RUSTON, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team battled with Louisiana Tech through the first 10 minutes, but the Lady Techsters took advantage of 15 first-half turnovers by the Colonels and pieced together a 17-2 run before the break as Nicholls fell, 80-62, Monday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
Both teams struggled to find points after the opening tip, but Nicholls (3-4) pounded the ball inside and never trailed until the 10:37 mark at 13-12. But the turnovers caught up to the Red and Gray as Louisiana Tech (4-4) quickly turned the miscues into points.
 
Nicholls saw its last lead of the game with a little over nine minutes left in the half when Marina Lilly scored inside to put the score at 16-15. The Lady Techsters scored the game's next nine points and saw their first double-digit lead at 28-18 with 5:18 to go in the half. A Colonel turnover led to another easy bucket which capped the big run, giving LA Tech a 32-18 advantage.
 
Over the last four minutes of the period, the home team continued to pour it on as the Colonels headed into the locker room trailing 47-25, their largest halftime deficit of the season.
 
LA Tech not only took advantage of the Colonels' 15 turnovers, turning them into 19 points, but the Tech bench outscored Nicholls 27-2 in the first twenty minutes.
 
In the second half, Nicholls fell behind by as much as 26 but continued to battle. The Colonels cut the deficit to 11 with less than three minutes left; however, could never trim the margin to single digits as Louisiana Tech went on to avenge last season's loss to the Colonels. With the win, LA Tech improved its record to 16-1 over Nicholls.
 
Freshman Ekiya Gray led Nicholls with a career-high 14 points, scoring 10 in the second half. Jenny Nash recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and also contributed with seven assists, three blocks and a steal. Nash was credited with seven of the Colonels' 24 turnovers, while Lilly contributed with 12 points.
 
The Colonels shot 40.3 percent from the field but made just 3-of-14 from behind the arc. Nicholls, which headed into the game shooting 76 percent from the free throw line, connected on only 9-of-17 at the stripe.
 
LA Tech was led by Whitney Frazier and Ruby Richie with 16 points each. The Lady Techsters shot 36 percent from the floor and outrebounded Nicholls 53-45, helped by 21 on the offensive glass.
 
Nicholls returns to the court in the Athletes in Action Tournament hosted by Texas Tech, starting Friday, Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m. against the host Lady Raiders. Nicholls will take on Houston on Dec. 20 and closes out the weekend Sunday against former Southland foe, UTSA.