LUBBOCK, Texas – With the help of a career-high 23 points from freshman Tia Charles, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team fought back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to outscore University of Texas at San Antonio 35-19 in the final 20 minutes as the Colonels snapped their three-game skid with a 57-49 win on Sunday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena.
 
Nicholls (4-6) used a total team effort on defense, picking up 15 steals while holding UTSA (4-6) to just 33 percent from the field and 2-of-16 from behind the arc. Along with leading the offense, Charles finished with a career-best six steals.
 
Nicholls started out in a hole, falling behind 9-0 before answering with its own 9-0 run. Shay Arnick accounted for the Colonels' first four points on a pair of buckets inside and Charles scored the next five to even the game at 9-all at the 11:49 mark.
 
UTSA countered with another run, scoring 10 straight points over the next three minutes. Charles then ended the drought with a jumper and nailed a 3-ball to pull Nicholls within six. Two free throws by the Roadrunners sent the Colonels into the break down 30-22.
 
In the first five minutes of the second half, Arnick and Charles combined for eight points, capped on a 3-pointer by Arnick to make the score 34-32 UTSA. But once again, the Roadrunners answered with a quick five points, taking a 39-32 lead one a basket-and-one by Karma King, who had a team-high 13 points for UTSA.
 
Over the next nine minutes, the Colonels dominated the court. A pair of 3-pointers by Jenny Nash and Taylor Morrison brought Nicholls within two, and Ekiya Gray powered a layup inside to even the score at 40 with nine minutes remaining.
 
On UTSA's next possession, the Colonel defense kept the Roadrunners from scoring, despite three shot attempts. Charles then gave Nicholls the lead when she banked home a 3-pointer.
 
Leading 43-42 with 5:42 to go, Nicholls pulled away with six consecutive points to cap a 17-3 run. Following a steal and layup by Charles, Nash hit a jumper before going under the basket for a reverse layup, making the score 49-42 with 3:17 left in the game.
 
UTSA made a final push to cut the lead to 49-46, but Nash went inside once again to give Nicholls a five-point cushion with less than two minutes to go. With UTSA forced to foul, the Colonels made six free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Nash, who played the entire 40 minutes, finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Arnick scored 12 off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting. Nicholls shot 42 percent for the game, helped by its 52 percent clip in the second half.
 
Nicholls will have a week off for the holidays before hosting Southern Miss on Monday, Dec. 29, in the team's 2014 finale. Tipoff at Stopher Gym is scheduled for 6 p.m.