THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team hits the road for its final game of 2013 as the Colonels face Southern Miss on Sunday (Dec. 29) afternoon, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum.

The 15th all-time meeting between Nicholls (5-5) and Southern Miss (9-2) can be listened to live on KNSU 91.5 FM, with pregame coverage scheduled to begin 15 minutes prior to tipoff.

After taking a week off for Christmas break, Nicholls will have a tough task in defeating the Lady Eagles, who have dominated the all-time series, 12-2. Southern Miss, which is 7-0 at home against the Colonels, has won three straight games, including wins over Southland opponents Central Arkansas and New Orleans.

While Nicholls picked up a win in its two games at Stetson's Hatters Classic last weekend, a dreadful second half against the host Hatters prevented the Colonels from notching their sixth victory of the season. The Colonels held a four-point lead at the break against Stetson, and despite making 6 of 15 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes, Nicholls shot only 29 percent from the field while the Hatters torched the nets for a 55.2 percent clip. It was only the second time this season Nicholls has lost a contest after leading at the break.

Junior Jenny Nash led Nicholls in the loss, scoring 15 points off five 3-pointers. Nash is one of four Colonels averaging 9.0 or more points on the year, joining Emani White (19.6), KK Babin (10.6) and Marina Lilly (9.9).

Although the Colonels head into the matchup against Southern Miss with a .371 field goal percentage, the 3-point shot has masked Nicholls' overall shooting woes. Nicholls currently leads the Southland in 3-point percentage (.354) and has the third-most of any team in the league with 81. White has led the way with 27 3-pointers, followed by Babin (21) and Nash (21). White and Nash led the team with a .375 3-point percentage.

Southern Miss has been led by transfer Tamara Jones, who is averaging 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. In the win against UNO, Jones recorded in double-double in just 27 minutes of play, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Jamierra Faulkner led the team in scoring with 18 points, upping her average to 13.3 points. Faulkner also has been one of the NCAA's best distributors of the basketball as she is averaging a remarkable 9.9 assists per contest.

Nicholls will begin conference play at home on Jan. 2 against New Orleans. Tipoff against the Privateers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.