THIBODAUX, La. – Playing for the final time in Stopher Gymnasium, seniors
Tia Charles and
Marina Lilly were two of four Colonels to score in double figures as the Nicholls State University women's basketball team clinched its seventh consecutive trip to the Southland Conference Tournament with a convincing 85-53 victory over Northwestern State Wednesday night for Senior Day.
Nicholls (15-13, 10-7 SLC) needed just one win in its last two games to secure its spot in Katy, Texas and left little doubt in the outcome of its home finale. The Colonels led Northwestern State (7-21, 2-15 SLC), 24-7, after the first quarter of play and the advantage was never less than 14 points the rest of the way.
Charles had 16 points, six assists, and three steals in her Thibodaux finale while classmate Lilly was a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. Leading the non-seniors were
Cassidy Barrios with her 14th double-double - 17 points and 11 rebounds - and also added five steals and three blocks.
Tykeria Williams scored 15 points, all coming on a 5-for-7 night from 3-point range, and
Airi Hamilton was 4-for-4 with eight points. Freshman
Destiny Collins came off the bench for nine points.
Nicholls limited the visitors to 38 percent shooting and caused 24 turnovers, resulting in 16 steals. The Colonels outrebounded their opponent for the third straight time, finishing with a season-best plus-21 margin. Twenty-one rebounds came on the offensive glass, led by four from Lilly.
With the win, the Colonels reached 15 victories for the fifth time under head coach
DoBee Plaisance and secured their 10th league win for the fourth time. The victory also moved Nicholls into a tie for fifth place in the standings with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, with both teams trailing New Orleans by 0.5 games.
UP NEXT
The Colonels close out the regular season at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, March 3. Tipoff in Hammond is scheduled for 2 p.m.
