PDF Box CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Redshirt junior
Hope Pawlowski scored a career-high 23 points, including a free throw in the final seconds to secure a 64-62 overtime victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday evening at the American Bank Center.
The win improved the Colonels record to 3-2 in the Southland and 5-10 overall. Nicholls also ties the all-time series at 6-all against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-13, 0-5 SLC), which suffered its 11th consecutive loss.
While the Colonels' top two scorers from Wednesday's win at Sam Houston –
LiAnn McCarthy and
Cassidy Barrios - had an off night from the field as they combined to make 6 of 20 against the Islanders, Pawlowski finished 8 of 15 from the field and knocked down 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
Pawlowski scored a bucket one minute in into overtime, and it led to the Colonels scoring the extra period's first six points. McCarthy and
Tia Charles added jumpers to push the lead to 63-57 and the Colonels held Corpus Christi scoreless until a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left in the game.
The Islanders misfired on a 3-pointer and Pawlowski tacked on a free throw with 5 seconds left to push the lead to 64-59. The home team added a 3 before the buzzer, but with only 0.4 seconds left on the clock, the Colonels were able to run out the clock for the win.
The teams combined for 42 turnovers which led to 53 points, and each team finished with 17 steals. After swiping a career-high 7 steals in the win over Sam Houston, Pawlowski matched the total again. McCarthy and Charles, who scored 9 and 8 points respectively, had three steals each.
The Islanders led 11-8 after a sloppy first quarter and extended their lead to five with two minutes until the break. But Nicholls closed out the half on an 8-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Pawlowski which made the count 27-26.
The run continued into the third as
Taylor Morrison sank one from long range to put Nicholls up 34-28. The Colonels held onto the advantage until the 2:54 mark when Kre'ana Henry made a basket-and-one for a 37-36 Islander lead. The Islanders ended the period with a 42-41 lead after Pawlowski knocked down a 3-ball before time expired.
In the fourth, Pawlowski started the scoring with a 3-pointer before Barrios, who had 8 points and 7 rebounds, followed suit for a five-point Colonel advantage. But with three minutes remaining in regulation, Shay Weaver hit back-to-back 3s to give Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a 55-53 lead.
On the next possession, McCarthy answered with a 3-pointer to put Nicholls back on top. Neither team scored over the next two minutes before Barrios pushed the lead to 57-55 with 31 seconds on the clock. The Islanders called a timeout but did not have any remaining, resulting in Barrios making 1 of 2 on technical free throws.
With the clock winding down, Jennifer Ramirez found a seam in the Colonel defense as she made a layup to tie the game with 6 seconds left. Nicholls advanced the ball on a timeout and Pawlowski was fouled in the corner as the buzzer sounded, but replay determined it was not a shooting foul and the game was sent into overtime.
Nicholls shot 40 percent for the game and 12 of 17 at the line, but made just 27 percent (6 of 22) from 3-point range. s
The Colonels return to Stopher Gym for their next two contests, hosting Northwestern State on Wednesday (Jan. 20) at 6 p.m. before the ESPN3 showdown against Central Arkansas on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
