THIBODAUX  - The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will play its second contest of the season as the Colonels make the trek to face in-state rival, Louisiana-Lafayette, on Thursday (Nov. 17). Tipoff at Earl K. Long Gym against the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 7 p.m.

Nicholls (0-1) opened the season on Saturday at Alabama, falling to the Crimson Tide, 72-51. Although the Colonels had the lead midway through the first half and only trailed by four at the half, a significant run in the first four minutes of the second period allowed Alabama to pull away.

Sumar Leslie and Alisha Allen led Nicholls with 12 points each. As a team, the Colonels were held to 29 percent shooting and were outrebounded, 52-39.

“Coming off the loss against Alabama, the good news is that it was a great learning experience,” said Nicholls head coach DoBee Plaisance. “Alabama did expose our weaknesses, in a sense of our consistency, so the focus this week going into the Louisiana-Lafayette game was working on that, recognizing it as a problem and fixing it.”

Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) also dropped its season opener, losing at home to LSU-Shreveport, 63-50. The Ragin' Cajuns also shot under 30 percent on the day and were outscored 32-22 in the second half. Mercedes Johnson paced ULL with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kemi Rotibi came off the bench for 10 points and 14 rebounds.

“I think we match up with UL very well,” said Coach Plaisance. “Errol Rogers is doing an excellent job with his program and always has. They have tough guard play and he has a 6'4 player (Rotibi) that comes off the bench that could give up some matchup problems. I think it will come down to whoever dictates the style of play. If we come out and set the tone, I believe that will give us our best chance at being successful. But if we let them set the game tempo, it's going to be a dog fight all night.”

The Colonels will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak in the series against ULL. Nicholls' last victory was in the 2002-03 season opener, with the Colonels winning, 59-57.

Tipoff at Earl K. Long Gym is set for 7 p.m.