No. 18 Xavier Overpowers A&M-Texarkana in Hard-Fought Matchup, 72-55

TEXARKANA, Texas — The Texas A&M University-Texarkana women's basketball team hosted the No. 18-ranked Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Nuggets on Wednesday night in a Red River Athletic Conference doubleheader with the men's team. Xavier defeated the Eagles 72-55 in a hard-fought matchup.

Xavier jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, holding A&M-Texarkana scoreless for the first seven and a half minutes while building a 15-point advantage. The Eagles got on the board with a layup by Lex Foster at the 2:29 mark and outscored the Gold Nuggets 7-2 to close the quarter. Xavier led 17-7 after the first.

A&M-Texarkana mounted a comeback in the second quarter, led by Foster, who scored eight of her game-high 22 points in the period. The Eagles cut the deficit to a single possession by halftime, trailing 32-29.

Xavier regained control in the third quarter, holding the Eagles to just 13.3% shooting from the field while outscoring them 18-6 to rebuild a comfortable lead. A&M-Texarkana fought back in the fourth, improving its shooting percentage to 35% from the field and 57% from beyond the arc. Despite closely competing with Xavier in the final quarter, the Eagles were ultimately outscored 22-20, and the Gold Nuggets secured the victory.

Foster led all scorers with a season high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Allison Owens, Quren Santiago, and Kayla Williams each grabbed seven rebounds for A&M-Texarkana, while Santiago added three assists.

The Eagles fell to 7-17 overall and 7-13 in conference play. They will face Louisiana Christian University in their next matchup on Feb. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Patterson Student Center on the A&M-Texarkana campus.