CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team made it a single-possession game midway through but could not overcome the deficit as the Colonels fell in their Southland Conference opener at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 55-49, Wednesday night in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The Colonels (3-7, 0-1 SLC) were outscored in each of the first three quarters but made a late push in the fourth. After falling behind 44-34, Adrian Mann and Tykeria Williams combined for seven points while the defense held the Islanders (7-3, 1-0 SLC) scoreless for over five minutes. 
 
But the Islander's Emma Young ended the drought with a pair of free throws, then had a steal and a layup to push the advantage back to seven. The deficit was never smaller than five the rest of the way. 
 
Nicholls was never able to find its shooting touch, making just 32.7 percent from the field and 4 of 14 from 3-point range. The Colonels also had an uncharacteristic showing at the free throw line, making only 11 of 19. The Red and Gray entered the game ranked 44th out of 348 teams in Division I in free throw percentage at 75.3 percent.
 
Despite the overall struggle on offense for the Colonels, sophomore Loan-Ahn Johnson scored a career-high 14 points on 5 of 9 from the field. She also added a team-high six rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Sophomore Adrian Mann came off the bench for 10 points and was 2-for-3 behind the 3-point line.
 
The Islanders shot 38.5 percent for the game and failed to make a 3-pointer at 0-for-10. Young led the way with 14 points and Alexes Bryant chipped in with 12. Each collected nine rebounds as AMCC had a 46-31 edge on the board, leading to a plus-16 margin in second-chance points. 
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels are back at home on Saturday, Dec. 21 to host Abilene Christian. Nicholls is 3-0 at Stopher Gymnasium and has won 14 of its last 15 games in Thibodaux. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Women's Basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_WBB) and Instagram (@Nicholls_WBB)