Final Stats SAN MARCOS, Texas  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team shot a scorching 63 percent in the second half as the Colonels defeated West Division leading Texas State, 83-74, at the Strahan Coliseum in Southland Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Sumar Leslie led the Colonels (12-10, 5-4) with a game-high 29 points, KK Babin scored 23 points including five 3-pointers and junior Alisha Allen eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, finishing the day with 17 points.
 
Allen headed into Saturday's contest needing 13 points to reach the plateau. With 11:08 left in the game, the native of Garland, Texas scored a layup to achieve the milestone. The last Colonel to reach 1,000 career points was Katherine Plummer in 2008.
 
In the game, Texas State (13-8, 5-3) raced out to a 7-0 advantage and despite shooting 2-of-16 from behind the arc, never relinquished the lead in the first 20 minutes. The Colonels, who also struggled from downtown in the first half (1-of-9), decreased the deficit to two points after Babin drained her first 3-pointer of the day at 14:35 mark. However, Texas State pushed the lead back to eight before heading into the locker room with a 36-30 lead.
 
In the second half, Nicholls quickly evened up the game, capping a 9-3 run on a jumper by Jenny Nash, who finished the day with three blocks. During the next six minutes, the squads battled to two more ties with Texas State still holding onto the lead until Babin put the Colonels up for the first time at 54-52 with a 3-pointer.
 
Down the stretch, neither team could pull away until Nicholls pieced together a 7-0 surge with 1:44 remaining. Leslie, Allen and Babin each scored a field goal during the run, giving Nicholls a 77-70 lead. Texas State was forced to foul the rest of the way and Nicholls, the nation's 7^th best free throw shooting team, converted on all six attempts to pick up its second road victory in conference play.
 
Texas State and Nicholls both shot well from the field, with the Colonels finishing at 48.5 percent, helped by a 20-of-32 effort in the second half. The Bobcats closed the day at a 44.3 percent clip.
 
Both squads hit five 3-pointers, with Babin accounting for all five for the Colonels. On the season, the sophomore from Gonzales, La. has made 57 3-pointers.
 
Texas State was led by Ashley Ezeh with 26 points, while the Southland's top scorer, Diamond Ford, finished with 20.
 
Nicholls will return to Stopher Gym on Wednesday as they host Stephen F. Austin for Academic Night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.