CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Coming off a huge win at Sam Houston, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will look to leave Texas with a winning record in conference as the Colonels close out their two-game road swing against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
With a victory on Saturday, Nicholls (4-10, 2-2 SLC) would climb back over .500 in conference play upon returning to Stopher Gym for its next two contests. The Colonels will host Northwestern State on Wednesday (Jan. 20) at 6 p.m. before their ESPN3 matchup against Central Arkansas on Saturday (Jan. 23) at 5:30 p.m.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi leads the all-time series, 6-5, after winning the last two matchups, but the Islanders enter Saturday's game win a 10-game losing streak. However, the last three have come on the road as the Islanders fell at Lamar, McNeese State and Northwestern State. All three of the Islanders wins this season have come at home.
The Colonels captured their first road win of the season with a 67-64 victory over Sam Houston on Wednesday. With
Tia Charles out of the lineup nursing an injury,
LiAnn McCarthy and
Cassidy Barrios elevated their scoring efforts to combine for 43 points. Unlike the Colonels' last loss in Huntsville, they were able to knock down free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bearkats.
McCarthy continued her recent scoring barrage with 25 points against Sam Houston. After four conference games, McCarthy is third in the league in scoring at 19.5 points per game. She has scored in double figures in five straight games and has scored 15 or more points in each Southland contest.
As a team, Nicholls' offense has been rolling since the start of conference as they are second in scoring (68.8 ppg) and 3-point percentage (.371), and first in field goal percentage (.458) and assists (16.3). Against Sam Houston, Nicholls racked up a season-high 21 assists on 22 made field goals.
The Islanders have obviously struggled during their 10-game skid, being outscored by an average 12.1 points per game. They have also shot under 40 percent in the stretch, and are shooting just 35.9 percent on the season.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is led by outside shooter Brittany Mbamalu, who is averaging 11.4 points per contest. Mbamalu has 49 3-pointers on the season and is tops in the Southland at 3.3 per game. Shay Weaver, a first-team All-Southland selection last season, is scoring 10.4 points in nine games played.
