CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  Senior All-American candidate Tara Boothe scored a season-high 35 points and snared 13 rebounds but it was not enough as the Xavier University women's basketball team was nipped by Charlotte, 76-72, on Tuesday evening at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.  With the loss, XU slips to 9-3 on the year while the 49'ers improve to 8-4.  The game was the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

After trailing 38-34 at the break, the Musketeers reclaimed the lead with 16-minutes to play when Boothe converted on a lay-up.  The lead would change hands seven more times in the second half.

49'er senior Pam Brown drilled a 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining in the contest to give Charlotte a 66-64 lead it would not relinquish.  That 3-pointer highlighted an 11-0 Charlotte run the 49'ers used to build a 72-64 advantage with 3:10 left in the game. 

The Musketeers would mount one final charge though and used an 8-0 run to knot the score up at 72 a piece when Michele Miller hit a jump shot at the 1:10 mark. 

Charlotte's Sakellie Daniels would score the final points of the contest when she converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play just 20-seconds later, giving Charlotte the lead for good. 

Xavier had one last chance but Miller's 3-pointer with five-seconds to go fell short. 

Boothe's 35 came on 14-of-21 shooting.  Junior guards Suntana Granderson and Miranda Green joined Boothe in double-figures with 13 and 12 points respectively. 

Granderson was 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep while Green converted on four of her six attempts from the floor. 

Brown led the way for Charlotte with 19 points, 17 coming in the second half.  

XU shot a solid 47.4 percent from the floor, but allowed the 49'ers to shoot 45.3 percent.  Charlotte also held a 39-to-35 rebounding edge, including a 14-to-9 advantage on the offensive glass.

The early stages of the first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven ties and four lead changes in the first 8:30.  Charlotte took its largest lead of the half, 29-22, after Andrea Davidson converted on a put-back with nine-minutes remaining. 

XU would chip away at the lead though and trailed by three points, 35-32, when Boothe scored the 15^th of her 17 first half points. 

Xavier will return to action on Friday, January 6 when the team welcomes the Saint Louis Bilikens to Cincinnati.  Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cintas Center. 

Xavier Women's Basketball Postgame Notes

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Charlotte, N.C.

·          XU moves to 4-7 all-time in Atlantic 10 openers and 10-13 all-time in conference openers.

·          XU moves to 3-5 all-time in Atlantic 10 Conference openers on the road. 

·          XU is now 2-1 all-time vs. Charlotte

·          Seniors Tara Boothe and Kristy Wallner were in the starting lineup for the 104^th time in their career, tying Judy Smith for fourth place all-time.

·          Xavier is now 39-3 when scoring 70+ points since Kevin McGuff took over as head coach prior to the 2002-03 season.