THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team tips off its 40th season in program history on Friday as the Colonels host Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) at 1 p.m. at Stopher Gym.

The game will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM. Live stats will also be available on geauxcolonels.com.

Nicholls will look to continue its dominance at home where the Colonels have won 19 of their last 25 contests at Stopher Gym. Head coach DoBee Plaisance, who is in her sixth season, holds a 3-2 record in home openers after last season's 85-60 thrashing of ULM.

The Colonels bring back eight letterwinners – including four starters – from last season's record breaking squad. Leading the way is senior standout guard KK Babin who is Nicholls' top returning scorer from last season where she averaged 13.2 points per game. In addition, Babin was one of the league's best in assists, averaging 5.0 per game. Babin, along with senior forward LiAnn McCarthy, was named preseason All-Southland.

Although Nicholls will need to find ways to replace its lone senior from last season, Alisha Allen (15.6 ppg, 6.0 reb, 32 blks), the Colonels return nearly 75 percent of their scoring offense from a year ago. Guard Emani White had a stellar freshman campaign in 2012-13, averaging 8.9 points and 2.5 assists. The other top scorers returning for Nicholls are McCarthy (8.6 ppg), senior forward Jasmine Scott (8.5 ppg) and junior guard Jenny Nash (7.2 ppg).

SUNO (0-1) lost its opener at home against Lyons College, 77-62, and will take on Spring Hill College on Thursday before making the trip to Thibodaux. Victoria Davis led all scorers in the loss, finishing with 27 points on 9 of 24 from the field. Marquetta Stokes also reached double figures for SUNO with 17 points. 
Overall, the Colonels are 12-27 in season openers, with their last victory coming in the 2010-11 season where they defeated SUNO 74-59. With a loss to DePaul in Chicago last season, Coach Plaisance's opening record fell to 1-4.

The game will be the first of three home games for the Colonels in non-conference play. Nicholls will host Texas Southern on Nov. 23 before closing out its 2013 home schedule on Dec. 2 against Louisiana Tech.