THIBODAUX, La. – Trailing by one with 6.6 seconds remaining, junior guard Emani White drained a step-back 16-foot jumper to give the Nicholls State University women's basketball team the lead over SUNO, and White stole the inbounds pass and added a layup for a career-high 37 points to put the game away as the Colonels escaped Stopher Gym Tuesday night with an 87-84 win in their home opener.
 
With the victory, Nicholls evens its record to 1-1, while the Lady Knights, who compete at the NAIA level, fall to 2-2. The Colonels remain undefeated against SUNO with a 6-0 all-time record.
 
Nicholls got all it could bargain for against SUNO, falling behind as much as 11 points in the second half. Behind 27 points from Victoria Davis, the Lady Knights held an 84-80 advantage with 90 seconds remaining before Nicholls closed the game with a 7-0 run.
 
The run started when Ekiya Gray, who had seven points and seven rebounds for the Colonels, pulled down two missed shots on the offensive glass, which led to a pair of free throws by Hope Pawlowski with 43 seconds left. Down two, White picked the pocket of former Colonel Kishaun Williams and drew a foul on a layup attempt. After missing the first, White connected on the second to make the score 84-83 SUNO.
 
On the inbounds, Gray made a great play in the corner to keep the ball in play and Nicholls recovered it, calling a timeout to secure a steal with 25 seconds left. Jenny Nash, who had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Nicholls, misfired on a shot but White collected the rebound. With time winding down, White broke down her defender and sank a jumper just outside the free throw line en route to the victory.
 
White and Nash were the only two Colonels to reach double-figures in scoring, but the team had a total of nine players crack the scoring column and had 24 points off the bench, led by Pawlowski's eight.
 
Nicholls shot 41 percent from the field, knocking down 9-of-26 3-pointers. White knocked down 5-of-13 from behind the arc and was 12-of-17 from the floor. She also dished out three assists, had four steals and made 8-of-10 at the free throw line. As a team, Nicholls made 84 percent at the charity stripe.
 
The game started out with the teams trading 3-balls, and Nicholls would eventually lead by as much as eight in the half. SUNO took the lead at 39-38 with a minute until the break, but White answered with a layup and then nailed a three at the buzzer to give Nicholls a 43-39 lead at half.
 
SUNO made a frantic five minutes into the second half, turning the game around with a 14-2 spurt to grab a 66-55 advantage. Nicholls came back and took the lead after a Nash layup with less than five minutes to go, but the Lady Knights answered by outscoring Nicholls 12-5 with 120 seconds remaining.
 
Down 82-76, the Colonels closed out the game in the final two minutes with an 11-2 run to stave off the visitors.
 
SUNO shot 52 percent from the field and 90 percent at the line. Marquetta Stokes had 16 points while Shonte Dillon and Ksenia Sharan added 12 each.
 
Nicholls will have an extended break, returning to the court on Nov. 29-30 in the Tennessee State Thanksgiving Classic in Nashville. The Colonels will play Youngstown State at 1 p.m. on Saturday before taking on Norfolk State at 12 p.m. on Sunday.