THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will head to Anchorage, Alaska for a pair of contests in the 2013 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaskan Shootout at Sullivan Arena. The Colonels open tournament play against Georgetown University on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. central.

Nicholls (3-1) is coming off a 2-0 week after picking up wins at South Alabama and at home against Texas Southern. Guard Emani White led Nicholls for the week, averaging 22 points, four assists and four steals en route to being named Southland Conference Player of the Week. The weekly honor was the sophomore's first of her career.

White currently leads the Southland in scoring with 22.3 points per game while senior KK Babin is second on the team with 12.8 points. As a team, Nicholls is averaging 74 points a game, shooting at a 42 percent clip. The Colonels continue to rely heavily on the 3-point shot, knocking down nine more in their win over Texas Southern. Junior Jenny Nash led the long-range assault against the Lady Tigers, matching her career high with six from behind the arc to tie her personal best of 22 points. Nash bumped her average up to 9.5 points which ranks fourth on the team.

While freshman Marina Lilly (10.0 ppg., 5.5 reb.) had been the Colonels' most dominant post player in the first three games, senior Jasmine Scott was nearly unstoppable last Saturday as she scored a career-high 18 points. Scott, who is averaging 8.3 points, made 9 of 11 from the field and had two key offensive rebounds.  

Led by 6-foot-5 freshman center Natalie Butler, Georgetown (2-2) heads to Alaska as the pre-tournament favorite. Butler is averaging a double-double with 15.8 points and 11.5 rebounds and is shooting 57.5 percent from the field. In the Hoyas' come-from-behind victory over Princeton, she scored 14 points and went on to be named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week.

The rest of the field includes host Anchorage Alaska and UC Riverside, which will play at 11 p.m. Tuesday night. UAA, a NCAA Division II program, heads into its tournament with a 4-0 record after wins over Western New Mexico, BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade. The Seawolves, who have claimed seven Shootout titles, are led in scoring by wing Alli Madison (18.3 ppg.). UC Riverside will take a 2-2 record into the Shootout after back-to-back wins against San Jose State and Santa Clara. The Highlanders are led by guard Brittany Crain, who is pouring in 23 points per contest.

The winners of Tuesday's games will tip off on Wednesday at 8 p.m., with the third-place game scheduled for 5:30 p.m.