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HOUSTON, Texas – Coming off its Southland Conference opening victory at home, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will play three of the next four games on the road, starting Thursday night at Houston Baptist.
 
Tipoff at Sharp Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and a video stream courtesy of HBU will be available at geauxcolonels.com.
 
Nicholls (3-8, 1-0 SLC) snapped its five-game losing streak with a 69-59 win over Lamar last Saturday after putting together one of its best all-around performances of the season. The Colonels played stout defense as they held one of the league's top scorers, JaMeisha Edwards, scoreless through three quarters. On offense, Nicholls shot 49 percent from the field, dished out 18 assists on 26 made field goals and had a season-low 14 turnovers.
 
LiAnn McCarthy paced the offense with 19 points, but it was junior center Marina Lilly who shined the most as she put together her second straight double-double. Lilly, who was named Southland Conference Player of the Week on Monday, scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Lamar. In the Colonels' final game of 2015 against Grambling, she tallied 11 points and 14 rebounds for her first career double-double. Lilly heads into the matchup as the team's top rebounder at 6.5 per game.
 
With the reduced turnovers leading to more shots, the Colonels upped their scoring average to 60.3 points for the season. Nicholls still struggled from behind the arc in the win over Lamar, making 5 of 18 and is connecting on just 29.2 percent from long range. Cassidy Barrios (9.6 ppg) leads the squad with 12 3-pointers, while McCarthy (8.9 ppg) is second with 10.
 
The Colonels' 18 assists were the most since their season opener against SUNO. Hope Pawlowski (10.5 ppg) scored just one point against LU, but had a career-high six helpers and leads the team with 3.0 assists per game.
 
HBU (5-7, 0-2 SLC) went .500 in its non-conference slate, but dropped their first two Southland games. The Huskies opened with a loss at Northwestern State before falling at home to McNeese on Monday.
 
HBU is averaging 64.7 points for the season, but just 54.0 in its two conference games. Anna Strickland heads the Huskies as she averages a double-double with 13.5 points and 13.1 rebounds. Monet Neal is second with 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, while Rachel Arthur rounds out the leading scorers with 11.3 points.
 
Nicholls leads the brief all-time series, 2-1, after winning the last two contests. It will be only the second meeting for the teams at Sharp Gym, with the Colonels winning in 2014, 73-69. Nicholls and HBU squared off last season in Thibodaux as the Red and Gray won 70-58.
 
Following Thursday night's contest, Nicholls will return home to host Abilene Christian on Sunday, Jan. 6. Tipoff at Stopher Gym is scheduled for 1 p.m.