THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University women's basketball team (5-12, 0-4 Southland Conference) heads to their nearest conference rival on Saturday as the Colonels head to Hammond to take on Southeastern Louisiana (9-6, 1-2 Southland Conference) on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Nicholls remains in search of its first Southland Conference victory, after opening the season with a 5-6 mark in the first 11 games of the year to eclipse last season's victory total.  However, despite a pair of close hard-fought losses at Texas-Arlington and against Northwestern State, the Colonels have not been able to crack the win column in conference play yet.

The Colonels will try to fix that when they take one of the most aggressive defenses and one of the top perimeter shooting teams in the nation into Saturday's match up with the Lions.  Nicholls began the week ranked in the top 30 in the nation with a +4.69 turnover margin while also averaging 11.5 steals/game, the 35th best mark in the country.  The Nicholls defense is led by freshman guard KK Babin who boasts a 2.7 steal/game average entering the week, a mark that ranks third in the Southland Conference and 50th nationally.

Babin is also one of the Colonels' leaders on the offensive end of the floor.  The Gonzales, La. native began the week ranked 27th in the nation with 2.8 three pointers/game.  Babin enters Saturday's contest averaging 12.4 points/game, one of four Colonels averaging double-digit scoring.  Babin is joined by senior guard Ricshanda Bickham, who leads the team with a 14.6 point/game average, junior guard Sumar Leslie (12.6 points/game) and sophomore forward Alisha Allen (11.4 points/game).

Like the Colonels, the Lions have also struggled recently after putting together a strong start.  Southeastern opened the season with a 5-0 record before losing six of their next ten games, including losing two of the Lions last three.

However, the Lions still promise to be a challenge for the Colonels.  Southeastern La. owns one of the most efficient offenses in the Southland Conference, ranking second in the league with a .404 team field goal percentage.  The Lions also boast the best rebounding team in the league, averaging 35.9 defensive rebounds and a +4.7 rebounding margin, both the Southland's best.

Tipoff between the Colonels and Lions is set for 3 p.m. in Hammond.  Following the contest, the Colonels will return to Nicholls to host McNeese State on Wednesday.  Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Stopher Gym in the first game of a men's and women's double header.  The women's game will immediately be followed by the Nicholls men's game against McNeese.