THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team was one of only two Southland schools to defeat Lamar last season, and the Colonels will look to knock off the Cardinals from the ranks of the unbeaten Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Montagne Center.
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Nicholls (11-8) is in fourth place in the conference standings at 5-2, chasing Lamar (14-4, 7-0) which is one of two teams in the SLC without a league loss. Dating back to last season, the Cardinals have won 21 consecutive regular-season Southland games. The lone SLC loss during the stretch was against the Colonels in the semifinals of the conference tournament, which Nicholls went on to win.
Before having the weekend off, the defending champion Colonels notched an impressive 85-55 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Nicholls led 51-22 at the half thanks to a dominating performance by the defense. The visiting Islanders shot just 4 of 18 in the second quarter as the Red and Gray built their massive lead.
In conference play, the offense has been led by the trio of
Cassidy Barrios (19.9 ppg),
Airi Hamilton (12.9) and
Tykeria Williams (11.8). Barrios has been the Southland's top scorer (20.4) and rebounder (11.0) all the season and also ranks in the top 10 in assists (3rd/4.6), blocks (6th/22) and steals (8th/2.1). She has also been one of the league's best all-around shooters with top-10 percentages in each category, ranking ninth in field goal (.483), seventh in 3-point (.388), and leads the Southland in free throw shooting (.886).
Against the Islanders, Barrios notched her league-high 13th double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and also added six assists. In the victory, she surpassed 1,700 points for her career and is 30 away from breaking the program record (1,750).
Lamar has its own stat-stuffing all-league player, guard Chastadie Barrs. The Southland's all-time leader in steals ranks fourth in the conference in scoring this season (15.6), sixth in rebounding (7.2) and leads the SLC in assists (6.2) and steals (6.2). Along with being the only players in the Southland to record a triple-double this season, both Barrs and Barrios have been named SLC Player of the Week four times in their senior campaigns.
The Cardinal offense is tops the in the SLC at 79.7 points and has three of the five leading scorers in the Southland. Kinard trails only Barrios at 19.0 ppg, while freshman Miya Crump is right behind Barrs with 15.6 ppg.
LU leads the NCAA in steals with a whopping 16.2 per game, which also results in the nation's best turnovers per game (25.9) and turnover margin (+10.9).
Wednesday's game will be the 41st meeting between the programs, with LU holding a 26-14 advantage. Nicholls heads to the Montagne Center looking to end a 12-game skid on the road for the series. The last time the Colonels left Beaumont with a victory was on Jan. 21, 2002.
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