BATON ROUGE, La. – An early 13-0 run gave LSU all the separation it needed as the Nicholls State University women's basketball team was defeated, 65-50, Tuesday night in the Maravich Center.
 
With the loss, Nicholls slips to 1-3 on the year and 0-12 all-time against the Tigers. LSU upped its record to 2-2, with both wins coming against the Southland Conference.
 
Junior Cassidy Barrios extended her double-double streak to four games with a 15-point, 10-rebound showing. She was joined in double figures in scoring by Airi Hamilton, who was 4 of 5 from the field.
 
Nicholls shot 34 percent from the field as LSU limited Barrios to 6 of 18 shooting. The Colonels also were off from behind the arc, connecting on just 4 of 21 (19 percent).
 
Turnovers proved to be key in the early going with LSU using full-court pressure to fuel its run. Nicholls responded from being down 5-0 as Barrios drilled a 3-ball to make it 9-7 LSU. With the score 17-12 after a bucket inside from Marina Lilly, the Tigers scored the game's next 13 points as Nicholls gave up the ball over six times during the stretch.
 
The advantage stayed around 20 in the third period and swelled to the largest lead for the Tigers, 54-31, right before the buzzer. In the fourth, Nicholls made a small run, capped on a layup by Hamilton, to put the deficit at 58-42. But the Colonels never came an closer until Tia Charles hit two free throws to make the final.
 
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The Colonels will head north to Missouri for the SEMO Thanksgiving Classic. Nicholls will take on Bradley Friday before wrapping up against Evangel on Saturday. Both games will tipoff at 1 p.m.