THIBODAUX -  The Nicholls State University women's basketball team (5-6) will return to action on Wednesday when the Colonels put their three-game winning streak, the program's longest in eight years, on the line in the opener of the Tulane/Doubletree Classic at 3 p.m. against the Green Wave.

The game will be a special broadcast of the Colonel Sports Radio Network.  Mike Wagenheim's pregame show begins at 2:45 p.m.  The game can be heard in the New Orleans-Houma-Thibodaux area on KLRZ 100.3 FM and streaming audio webcasts of the game will be available at klrzfm.com and thibodauxonline.com.

The Colonels' contest with Tulane will kick off the four-team tournament that includes Nicholls, Tulane, UNC-Charlotte and Old Dominion.  The tournament, originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, was moved back one day to accomodate the travel problems caused by winter storms on the east coast encountered by Charlotte and ODU.

Nicholls is riding high after rattling off consecutive victories over Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 15), Georgia State (Dec. 18) and Southern (Dec. 21) for the program's first three-game winning streak since the 2001-02 season.  A victory over the Green Wave on Thursday would give Nicholls its longest winning streak since the Colonels racked up five consecutive victories in the 1998-99 season.

The Colonels, who are 12-28 all-time against the Green Wave, will be looking for their first victory over Tulane since a 59-53 win over the Wave in the 1990-91 season.

Nicholls is led by freshman guard KK Babin.  The Gonzales, La. native heads into Wednesday's contest ranked 34th in the nation averaging 2.8 three pointers per game.  Babin is currently tied with senior guard and New Orleans native Ricshanda Bickham as the team's leading scorer.  Both guards enter the matchup with the Green Waver averaging 14.4 points/game. 

Joining them in double figure point production is sophomore forward Alisha Allen.  The Garland, Texas native averages 13.4 points/game and is the Colonels' top rebounder, hauling in 5.6 rebounds per night.

On the other end of the floor, Nicholls has produced one of the most aggressive defenses in the nation.  The Colonels have forced 250 turnovers by the opposition while committing just 189 of their own.  Nicholls has racked up 129 steals on the year for an 11.8 steal/game average the ties Texas A&M for 33rd best average in the country.

However, the Green Wave (8-2) figure to present a challenge to the Colonels.  Tulane boasts victories in four of their last five games, including wins over Louisiana-Monroe, St. Jospeh's, Detroit and Cal State Fullerton.  The Green Wave also boast wins over national power LSU and the Colonels' Southland Conference rival Stephen F. Austin.

The Green Wave boasts five players averaging double digits in scoring.  Danielle Nunn (14.5 ppg), Olivia Grayson (13.7 ppg), Roshaunda Barnes (13.4 ppg), Tiffany Aidoo (12.3 ppg) and Brittany Lindsey (12.0 ppg) combine to lead an offense that averages 70.7 points/game.

A win over Tulane would pit the Colonels in Thursday's championship game at 3 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's Charlotte vs. ODU contest.  A loss against the Green Wave would mean Nicholls would take on the loser of the Mondarchs and 49ers at 1 p.m. on Thursday in the consolation game.

Both ODU and Charlotte pose challenges for the programs as well.  Charlotte enters as the tournament's hottest team, having won seven straight as part of a 10-2 start.  The only blemishes on the 49ers' ledger are a 61-55 loss at No. 6 Duke and a 76-70 loss against SEC power Florida.

Old Dominion, meanwhile, is off to a 5-4 mark against one of the tougher schedules in the country.  The Monarchs own impressive wins over Georgia Tech, Louisville, George Washington and Stony Brook and hard-fought losses against national powers such as North Carolina State, Richmond, Florida and Tennessee.