THIBODAUX, La. – After racing out to a 21-point lead in the first half, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team went cold for the rest of the game, but the Colonels were able to generate just enough offense to hold off Central Arkansas to pick up a 53-43 win Thursday on Senior Night at Stopher Gym.
 
The victory set a program record for conference wins and secured a bye for the Colonels (16-12, 12-5 SLC) in next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas. Nicholls will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed, with its first game scheduled for Friday. With a win on Saturday in the regular season finale at Southeastern Louisiana, the Colonels would claim the No. 3 seed. A loss to SLU paired with a victory by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would drop Nicholls to No. 4.
 
Although the Colonels honored their four-member senior class – Shay Arnick, Syleida Ellis, JonMarie Guillory and Jenny Nash – it was freshman Tia Charles who paced the team in scoring with a game-high 11 points. After Central Arkansas (17-12, 10-7 SLC) came within four points with 2:30 remaining in the game, Charles put the game on ice with four free throws down the stretch.
 
Nicholls shot 48 percent from the field in the first half and made 3 of 6 from 3-point range to lead 33-20 at the break. The Colonels led 18-10 midway through the period before outscoring Central Arkansas 15-2 over the next eight minutes. Taylor Morrison started the run with two field goals, Marina Lilly scored twice and Hope Pawlowski nailed a 3-pointer to give Nicholls a 31-12 advantage at the 5:27 mark.
 
Charles capped the run with a field goal just under the three-minute mark, but UCA closed out the half with eight consecutive points.
 
With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Sugar Bears cut the deficit to six, but Veronica Ryan answered with a 3-pointer to put Nicholls up 41-32. UCA came within six again before Nash drained a 3-ball, pushing the lead back to nine with 5:48 to go.
 
Central Arkansas put together one last run, scoring six consecutive points to bring the score to 47-43 with 2:37 on the clock. However, Nicholls closed out the scoring with six free throws for the 10-point victory.  
 
Nicholls shot 36 percent for the game and 10 of 14 from the free throw line. UCA finished at 38 percent and was just 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
 
Along with Charles, Nicholls was led by Nash with eight points and Arnick added seven points. Kendara Watts scored a team-high 10 points for UCA.
 
Nicholls will close out the regular season on Saturday, March 7, at rival Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff at the University Center is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.