THIBODAUX, La. - The reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Nicholls State University women's basketball team will start its 2018-19 campaign Tuesday night at No. 4/5 Baylor at the Ferrell Center.
GAME INFO
Nicholls (0-0) vs. No. 4/5 Baylor (0-0)
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
TIPOFF: 6 p.m. central
LOCATION: Waco, Texas
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WATCH: Facebook Live/BaylorBears.com
ABOUT THE COLONELS
The Colonels are coming off a historic campaign where they matched their program record in wins (19) and claimed the team's first Southland Conference Tournament title. As the No. 4 seed, Nicholls took down the No. 5, 1 and 2 seeds to earn its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior guard
Cassidy Barrios headlines the returnees after winning nearly every award possible last season. Averaging 17.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, Barris became the first Colonel in program history to earn Southland Conference Player of the Year, and was just the second to be named first team. She also garnered Southland Tournament MVP and LSWA Women's Basketball Player of the Year. For her work in the classroom, she garnered Southland Student-Athlete of the Year and Southland All-Academic. Barrios an a typical all-around performance in the Colonels exhibition game against Spring Hill with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Junior
Tykeria Williams was the Colonels' second-leading scorer last season at 13.2 points per game, helped by ranking fourth in the SLC with 2.5 3-pointers per game. She was the only other Colonel to average double figures in 2017-18.
Nicholls will be led once again by head coach
DoBee Plaisance, who is entering her 11th season at the helm. Plaisance has guided her teams to seven consecutive appearances in the Southland Conference Tournament, highlighted by last season's first title in program history. Plaisance is the program's all-time leader in wins (121) and has led Nicholls to four winning campaigns in her tenure. Before her arrival, Nicholls had just one winning season in its history.
Nicholls went 19-14 last season and 11-7 in the Southland. The Colonels came up just short in last season's opener at SMU, falling to the Mustangs, 68-61. In the loss,
Cassidy Barrios had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and
Tykeria Williams added 17 points.
ABOUT THE BEARS
Baylor posted a 33-2 overall record in 2017-18 and won the Big 12 regular season championship. The Bears reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Oregon State, 72-67. Baylor was without its three-year starting point guard and team captain Kristy Wallace, who suffered a season-ending injury in the regular season finale.
Slidell native Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox are the top returners for Baylor. Standing at 6-foot-7, Brown averaged a double-double last season with 20.1 points and 10.2 rebounds en route to earning All-America honors. Cox, a 6-foot-4 post player, was an All-America honorable mention after recording 15.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. The duo combined for 31 points and 15 rebounds in the win over the Colonels.
Joining Baylor is LSU graduate transfer Chloe Jackson, who averaged 18.1 points a game last season for the Tigers. Jackson played in the Colonels' 65-50 loss at LSU last December, scoring 10 points while adding three steals.
COLONELS WELCOME THE BEARS IN '17
Nicholls hosted a ranked team for the first time in program history as the No. 6 Baylor Bears played in Stopher Gym on Dec. 18 in front of a nationally televised audience. The Colonels slugged it out with Baylor in the first quarter, trailing 21-15 after 10 minutes of play, but the Bears went on to prove why they are so highly touted after holding Nicholls to six points in each of the next two periods. The Bears featured two natives of south Louisiana, as well as Hammond native head coach Kim Mulkey, and the local ties led to a large visiting crowd. The announced attendance for the game was 1,034.
Tykeria Williams led Nicholls with 21 points.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Colonels had struggled on the road in the past few seasons, but that was not the case in 2017-18. With the win at Southeastern Louisiana to close the regular season, Nicholls captured its eighth road victory and had a winning record at 8-7. The three SLC tournament wins and a neutral court nonconference victory gave the Red and Gray 12 wins last season away from Stopher Gym.
3-POINT STREAK
Nicholls has made at least one 3-pointer in 281 consecutive games, dating back to the 2008-09 season. The last time the Colonels failed to make one from downtown was on Valentine's Day in 2009 at Southeastern Louisiana where Nicholls was 0-for-8 behind the arc.
