ABILENE, Texas – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team stifled the Southland's top scoring offense, holding Abilene Christian to nearly half of its scoring average as the Colonels picked up their first road win of the season by defeating ACU in convincing fashion, 63-39, on Sunday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
 
Nicholls (6-8, 2-1 SLC) entered the contest with a 0-5 record in true road games, but their strong defensive effort carried over from Thursday's win over Houston Baptist, leading the squad to back-to-back victories. The Colonels held ACU (7-6, 0-3 SLC) to just 14 points in the first half and 25 in the second, marking the first time since 2005 that the team allowed less than 40 points.
 
Jenny Nash led all scorers with 19 points, and the senior from Houston continued to scorch the nets from behind the arc, finishing 5-of-9 from long range. Over the last seven games, Nash has made 23 3-pointers, shooting 47 percent. As a team, Nicholls connected on 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) while ACU, which led the Southland with 8.2 3-pointers made per game, made only 3-of-22.
 
The Colonels wasted little time in setting the tone, racing out to an 8-0 lead before ACU finally scored five minutes into the game. For most of the first half though, both teams struggled to find points until Veronica Ryan provided a spark off the bench, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to give Nicholls a 26-9 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. Nash capped the first half with a 3-pointer, sending Nicholls into the break leading 31-14.
 
In the second half, ACU never made a serious threat to the Colonels' lead as Nicholls went up by as much as 30 points.
 
Ryan joined Nash in double figures for the Colonels, scoring 13 off the bench. Hope Pawlowski, who was coming off a career-high 15 points, finished with 10 points and five steals. Nicholls took advantage of 31 ACU turnovers to record 21 steals, marking the second straight game with 20 or more steals.
 
ACU, which shot just 27.5 percent from the field, was led on offense by Sydney Shelstead with 11 points.
 
Nicholls will return home for its next two contests, hosting Sam Houston State  on Thursday, Jan. 15, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Jan. 17). Tickets are available by calling 985-448-4790 or by visiting geauxcolonels.com.