SAN ANTONIO.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team held a 56-40 lead with seven minutes at UIW, but the Cardinals stormed back for a 69-63 victory on Senior Day.
 
The loss extended the Colonels' skid to five games and dropped their overall record to 8-18. UIW improved to 9-18 and 7-9.
 
Cassidy Barrios led the way for Nicholls with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Emani White chipped in with 17 points. Hope Pawlowski also scored in double figures with 13 points and finished with four steals.
 
Turnovers played a huge role in the Colonels' early success as they outscored UIW in points off turnovers, 17-3, in the first half. Nicholls headed into the break with a 40-27 lead after shooting 50 percent from the field.
 
In the third, each team made just four field goals in the quarter as Nicholls maintained its lead. White started the fourth with a 3-pointer and a Barrios' basket-and-one stretched the lead to 16 with 7:35 remaining in the game.
 
But that's when the comeback started as UIW trimmed the deficit to five following a pair of 3-pointers from Imani Robinson. They then grabbed the lead on a 3-ball by Haley Frias which made the score 63-61 with 90 seconds to go. Nicholls was never able to recover, turning the ball over twice and misfiring on a 3 on its next three possessions.
 
Robinson finished with a game-high 23 points for UIW, while Celia Garcia Paunero had 20 points and 22 rebounds. The win for the Cardinals gave UIW the season sweep against the Colonels.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Colonels will host Southeastern Louisiana for a Saturday (Feb. 25) matchup at 1 p.m. For more information, visitgeauxcolonels.com.