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CONWAY, Ark. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will look to extend its winning streak to five games Saturday in a matchup with third-place Central Arkansas. Tipoff in the Farris Center is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will stream live on ESPN3. 

Nicholls has been rolling since the start of February, winning all four games to improve to 7-6 in the Southland Conference. But before the winning streak, the Colonels dropped four straight, starting with a 69-48 loss to Central Arkansas. The teams were tied at the half in Thibodaux, but UCA doubled up the Colonels in the third and went on to win the game.

The Colonels are coming off a hard-fought 70-65 victory Wednesday against a scrappy Sam Houston State squad. Nicholls trailed only briefly in the second quarter but had to make free throws down the stretch to fend off the Bearkats. 

Nicholls had three players account for 61 points, with two having big halves. Tykeria Williams was the star in the first half, canning five triples for 15 points. In the second, Cassidy Barrios scored 19 of her game-high 25 points to give her a fourth consecutive game of 20 or more points. Barrios (16.1 ppg) and Williams (13.4) continue to be two of the Southland's top scorers, ranking third and ninth, respectively. 

The Colonels shot just 15 3-pointers in the win over Sam Houston, which was the fewest since the loss to UCA on Jan. 13. Marina Lilly played a prominent role in the Colonels' ability to score inside, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds as Nicholls dominated in the paint with a 32-14 advantage. 

UCA won back-to-back contests with its six-point win over McNeese Wednesday, snapping a stretch of seven games of alternating wins and losses. With the three losses in conference play, the Sugar Bears are two games back in the loss column to Lamar and Stephen F. Austin.

Last season's regular season co- and tournament champions, UCA is powered by its defense, which ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense at 50.2 ppg. Even in the three losses, UCA only allowed more than 70 points in one of the games and dropped a 52-48 decision to New Orleans.

Central Arkansas is led on offense by Taylor Baudoin (14.9 ppg) and Kamry Orr (12.3). In the matchup in Thibodaux, Orr went off for a career-high 32 points on 10 of 20 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

UCA has won the last four meetings and leads the all-time series, 15-7. The last time Nicholls won in Conway was in 2015 in a 75-72 overtime thriller. The Colonels went on to sweep the season series with a 53-43 win in Thibodaux.

UP NEXT

The Colonels return home for their final three home games, starting Wednesday, Feb. 21 against McNeese. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.