Final Stats CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For the second time in as many games, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team let a significant second-half lead go by the wayside, but unlike Thursday's win at Houston Baptist, the Colonels were unable to recover as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rallied for a 59-55 victory Saturday afternoon at the American Bank Center.

With the loss, Nicholls finishes the regular season with a 16-13 overall record and 11-7 in Southland play. The setback to the Islanders (18-11, 11-7) drops the Colonels to the No. 5 seed in Southland Conference Tournament. Nicholls will take on No. 8 Oral Roberts next week on Thursday at 11 a.m. at Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.

Sophomore Emani White led Nicholls with 20 points, helping build a 44-25 lead just two minutes into the second half. At the 13:25 mark, the Colonels were up 49-33 before the Islanders outscored Nicholls 22-1 over the next 10 minutes. Jenny Nash, who was the only other Colonel in double figures with 12 points, made a 3-pointer to make the score 57-55 Islanders with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Still down two, the Colonel defense made key stops down the stretch, but Nicholls had three turnovers in consecutive possessions. Alissa Campanero made two free throws in the final seconds to complete the comeback on the Islanders' Senior Day.

After being one of the nation's best teams in terms of turnover ratio, the Colonels had 20-plus turnovers for the second straight game, finishing with 23 versus just eight by the Islanders. A&M-Corpus Christi scored 18 points off the Colonels' miscues, while Nicholls only had one point off turnovers.

Both teams shot poorly from the field, with Nicholls finishing at 33 percent while the Islanders made only 26 percent. The Colonels were hot from 3-pointer range though, making 9-of-19 for the game with six coming in the first half.

White was responsible for three long balls in the opening period, Nash made two and Taylor Morrison had one. White had 13 points at the break, leading Nicholls to a 36-23 lead.

After Nicholls saw its largest lead of the night at 19, the Islanders began slowly chipping away. Campanero started the comeback with two 3-pointers, and the Islanders cut the lead to single digits at 50-42 at the 9:04 mark.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tied the game with five minutes to go, took the lead on a Campanero 3-ball and a layup by Shola Adebayo capped off an 18-0 run for a 55-50 lead. Despite the Colonels' last-ditch effort, the Islanders hung on to earn a split in the season series.

Adebayo led the Islanders with 16 points, while Campanero had 15. Nicholls had a slim edge in rebounding, 46-43, led by 11 from JonMarie Guillory.

The Colonels will be making their third consecutive appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament, which kicks off on Thursday. For tickets for the Colonels' matchup against ORU, please call the Nicholls Athletics Ticket Office at 985-448-4790.