THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will head to Hammond, La. Saturday for a Southland Conference matchup against rival Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff at the University Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM. In addition, a video stream, courtesy of Lion Vision, will be available for subscribers of Colonels All-Access at no additional charge.

Nicholls (10-4, 2-1) kicked off its current four-game conference road trip in an impressive manner, defeating McNeese State, 78-61, for the first time in over five seasons. Although Nicholls relied heavily of its starting five on offense, with each starter reaching double figures in the scoring column, it was freshman Emani White who led the team, accounting for 17 points off the bench.

White's outing upped her scoring average to 8.7 points per game, which is fourth on the team. Leading the Colonels is Alisha Allen (14.5), followed by KK Babin (12.4) and LiAnn McCarthy (8.8). Jenny Nash (7.9) and Jasmine Scott (7.5) round out the scoring leaders for Nicholls.

While the offense has been a strong point for the Colonels this season, the defense smothered McNeese, limiting the Cowgirls to 28.6 percent shooting. Nicholls also dominated the rebounding battle, 47-32, led by Scott with 11 for her second career double-double. The Colonels have been outrebounding opponents in conference play by a margin of 6.4 per game.

Nicholls will have to be solid on the boards against Southeastern (7-7, 0-3), which ranks second in the conference in rebounding margin at +3.5. The Lady Lions feature one of the top rebounders in the league, Brandi Simmons, who is hauling in 9.3 per game.

Simmons is also one of two Lady Lions to average double figures in points. Aja Gibson leads the team at 11.4 ppg, followed by Simmons at 10.4. Like the Colonels, SLU has six players who average over seven points per game.

The Lady Lions head into the matchup losers of four straight, but the three Southland teams that have defeated Southeastern have a combined conference record of 8-2. Also, SLU's last non-conference loss came against Baylor, which is the top-ranked team in both national polls.

Despite splitting the season series the last two years, with each team winning a home and a road game, Southeastern holds a commanding 55-14 lead in the all-time series. In the season-finale last season, the Lady Lions edged Nicholls, 73-72, to earn a bid into the Southland Conference Tournament. Under head coach DoBee Plaisance, the Colonels are 2-6 against Southeastern.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Tipoff: 2 p.m.
Radio: 91.5 FM KNSU (Thibodaux, La.)
Video Stream: Colonels All-Access
Live Stats: www.lionsports.net