THIBODAUX, La. – Following a week off for the holidays, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will close out the year, as well as its non-conference schedule, when the Colonels host Southern Miss on Monday, Dec. 29, at Stopher Gym.
Tipoff between the Colonels (4-6) and Lady Eagles (6-4) is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM, with a live video stream and live stats available on geauxcolonels.com.
Nicholls is coming off an impressive victory over former conference foe UTSA last Sunday. After falling by double digits in their first two games in the Athletes in Action Tournament at Texas Tech, the Colonels looked to be headed for another loss, trailing by as much as 10 points to the Roadrunners. In the second period, Nicholls put together one of its best halves of the season, shooting over 50 percent from the field while holding UTSA to 26 percent. The Colonels outscored UTSA by 16 points in the final 20 minutes, leading to a 57-49 win.
Freshman
Tia Charles was the star for the Colonels in the win, putting up career-highs in points (23) and steals (6). In the Colonels' last two victories, Charles is averaging 21 points and five rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field.
On the year, Charles is third on the team in scoring at 7.5 points per game, trailing
Emani White (15.3), who has missed the last six games with an injury, and
Jenny Nash (12.8). At Texas Tech, Nash was named to the all-tournament team after putting up 40 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks in the three games.
As a team, the Colonels are shooting 35 percent from the field, held back by their 27 percent clip from 3-point range. Nicholls has launched 28 more 3-pointers than their opponents this season, but have made the same amount (57) as the opposition. Nash has a team-high 21 3-pointers after finding her stroke from long range in Texas where she connected on 8-of-17.
Southern Miss brings a three-game losing streak to Thibodaux after dropping a close 68-66 decision at Ole Miss on Dec. 18. The Lady Eagles suffered losses to Florida Gulf Coast and Mississippi State to start the skid, with their last win coming against Tennessee Tech (80-58).
USM is led in scoring by Tamara Jones at 14.6 ppg and Jerontay Clemons (12.4). In last season's meeting against the Colonels, Jones was nearly unstoppable, scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting in only 16 minutes of action. The Lady Eagles shot 75 percent from the field in the second half to help erase a two-point halftime deficit, giving Southern Miss an 84-66 victory.
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 13-2 and is 5-1 in games played in Thibodaux. The last time USM came to Nicholls was in 1986 where they won 78-59.
Following the New Year, Nicholls will open Southland Conference play at Lamar on Jan. 3.
