Grant scored 17 and forward Brittany Powell 16 to push Xavier to a 65-49 victory against Dillard in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic on Saturday night at The Barn.

Grant, a sophomore, made a 3-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions midway through the second half to give Xavier a 14-point lead. The baskets were the start of a 15-3 run that extended Xavier's lead to 21 with 5:28 remaining.

The win was Xavier's 16th in a row. The Gold Nuggets clinched the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship on Thursday with a win against Loyola.

Grant lifted Xavier (23-5, 16-0) throughout the game, making five of eight 3-point attempts.

"She's just an all-around player, " Xavier Coach Bo Browder said. "She can make 3's, dribble drive, pass it. It's coming out now. We feel like we got a steal. She was (an NCAA Division I) player. We feel like we got a blessing."

Xavier led by two points at halftime but quickly extended its lead to 13 after starting the second half on a 13-2 run. Dillard cut the deficit to nine before Grant's five points.

The Gold Nuggets made 18 of 33 shots (55 percent) in the second half after shooting 26 percent in the first half.

Dillard (10-16, 3-13) shot 39 percent in the second half after shooting 46 percent in the first half. The Bleu Devils had 27 turnovers.

"They got hot, and we got cold, " said Dillard Coach Kiki Baker Barnes, whose team lost by 29 to Xavier three weeks ago. "Last game we played them, we were really passive. We knew they were an aggressive team, so we wanted to make sure we went at them. We were attacking the basket and getting fouls, but you've got to knock down shots."

Forward Jazzmin Smith led Dillard with 17 points, and Lauren Daniel had 12.

Xavier started to pull away late in the first half with a 9-0 run. Grant made two 3-pointers during the run. The second gave the Gold Nuggets a 25-17 lead with 3:07 remaining in the half.

"My team expects me to shoot, " Grant said. "That's my role on the team, so I knew I had to keep shooting the ball."

Dillard closed the margin in the final two minutes of the half. Guard Ariel Mitchell scored six points off two baskets and two free throws, and Xavier took a 25-23 lead into halftime.