THIBODAUX, La. – It was not the prettiest display of basketball put on by the Colonels, but Emani White and Jenny Nash scored 12 points each to lead the Nicholls State University women's basketball team to a 56-40 victory over New Orleans on Thursday night at Stopher Gym.
 
The duo, who is looking to become the 12th and 13th players in program history to reach 1,000 points, came through with buckets when needed, including a four 3-pointer day by Nash. The senior from Houston needed 19 points to reach the plateau, and she will head into Saturday's home game with 993 career points. White, who scored in double figures for the first time since returning from an injury, is right behind at 971.
 
Nicholls (9-10, 5-3 SLC) shot just 37 percent from the field, but the defense helped force 25 turnovers by New Orleans (2-15, 0-8 SLC), which made only 13-of-50 from the field. The Colonels recorded 16 steals in the win, led by Nash with five. Nash also collected a team-high six rebounds and added three assists.
 
The Colonels took a 28-20 into the break after both teams failed to score over a six-minute stretch in the early going. With the game tied at 6-6, neither team could make a bucket until Marina Lilly, who had six points and two blocks off the bench for the Colonels, broke the tie at the 10:30 mark with a field goal inside. It wasn't until the 3:40 mark that Nicholls would grab a double-digit advantage following a basket-and-one by White, putting the count at 21-11.
 
After the break, UNO trimmed the lead to six, but Nash drained a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run. From then on, the game was never in doubt as the Colonels led by as much as 20 before going on to improve their home record to 5-2 on the season.
 
Nicholls will go for its third consecutive victory as the Colonels host UIW on Saturday at 1 p.m.