THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team appeared to be on its way to a fourth consecutive victory after jumping out to an early 10-point lead over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the Islanders put together a decisive 22-2 run and never looked back as the Colonels were handed a 75-59 loss Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.
With the loss, Nicholls dropped its record to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in Southland play, while the Islanders improved to 7-9 and 3-2.
The Colonels had three players finish in double figures in scoring, led by 12 points from
Marina Lilly.
Ekiya Gray had 11 points and
Shay Arnick chipped in with 10.
Things looked promising early for Nicholls as the Red and Gray broke a 12-all tie with a 10-0 spurt midway through the first half.
Emani White, who saw her first action since Thanksgiving weekend, started the run with a bucket at the 12:49 mark. White played 18 minutes, scoring 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Neither team would score over the next three minutes until
Tia Charles drained a 3-pointer for the Colonels. White then knocked down a bonus ball and
Hope Pawlowski completed the run with a layup, giving Nicholls a 22-12 lead with less than nine minutes until the intermission.
But for the rest of the half, it was all Islanders. The visiting team held Nicholls to just two points and headed into the break with a 28-24 lead. AMCC outshot Nicholls 50 percent to 29 percent from the field in the first half, but the Islanders had 14 turnovers.
The run continued into the second half as the Islanders scored the first six points to cap the 22-2 run. Nicholls got back-to-back buckets inside by Gray and Lilly to come within six at 39-33; however, Corpus Christi answered quickly with an 8-0 run. From then on, Nicholls never came closer than 12 points and trailed by as much as 24 as they suffered their second home loss on the year.
The Islanders ended with a 54 percent clip from the field and held the Colonels to 35 percent. Olivia Fouty scored a game-high 20 points, with Shay Weaver adding 16 points and Kassie Jones scored 15.
Nicholls will hit the road for its next two contests, starting Wednesday, Jan. 21 at Northwestern State. Tipoff against the Lady Demons is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
