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KATY, Texas – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to gain control against top-seed Lamar and the Colonels fended off a late comeback to advance to the Southland Conference Tournament championship for the first time with a 74-68 victory Saturday in the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
The No. 4 seed Colonels (18-13) trailed by eight points at the break but came out of the locker room blazing hot with 17 straight points in the first four minutes. Senior
Tia Charles, who had 17 points, capped the run with a 3-pointer for a 47-38 lead.
Nicholls was up 66-56 with just under five minutes remaining, but the regular season champion Cardinals (22-7) threw everything at the Colonels and eventually tied it up at 68 with a minute to go. However, Southland Player of the Year
Cassidy Barrios answered with a bucket inside, and the Colonels picked up stops the rest of the way, including a block by Barrios on a three-point shot.
Tykeria Williams, who had a double-double with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, helped seal the win with three free throws down the stretch.
"We've been in every possible situation this year," said Nicholls head coach
DoBee Plaisance. "Never having the lead, never losing the lead, everything. We've seen it all, so there was no pressure. We knew it had to be all about us. It's the high character, it's the grit and tremendous leadership we have. I always tell my team that the opponents can't scout what's in your head and your heart."
One of those leaders was Barrios, who finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. The junior hit big shot after big shot, including a career-high five 3-pointers on just seven attempts.
Charles was pin-point from the field as well, making 6 of 10 and had a pair of 3-pointers. She also dished out eight assists and recorded four of the Colonels' seven steals.
As a team, Nicholls shot 54.2 percent and made 9 of 19 from 3-point range. Defensively, the Colonels limited Lamar to 32.9 percent from the field.
Behind a pair of threes, Nicholls jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before Lamar began to find its stride. The Cardinals knotted the game at 8-8 behind five points from junior Moe Kinard at the first media timeout. Kinard led LU with 21 points on 8 of 19 from the field.
LU's offense started to click as the first quarter wound down and the Colonels were unable to sustain their opening run and went the final 5:40 of the quarter without a field goal, entering the first intermission down 21-11.
Nicholls used an 8-0 run in the second to cut the deficit to 25-22 before heading into break down 38-30.
In the third, Nicholls outscored Lamar 27-9 to grab a 57-47 advantage. A 3-pointer by Barrios started the quarter, and Williams had an old-fashioned three-point play to help fuel the game-changing run.
Another run by the Colonels capped by another Barrios three with 1:59 to go in the third gave the Colonels the largest lead for either team at 57-44. Kinard would pull the Cardinals closer with a three-pointer of her own to end the quarter, but LU would still enter the final period of play down by 10.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will face No. 2 Stephen F. Austin Sunday at noon on CBS Sports Network for the tournament championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. SFA won the only meeting between the teams this season, 86-73, in Thibodaux on Jan. 3.
