THIBODAUX, La.  – After coming up empty in its first Southland road trip, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will look to continue its dominance at home as the Colonels will play four of its next five games at Stopher Gym, starting with a first-ever meeting with conference newcomer Houston Baptist on Thursday (Jan. 16) night.

Tipoff between Nicholls (7-8, 2-2) and HBU (5-10, 1-3) is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM. A live video stream is also available on Colonels All-Access.

The Colonels are coming off a heartbreaking 51-50 loss at Sam Houston which saw the Bearkats win on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Although Nicholls shot a season-low 27 percent, the Colonel defense kept them in the game and allowed the team to come back from an early 14-point deficit. With the contest coming down to the final minutes, the Colonels, who headed into the game shooting 74 percent at the free throw line, could not get it done at the charity stripe, missing six of the final seven free throws.  

While Nicholls went 0-2 on the road last week, the Colonels have been nearly unstoppable in front of their home crowd as head coach DoBee Plaisance's squad has won 10 straight in Stopher.  In five home games this season, Nicholls is scoring 84.6 points per game and has won by an average of 24.4 points. Included in the streak are the Colonels' two conference wins which saw Nicholls defeat rivals UNO, 89-40, and Southeastern Louisiana, 84-55.

After reaching double figures in both games last week, sophomore Emani White leads the Southland in scoring at 18.5 points per game. As a team, Nicholls is averaging 68.6 points but is giving up slightly more at 68.9. The loss at Sam Houston was the first for the Colonels this season when surrendering less than 60 points.

Jenny Nash is second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.3) after recording double-doubles in two of the last three games. At Sam Houston, Nash finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, with three of her rebounds coming on the offensive end.

After starting 0-3 in its inaugural season in the Southland, HBU notched its first win in conference play with 67-56 win over Northwestern State last Saturday. Shanice Steenholdt powered the Huskies with 22 points and 11 rebounds and currently ranks fourth in the Southland in scoring (17.5 ppg) and third in rebounding (9.1). Rounding out the leading scorers for HBU are Erin McGarrachan (10.5) and Rachel Arthur (10.1).

HBU heads into the matchup averaging 67 points per game and has one of the Southland's best field goal percentages at 42.6. The Huskies have eclipsed the 40 percent mark in their last three outings and have shot 40 percent or better in five road contests.

Although Nicholls and HBU have never faced each other, the teams have played three common opponents this season. Both teams defeated South Alabama and lost to Sam Houston, but Nicholls won at home against Texas Southern, 79-70, while HBU fell on the road to the Bobcats, 82-70.

Nicholls will wrap up the week with a Saturday contest against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tipoff against the Islanders at Stopher Gym is scheduled for 1 p.m.