THIBODAUX, La. – Riding a three-game winning streak, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will look to keep pace in the Southland Conference race as the Colonels host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. at Stopher Gym.
The game will kick off a women's/men's Saturday doubleheader and will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM, with a video stream and live stats available on geauxcolonels.com.
Nicholls (7-8, 3-1 SLC) took the floor on Thursday night and came away with a hard-fought 67-64 victory over Sam Houston State. Despite the Colonels' recent turnaround, the Bearkats had been a thorn in Nicholls' side after winning six straight games in the series before Thursday's win. Nicholls led for 35 of the 40 minutes against Sam Houston, but the Bearkats had a chance to send the game into overtime with a last-second 3-pointer that was off the mark.
Still playing without the Southland's leading scorer from last season,
Emani White, the Colonels have been taking turns in stepping up, with Thursday's star being freshman
Ekiya Gray. After taking only one shot in four minutes of action in the first half, Gray went 5-for-5 from the field in the second stanza and made five free throws, including two with 11 seconds remaining which gave Nicholls its three-point lead. On the Bearkats' final shot, Gray made the switch on a screen and altered the attempt.
As a team, the Colonels struggled shooting in the second half, making just 9-of-29 from the field, but the defense once again was able to lead them to a win. Nicholls recorded 14 steals in the victory, upping its average to 12.9 steals per game. The Colonels entered Thursday's game ranked fifth in the NCAA in steals.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-9, 2-2 SLC) took on first-place Northwestern State on Wednesday to end a three-game homestand and was defeated 66-59. Shay Weaver led the team in the loss, scoring 24 points while Camesha Davis was the only other Islander to reach double figures with 13.
On the year, Weaver ranks fourth in the Southland in scoring at 16.6 points per game, and she is followed on the team in scoring by Olivia Fouty (12.3 ppg) and Davis (10.3). As a squad, the Islanders are averaging 60.7 points per game, ranking seventh ahead of Nicholls (60.1). The Islanders have relied on their defense for the most part as they rank second in the conference in scoring defense (59.1 ppg), and rebounding margin (plus-7.6) and third in field goal percentage defense (.383) and blocks (3.7).
The all-time series between the programs is tied a five games each after the teams split the series last year. Nicholls won at home, 67-60, before falling in season finale at Corpus Christi, 59-55.
