SAN ANTONIO, Texas -  One game out of the Southland Conference Tournament picture with five games left in the regular season, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team (8-16, 3-8 Southland Conference) will look to try to get back into the conference race on Saturday when the Colonels visit Texas-San Antonio (11-13, 7-4 Southland Conference) with a 2:00 p.m.

Nicholls begins the weekend 1.0 game out of the Southland Conference Tournament picture.  The Colonels trail Texas State and UT Arlington, who are tied for the eighth and final spot at the league tournament with identical 4-7 league records.  With five regular season games left on the calendar, a win against the Roadrunners would help the Colonels improve their chances for their first postseason appearance since 2005.

Fortunately, for Nicholls, the Colonels have found a comfort zone away from Thibodaux, winning two conference road games for the first time since 2006-07 and turning in their most road wins since the 2002-03 season.

The Colonels will be looking for their second consecutive road win and their third conference road victory of the season after picking up a 75-62 win at Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 9.  A victory over the Roadrunners would give Nicholls its highest overall win total since a nine-win season in 2002-03 and the program's winningest Southland Conference season since Nicholls went 5-11 against Southland competition in the 2004-05 campaign.

However, the Colonels will be facing a highly motivated Roadrunner squad on Saturday.  UTSA enters the weekend tied for the fourth seed in the conference tournament race, and the Roadrunners are just 1.0 game behind Sam Houston State for first place in the Southland Conference West Division standings.

The Roadrunners own the fourth-best scoring defense in the Southland, limiting opponents to 64.2 points/game.  UTSA also limits opposition to .371 shooting, the second best mark in the league.  The Roadrunners are led by Alysse Davis, who leads the conference with a 2.5 block/game average, and Jermini Malone, who leads the league with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.

The Colonels answer with an aggressive defense of their own.  Nicholls begins the weekend averaging 11.3 steals/game, a mark that leads the Southland Conference and ranks 28th nationally.  Nicholls also boasts a league-best +5.04 turnover margin that ranks 15th in the country.

Offensively, and defensively, the Colonels are led by the backcourt tandem of senior Ricshanda Bickham and freshman KK Babin.  Bickham owns a team-best 14.3 point/game average that ranks eighth in the conference, while Babin ranks second in the conference and 26th nationally with 2.6 three pointers/game.  On the other end of the floor, Bickham leads the team and ranks fourth in the Southland with a 2.4 steal/game average with Babin right behind her averaging 2.5 steals/game.

Tipoff between the Colonels and Roardunners is set for 2 p.m. in San Antonio.  Following the contest, the Colonels will return home to take on league power Central Arkansas on Feb. 23.