THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team used a 14-0 run at the end of the first quarter to gain control in its Southland opener against Northwestern State and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch held off the visitors as the Colonels picked up a 97-86 victory Wednesday night in Stopher Gym.
In a game that had a combined 60 fouls, the Colonels (7-6, 1-0 SLC) made 37 of 47 at the charity stripe, including 29 of 36 in the second half. Along with a season-high in free throws, Nicholls finished with a season-best 51.9 percent from the field.
Senior
Cassidy Barrios scored a game-high 23 points on 14 of 18 at the line and had her third straight double-double with 11 rebounds while adding seven assists. She also reached two more milestones in leading Nicholls to the win as she eclipsed 1,600 career points to surpass
Alisha Allen for second on the program's all-time scoring list.
A total of four Colonels reached double figures with
Airi Hamilton pouring in a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, and
Bryanna Washington (14) and
Chrystal Ezechukwu (15) also had career nights scoring.
Northwestern State (5-7, 0-1 SLC) also shot 50 percent from the field but struggled at the line, hitting just 18 of 32. Nicholls dominated on the glass with a 44-24 rebounding advantage.
The big run in the opening quarter started with 3:06 on the clock. The Lady Demons grabbed a 13-10 lead when Libba Gilliam was fouled on a made basket and hit the free throw. After Nicholls tied it up on an Ezechukwu field goal inside, Barrios found
Kinzie Heineman open for a 3-pointer and a 16-13 lead. Nicholls closed out the quarter with the final 12 points and added two more early in the second to cap the spurt.
In the second quarter, the lead stayed around 10 points as Nicholls headed into the break with a 42-33 advantage. Nine Colonels scored in the half, highlighted by 10 points from Washington.
Nicholls led by as much as 15 late in the third before NSU made its late push. Trailing 71-56, the Lady Demons ended the quarter with a 3-pointer by Kira Bonner (21 points). The shot started a 15-2 run that made the score 73-71 with six minutes remaining.
Hamilton doubled the lead for the Colonels with a layup, but Bonner nailed another triple to cut the deficit to one. Nicholls then hit six free throws for a seven-point lead and a Barrios 3-ball gave the Red and Gray a nine-point edge with three minutes remaining.
NSU came within four at 88-84 with 90 seconds to go, but the Colonels went a perfect 7 of 7 at the free throw line the rest of the way, capped with a basket-and-one by Hamilton.
For the Lady Demons, RaVon Nero also scored a game-high 23 points and Jada Freeman added 10.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will host UIW Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. The Colonels will be looking for their first 2-0 start in conference since 2014.
