NATCHITOCHES, La. – Trailing by seven points with less than two minutes remaining, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team clawed back for a chance to send the game into overtime, but a last-second 3-pointer by Emani White was off the mark as the Colonels' historic struggles at Northwestern State continued with a 74-71 loss Wednesday night at Prather Coliseum.
 
Nicholls slips to 7-10 on the year and 3-3 in Southland play, while Northwestern State improved to 11-7 overall and 6-1 in conference play. The win was the third straight over Nicholls for the Lady Demons, which improved their all-time record to 63-8 against the Colonels and 35-2 at home.
 
In the loss, Jenny Nash scored a season-high 20 points and Shay Arnick finished with a career-best 18 points. Marina Lilly sparked the Colonels off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
Nicholls led for the first 26 minutes of the game, including a 34-29 lead at the break. But NSU's Janelle Perez, who scored a game-high 24 points, gave the Lady Demons their first lead of the night at 46-45 with a layup. Perez was instrumental down the stretch for NSU, scoring 15 points after the break.
 
To start the second half, Nash and Lady Demon Keisha Lee caught fire as both teams found their offense in the final 20 minutes. Nash knocked down three 3-pointers in the first five minutes, with her last giving Nicholls a 45-40 lead. But Lee, who scored 16 of her 17 points in the second half, hit jumper after jumper before her 3-pointer and bucket-and-one put NSU up 54-48.
 
Nicholls answered with a 7-0 spurt, taking the lead after Tia Charles poked the ball away and finished with a jumper in the lane to put the Colonels back on top with less than 10 minutes remaining.
 
The lead was short-lived as Lee rattled home a 3-pointer, but Nicholls answered two free throws by NSU with 3-balls by Arnick and Nash to lead 61-59 with 7;04 remaining. But once again, the Lady Demons answered with a 3-pointer, this one by Chelsea Rogers. The second half saw nine lead changes and three ties.
 
Nicholls captured its last lead when Arnick scored inside for a 63-62 advantage with 5:16 to go.
 
The Lady Demons rattled off five straight points, but the Colonels stayed close until Perez looked to have put the game on ice with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound, making the score 72-65 with 1:48 on the clock. However, Ekiya Gray quickly scored inside and following a stop, Lilly added a bucket to trim the deficit to three. Another stop led to a pair of Nash free throws with 37 seconds remaining, putting the count at 72-71.
 
With time winding down on NSU's possession, Perez found a seem down the lane and drained a runner with 19 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Colonels looked to White, who has hit several clutch shots over her career, but her 3-pointer from the wing drew iron as the final buzzer sounded.
 
For the game, both teams shot over 40 percent, helped by second-half percentages which were around 50 percent. Nash was 6-of-8 from the field while Arnick made 6-of-9. Both squads made eight 3-pointers, with Nash connecting on 5-of-7 for the Colonels.
 
Nicholls outrebounded NSU, 43-37, but could only force eight turnovers on the night.
 
The Colonels will wrap their two-game road trip with a Saturday matchup against Central Arkansas. Tipoff in Conway is scheduled for 2 p.m.