Final Stats NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team used a 16-0 run in the first half to help erase an early 11-point deficit and forced 25 turnovers on the night as the Colonels defeated Northwestern State, 83-69, on Wednesday night at Prather Coliseum.

With the win, Nicholls (9-6) improves to 2-0 in Southland play for the first time in program history. The victory also snaps a seven-game losing streak against Northwestern State (4-11, 0-2) and is also only the second time that the Colonels have won on the road against the Lady Demons.

Senior Sumar Leslie paced the Colonels, coming up just two assists shy of a triple-double, finishing with a game-high 22 points, 10 steals and eight assists. Sophomore LiAnn McCarthy came off the bench for a career-night, scoring 20 points including three 3-pointers, while sophomore KK Babin, who had four 3-pointers, and junior Alisha Allen chipped in with 14 points each. Allen added 10 rebounds to finish with her second straight double-double.

The 83 points in the win matched the Colonels' season-high, which they scored in an earlier win against Weber State. In all, eight players scored for Nicholls as the Colonels finished the night shooting 44 percent.

Early in the contest, Nicholls struggled to find points as Northwestern State held a 20-9 lead after nine minutes of play. Following the under-8 media timeout, the Colonels used their defense to get the offense going, forcing the Lady Demons into six turnovers in consecutive possessions.

Down 24-13, McCarthy started an impressive 16-0 for the Colonels with a layup and a 3-pointer. After a free throw by Jenny Nash, Leslie scored on a steal and a layup before Babin drained one from long range to even the score at 24. Thirty seconds later, McCarthy nailed another three before Leslie capped the run with one more steal and layin to give Nicholls a 29-24 lead.

The Lady Demons managed to regain the lead before the break, but Nicholls closed out the first period with a 9-2 run to head into halftime with a 44-38 advantage. Nicholls forced 15 Lady Demon turnovers in the first 20 minutes, resulting in 19 points. The Colonels had only four turnovers in the half and finished the night with 12.

In the second half, NSU battled back to cut the deficit to three points before Babin sank another 3-pointer, making the count 51-45. The Colonels then grabbed their first double-digit lead at 58-47 when Leslie connected on a leaner as the shot clock expired.

Still leading by 10 at 69-59, Babin drained another clock-expiring bucket as the sophomore made her fourth 3-pointer of the evening with 5:21 remaining in the game.  The Colonels led by as much as fifteen down the stretch before claiming its second-straight conference victory for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.

Led by McCarthy's 20, the Colonel bench outscored the Lady Demons', 27-2. However, NSU outrebounded Nicholls 45-38, led by a game-high 16 from Trudy Armstead. The Lady Demons were led on offense by Armstead and Jordi James with 19 points apiece.

Nicholls will return to action as they head to Texas to take on Sam Houston State on Saturday. Tipoff against the Bearkats is scheduled for 2 p.m.