SAN ANTONIO, Texas – In her eighth season, Nicholls State University women's basketball head coach DoBee Plaisance earned her 89th program victory Saturday afternoon as the Colonels held on for a 66-64 win over Incarnate Word at the McDermott Center.
 
Plaisance's 89 wins ties Nicholls Athletic Hall of Famer Ben Adabie, who directed the Colonels for 10 seasons from 1983-93. She will have a chance to break the record on Wednesday, Feb. 3, as the Colonels (7-12, 5-4 SLC) will play host to Incarnate Word (5-14, 2-6 SLC) to complete the rare Southland Conference home-and-home.
 
Senior LiAnn McCarthy scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the first half against the Cardinals, and was joined in double figures by Hope Pawlowski and Tia Charles, who came off the bench for 11 and 10 points, respectively. The trio, along with Taylor Morrison, fueled a key run in the fourth quarter to lead Nicholls to the victory.
 
With the game knotted at 54 with less than seven minutes remaining, the Colonels put together a 12-0 run to take a commanding 66-54 lead with 3:05 to go. Charles started the run with a 3-pointer, Pawlowski added four points and McCarthy and Morrison made a bucket each. Charles then capped it by making 1-of-2 at the free throw line.
 
But UIW did not go down easily as Brianna Williams, who finished with 15 points for UIW, hit a 3-pointer to start a late surge in the final two minutes. A free throw and a bucket inside trimmed the deficit in half with 20 seconds remaining, and two turnovers by Nicholls led to four free throws by UIW, making it a 66-64 game with 5.4 seconds on the clock.
 
On the inbounds, Pawlowski lost the ball on the sideline, giving UIW the ball back with a chance to win or tie with 4.3 seconds remaining. Williams received the ball and drove to the right block, but her layup hit off the front iron as the final buzzer sounded.
 
After five lead changes in the first quarter, Nicholls held the advantage for most of the second as they went into the break with a 30-28 lead. McCarthy provided half of the offense as she made 7-of-12 from the field including one 3-pointer. McCarthy would eventually foul out for the second straight contest.
 
In the third, UIW took control early as they opened the period with a 10-1 run for a 38-31 lead. But Nicholls closed out the quarter by outscoring UIW 11-4 to tie it a 46, including a layup by Jovana Mandic who played some key minutes off the bench.
 
Nicholls shot 39 percent from the field, while UIW finished at 40 percent. The Colonels were outrebounded, 41-32, but dominated bench points, 23-7. Yvonna Maosa had 17 points and nine boards for UIW, while Aricka Adams scored 13.
 
Tipoff for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. For tickets, please call the ticket office at 985-448-4790 or log on to geauxcolonels.com.