Final Stats THIBODAUX  – Senior Sumar Leslie and sophomore LiAnn McCarthy combined for 45 points as the Nicholls State University women's basketball team held off a late rally by UTSA to defeat the Roadrunners, 68-62, on Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.

With the win, Nicholls improves to 14-11 overall and 7-5 in conference. The 14 victories matches the program's highest mark for a single season, which was set in the 1990-91 campaign.

Leslie paced the Colonels with 29 points, eight assists and five steals. The Houma native shot 8-of-12 from the field, 4-of-6 from behind the arc and made all nine of her free throw attempts. Leslie also tied McCarthy, who scored 16, for the team lead in rebounds (6).

After scoring a season-low two points last Saturday at Lamar, Leslie scored 16 in the first half as Nicholls held the lead for almost the entire twenty minutes. UTSA (7-18, 3-9) trailed by as many as 10 points but tied the score with 30 seconds left to send the teams into break knotted at 30-all.

In the second half, the Roadrunners took the lead twice in the opening minutes, but it was quickly erased by 3-pointers from Jenny Nash and Leslie.

Over the next 10 minutes, UTSA hung around until the Colonels used a 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the day, 65-51, with 3:09 remaining. However, the Roadrunners turned up the defensive pressure, answering with their own 9-0 spurt with 26 seconds left on the clock.

Down the final stretch, Nicholls made 3-of-4 at the line as they went on to win its ninth home game of the season.

Both teams had solid days on offense, with UTSA finishing at 49 percent from the field while Nicholls connected on 46.2 percent. The Colonels, who came into the game ranked 32nd in the nation in 3-point percentage (.349), hit 8-of-20 from downtown for a 40 percent clip.

UTSA was led by Kamra King with 21 points and Judy Jones added 14.

Nicholls will return to action on Wednesday night as they take on first-place Central Arkansas in Conway. The Sugar Bears rallied to take the first matchup and have won their last 10 games. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.