Final Stats Box Score

THIBODAUX, La.  – For the first time in program history, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team defeated in-state rival Louisiana Tech as the Colonels overcame a sluggish first twenty minutes by putting 53 points on the scoreboard in the second half to knock off the Lady Techsters, 80-78, on Monday night at Stopher Gym.

With the win, Nicholls improves to 4-3 on the year and claims its first victory in 16 games against Louisiana Tech. The Lady Techsters, who had won the last four matchups versus the Colonels by an average of 45.8 points, fell to 1-5 on the season.

The Colonels had four players score in double figures, led by sophomore Emani White with 22 points. White had 10 of Nicholls' 27 points in the first half as the team shot a dreadful 22 percent to fall behind 37-27 at the break. But the second half was a different story as Nicholls made nearly half of its field goals, getting 13 points from Marina Lilly, 12 from White and 11 from junior Jenny Nash. Lilly and Nash finished with 14 points each while senior Jasmine Scott came off the bench for 11.

The second-half surge started immediately for the Colonels as they needed only two minutes to put together a 9-0 run. But LA Tech maintained the lead until Nash evened the score at 41-all with a 3-pointer at the 16:18 mark.

After a basket by LA Tech, freshman Taylor Morrison gave Nicholls the lead with one of her three 3-pointers on the night. The Colonels knocked down 10 of 27 3-pointers for the game, marking the third time this season that Nicholls has had at least 10 3-pointers.

LA Tech regained the lead at 51-49 and Kanadria Andrews then caught fire for the Lady Techsters, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to push their lead to 60-51. Before the spurt, LA Tech was 0 of 15 from behind the arc.

Nicholls hung around and finally grabbed the lead after a huge five-point swing with six minutes to go. Down 67-63, Babin, who had nine points and seven assists, knocked down a 3-pointer before Nash stole the inbounds, was fouled and converted on both free throws.

Nicholls made its final field goal of the game at the 5:33 mark when Lilly scored inside to increase the lead to three. With both teams in foul trouble, the rest of the game came down to the free throw line.

A pair of Lilly free throws made the score 72-69, but Louisiana Tech, looking for its second straight win, scored six straight points to flip the deficit. With 1:41 remaining, White fouled out for the Colonels which led to a pair of free throws by Lulu Perry, putting the count at 75-72.

With 1:25 left, Scott came through with a pair of clutch free throws for Nicholls before Nash tied and then gave the Colonels the lead with two from the line with 52 ticks remaining. The defense picked up another stop and Babin sank two more from the charity stripe for a 78-75 lead.

After LA Tech tacked on a free throw with 16 second remaining, Nash made it a two-possession game with two free throws with four seconds left. LA Tech made a field goal at the buzzer to make the final 80-78.

While the Colonels shot 37 percent from the field and from 3-point range, the team was nearly flawless at the free throw line, making 26 of 30. LA Tech also took advantage of its freebies, finishing 16 of 22, but the Lady Techsters struggled from behind the arc as they made only 4 of 23.

Nicholls came out on top in rebounding with a 43-41 edge. Scott led the way with eight while Lilly chipped in with seven.

The Lady Techsters were led by Whitney Frazier with 19 points and Chrisstasia Walter added 18. Walter nearly had a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight steals.

Nicholls will have two weeks off for finals before taking on No. 11 Texas A&M on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Tipoff at College Station is scheduled for 11 a.m.