THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will host Southland Conference-leading Sam Houston State on Saturday at Stopher Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Live radio coverage for the matchup between the Colonels (12-6, 4-3) and Bearkats (10-9, 6-1) can be listened to on KNSU 91.5 FM, with video streaming available on Colonels All-Access.

The Colonels failed to disappoint Stopher's largest crowd of the season, defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70-53 on Thursday. Nicholls improved its home-record to 4-1 on the season and 14-5 since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign.

Nicholls' defense played a key factor in the 17-point victory as the Colonels recorded a season-high 21 steals. Helped by 32 points off turnovers, Nicholls reached 70 points for the seventh time this season, which has resulted in seven wins. In conference play, the Colonels are averaging a league-best 66.4 points per game.

While its offense is in the middle of the pack since the start of the Southland schedule (61.4 ppg), Sam Houston features the league's stingiest defense, allowing only 53.4 points per outing in seven conference games.  On Thursday, the Bearkats need only 58 points to escape with a victory at Southeastern, defeating the Lady Lions by five. Sam Houston shot only 32.8 percent from the field, but won the game at the free throw line, knocking down six more than SLU.

The game features two of the top six scorers in the Southland, and four of the top 11.  For Sam Houston, Britni Martin is fifth in scoring at 17.5 points per game, with her teammate Sequeena Thomas ranking eighth at 13.5. Thomas is also the league's leading rebounder, hauling in 12.6 per game. 

Nicholls' Alisha Allen upped her average to 15.3 points - sixth best in the conference - after reaching 20 points for the second-straight game. KK Babin, who is second in the Southland with 5.2 assists per game, ranks 11th in scoring at 12.2 ppg. Babin scored 12 in the win over the Islanders and is 10 points away from reaching 1,000 for her career.

Sam Houston holds a 29-18 lead in the all-time series, helped by its current three-game winning streak. The Bearkats handed Nicholls a 21-point loss last season and won in Thibodaux in 2011, 81-66.

Following Saturday's game, Nicholls will hit the road for its next two contests, taking on Oral Roberts (Jan. 31) and Central Arkansas (Feb. 2).

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