THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will play its final three home games of the season in the next seven days, starting with a crucial matchup against rival McNeese on Wednesday night.

Tipoff in Stopher Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live stats are available on geauxcolonels.com.

Nicholls (12-13, 7-7 SLC) and McNeese (11-14, 7-7 SLC) are tied in the Southland Conference standings, currently in possession of the final two spots in the postseason tournament. Both are one game behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and 1.5 games in front of Southeastern Louisiana. The Colonels close out the season on the road at SLU, which took the first matchup in Thibodaux.

Nicholls put itself in good position for its seventh-straight appearance in the postseason by winning four straight, but the streak was stopped Saturday at Central Arkansas. The Colonels had the lead over the third-place Sugar Bears at the half, but UCA shut down the offense en route to a 60-42 victory.

Despite the season-low 42 points, Nicholls enters the matchup tied with McNeese for fifth in the Southland in scoring at 63.8 points per game. The first meeting with the Cowgirls, where Nicholls came back from a 14-point halftime deficit, was a low-scoring affair as the Colonels won, 61-54. 

Even with the low point total at UCA, junior guard Cassidy Barrios reached her average with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. She is currently fourth in the SLC in points per game (15.8) while ranking third in rebounding (9.3), second in steals (2.9) and first in blocks (39). 

McNeese features the league's top rebounding offense at 42.5. In the first meeting, the Cowgirls had a 21-3 advantage on the offensive glass, but the Colonels shot 10 percent better from the field (37%-27%). 

The Cowgirls are led by point guard Caitlin Davis, who is averaging 12.0 points per game. She had a big game in McNeese's loss at New Orleans in its last outing, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

UP NEXT

Nicholls will host another in-state rival, New Orleans, on Saturday, Feb. 24 for the second game of the homestand. The matchup will be aired live on ESPN3, with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased ahead time on NichollsTickets.com.