THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University women's basketball team (6-12, 1-4 Southland Conference) returns to action on Saturday when the Colonels head to Beaumont, Texas to take on the defending Southland Conference regular season and tournament champion Lamar Cardinals (14-4, 3-1 Southland Conference) in a matchup scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff at the Montagne Center.

Nicholls will try to regain the form that saw them snap a 32-game losing streak in Southland Conference road games in a win at Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday, and the Colonels will try to rebound from a heart-breaking one-point loss to the first-place McNeese State Cowgirls in their last outing.  On Wednesday, Nicholls battled McNeese (who remains undefeated in conference play) through eight ties and 13 lead changes.  In a hotly contested affair, the Colonels fell victim to a go-ahead layup by the Cowgirls in the final seconds of a 72-71 heartbreaker.

The Colonels will have their hands full with the defending champion Cardinals.  Lamar boasts an 11-3 mark  non-conference play with victories over teams such as Rice and Houston.  The Cardinals are led by a trio of double-digit scorers: Monique Whittaker (14.4 points/game), Jenna Plumley (13.8 points/game) and Kalis Loyd (13.5 points/game).  The Cardinals boast the league's second best scoring offense (72.6) and third best scoring defense (62.7).

Nicholls, meanwhile, will answer with one of the most aggressive defenses in the nation and a quartet of double-digit scoring threats.  The Colonels boast an 11.4 steals/game, the 33rd best total in the nation, and a turnover margin of +5.21, the 21st best mark in the country.  Freshman guard KK Babin (2.4 steals/game) and senior guard Ricshanda Bickham (2.2 steals/game) lead the Nicholls defense by averaging more than 2.0 steals/game each.

On the offensive end, the Colonels are once again led by Bickham and Babin, who lead Nicholls with scoring averages of 14.6 and 12.6 points/game, respectively.  The Colonel backcourt duo is joined by junior guard Sumar Leslie (11.5 points/game) and sophomore guard Alisha Allen (11.3 points/game).