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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team fell behind UC Riverside by 20 points in the first half and despite a late run, the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as Nicholls was defeated 74-64 in the third-place game of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaskan Shootout Wednesday at Sullivan Arena.

Nicholls drops to 3-3 on the season, while UC Riverside evens its record at 3-3.  Georgetown and Alaska Anchorage will play in the championship game scheduled for an 8 p.m. tipoff.

Sophomore Emani White led Nicholls is scoring for the fourth time this season, finishing with a game-high 29 points on 11 of 22 shooting. Although White connected of half of her shots, Nicholls struggled shooting for the second consecutive game, making only 33.8 percent from the field. Senior KK Babin was the only other Colonel to reach double figures as she scored 12 points and had three of Nicholls' seven 3-pointers on the night.

UCR, coming off a double-overtime loss to host Alaska Anchorage late Tuesday night, showed no ill effects by jumping out to a 14-3 lead. White scored consecutive baskets for Nicholls to make it 16-8, but the Highlanders used a 10-0 run later in the period to take a 20-point lead.

The Colonels had no answer for UCR's Simone DeCoud in the first period as she missed only one shot on her way to a 16-point half. Her fourth 3-pointer of the stanza capped the UCR run, making the score 35-15 with 6:26 remaining. DeCoud finished the day with 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

For the rest of the half, Nicholls kept the Highlanders off the scoreboard as the Red and Gray trimmed the lead down to 35-27. A 3-pointer by Babin started the 12-0 run and White scored the half's final seven points.

White continued to lead the offense in the first five minutes after the intermission, scoring 9 of the Colonels' 10 points as UCR pushed its lead to 47-37. Over the next 10 minutes, the teams were virtually even as the lead stayed around 10 points for the Highlanders.

UCR took a 70-57 advantage with three minutes to go after a field goal by Annelise Ito, who had 16 points in the win. But Nicholls knocked down five free throws before a putback by Marina Lilly made the score 70-64 with 60 seconds to go.

The Colonels picked up a stop on the next possession, but UCR got the offensive rebound and Nicholls was forced to foul the rest of the way. The Highlanders tacked on four free throws to make the final.

UCR shot 48.3 percent from the field and held a significant advantage on the boards, 51-35. The Highlanders had 19 turnovers which led to 19 Colonel points, while Nicholls finished with only nine turnovers.

Nicholls will return to action on Monday, Dec. 2 as the Colonels host Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. in Stopher Gym.