THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will make its final road trip of the regular season with two games in Texas, starting Thursday at Sam Houston State. Tipoff at Johnson Coliseum is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Live coverage of the game between Nicholls (16-9, 8-6) and Sam Houston (14-12, 10-4) can be listened to on KNSU 91.5 FM. The contest can also be followed online on Colonels All-Access.

The Bearkats, who defeated Stephen F. Austin in their last game, were responsible for one of the two home losses for Nicholls this season, picking up a 70-63 win in Thibodaux on Jan. 26. Sam Houston currently sits a half game out of first place, leading the Colonels by two games.

While Nicholls heads into the matchup looking to bounce back from a devastating loss at the buzzer at Lamar last Tuesday, the Colonels have already clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Colonels currently hold the fifth spot, but can improve their seeding drastically with three of their remaining four games against teams ahead of them in the standings. Nicholls still has shot of earning a piece of the regular season championship if it wins out, but will need Oral Roberts, Lamar and Sam Houston to lose twice.

For much of the season, the Colonels have relied on outshooting opponents, holding a perfect 17-0 record when posting a better percentage from the field before the loss at Lamar. Despite finishing at a 33.9 percent clip at LU, Nicholls still ranks 56th in the NCAA at 42.3 percent. The Colonels are scoring the third-most points in the Southland, averaging 65.2 points.

Senior Alisha Allen continues to be a consistent force on offense, scoring 19 at Lamar to increase her average on the year to 15 points per game, which ranks sixth in the Southland. Allen, the Colonels' second all-time leading scorer, needs only two points to pass 1,500 for her career.

In contrast to the Colonels' style, Sam Houston has depended on defense and rebounding. The Bearkats are third in the SLC in both points allowed (61.0 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.364) and feature the nation's sixth best rebounder, Sequeen Thomas (12.6 rpg). In the last meeting, although Nicholls scored 60 points, Sam Houston held the Colonels to 35 percent shooting in the second half and finished the day with a 44-28 advantage in rebounding.

Sam Houston is led by its two SLC Player of the Year candidates - Thomas and Britni Martin. Thomas is averaging a double-double, scoring 13.5 points per contest to go along with her Southland-leading rebounding average while Martin ranks fifth in the SLC in scoring at 16.7. The duo combined for 34 points in the last meeting against the Colonels, with Thomas hauling in 14 rebounds.

Following Thursday's game, Nicholls will head south to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday for its final road game.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Tipoff: 5:30 p.m.
Radio: 91.5 FM KNSU (Thibodaux, La.)
Audio Stream: Colonels All-Access
Live Stats: www.gobearkats.com