Final Stats Highlights
Postgame Press Conference

KATY, Texas – Trailing by 13 points early in the second half, the fifth-seeded Nicholls State University women's basketball team came storming back to overtake fourth-seeded Northwestern State, only to surrender the lead in the final minute of a 69-65 loss in the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon at the Merrell Center.

The defeat brings about an end to the Colonels' season, as they finish 17-14 after a school-record third consecutive postseason appearance. The 17 wins are the second-most in program history, trailing only last season's 19-win campaign.

Nicholls senior guard KK Babin closed out her illustrious career with a 13-point, six-rebound, three-assist effort. Babin leaves Nicholls ranked third on the all-time scoring list (1,489), second in assists (488) and steals (238) and is the all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 256. Sophomore guard Emani White shot 7-of-15 from the field for a team-high 18 points, with 14 in the second half, and freshman Marina Lilly sparked Nicholls off the bench with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Just one day after tying their own Southland tournament record with 14 three-pointers, Nicholls struggled from the outside against the Lady Demons (19-12), draining just 4-of-24 attempts from beyond the arc, including a 1-of-10 clip in the opening half.

After trailing by eight points early on, a Jenny Nash bonus ball highlighted a 12-3 Nicholls run, giving the Red and Gray an 18-17 advantage at the 8:34 mark of the first half. Northwestern State took control back on a Janelle Perez jumper with just over four minutes to go before the break.

The game remained tight through the half, with a Presley Owens layup before the buzzer sending Northwestern State into the locker room with a 32-29 advantage.

It looked as if the Lady Demons might put the game away early in the second half, as Trudy Armstead knocked down a jumper to put Northwestern State up 42-31 with 16 minutes remaining. The deficit would grow to 13 points less than a minute later.

Nicholls, though, responded with a 9-2 run, highlighted by a traditional three-point play from White. They would climb back within five points with 9:31 left, only to fall behind by double digits again. With time running out, Nicholls scored 15 of the next 17 points, during which five different Colonels scored, to grab a one-point lead with 1:49 to play. White's off-balance three-pointer with the shot clock expiring put Nicholls out in front.

However, a Kourtney Pennywell layup shifted the advantage back to the Lady Demons, putting them up 66-65 with 40 seconds left. White followed with a missed three-pointer in the closing seconds. Nicholls still had a chance, but the officials, after a review, called an intentional foul on Jasmine Scott after she chased down Trudy Armstead to stop the clock with five seconds to play. The two free throws and the subsequent Lady Demons possession put the game out of reach.

Armstead led Northwestern State with 19 points and 11 rebounds. She was one of four Lady Demons to score in double figures.

Nicholls has now recorded consecutive winning seasons after totaling 14 victories in head coach DoBee Plaisance's first three years. White finished the campaign with 618 points, obliterating the previous single-season school record.

Northwestern State advances to face #1-seeded Lamar in the semifinals on Saturday.

Postgame Quotes…

Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance
"First of all I'd like to give a lot of credit to Northwestern. Great game again today. Also, very proud of our players. We have persevered a lot this year and we preserved today. The outcome wasn't what we expected; however, it isn't about the destination it's more about the journey and I'd take a journey with these women any day. We didn't give up; we battled and again, a couple plays short one way or another. I'm very proud I've been able to go on this journey with these women. It was a tough game and it just didn't quite fall our way tonight."

On the difficulty of getting open looks:
"Early on we were doing a great job of addressing the rim; it just didn't fall. That wasn't a matter of execution. The three point shot isn't the highest percentage shot. We did have some early looks. Then, a little bit of a situation having to go inside with our bigs and that became effective. In terms of any disruptiveness, I don't think it was anything blaring. I just feel like we had some clean shot opportunities that didn't fall."

On production off the bench:
"We knew we had to get more production from our fours and our fives. Their effort, not only scoring the basketball but going after those 50/50 balls and those rebounds. Again, I'm very proud of their efforts. In many ways, they did relieve a lot of pressure on our perimeter. I'm very proud of everybody."

Nicholls guard KK Babin
On communication on the court:
"I just told the team we can get this. It didn't really turn out that way but we tried to stay together as a unit and push and come out with a win."

On four years with Nicholls:
"Just to start off where we were my freshman year and all the struggles we went through. We were pretty much nothing when we first got here. Coach kind of convinced me, 'hey, we can do this. We can turn this around.' I believed coach and I have all my trust in her and the coaching staff. A few others signed in and we became a core group. We just worked to keep pushing and that's where we are today; a ton of work and a ton of effort. As you can see, we're pretty competitive these days. I'm happy with where we are now."

Nicholls guard Emani White
On communication on the court:
"We just tried to stay positive and never give up. We came back from a big deficit and we just couldn't close it out."