting. Faulkner committed 34 turnovers, however, to just 15 for Xavier, and allowed 18 offensive rebounds in the game. The Gold Nuggets had 30 more shots at the basket than did the Lady Eagles, who actually outrebounded Xavier 47-41.

Faulkner was paced by Leary's 14 points and 11 from Alley, who along with teammate Faith LeGate pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. LeGate and Erichea Barnes added nine points apiece for the Lady Eagles. Gathright finished with 23 points for the Gold Nuggets, with Mayfield adding 14 and Joi Simmons 10.

"For it to be as close as it was, considering the number of turnovers and the differential in shot attempts says something about us as a team," Sutton said. "If we do a little better in both those areas we win the game. We have to realize that, and work to get better."

Faulkner travels to Macon. Ga., next Sunday for an exhibition game against Mercer. The matchup is set for a 1 p.m. tipoff.