THIBODAUX, La. – Following nearly a month away from home, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team returns to Stopher Gymnasium for a critical game against Sam Houston State at 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
The Colonels (14-10, 8-4 SLC) ended their road swing with a winning record at 3-2 after defeating HBU on Saturday. Nicholls will play four of its final six regular season games at Stopher. At home, the Colonels are 7-1 this season and are outscoring opponents by an average of 23.7 points.
Wednesday's game pits Nicholls against Sam Houston (13-10, 8-5 SLC), which is just a half-game behind the Colonels for the ever-important No. 4 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. The top four teams in the standings earn at least one bye in the postseason. Nicholls won the conference championship last season as the No. 4 seed.
Senior Cassidy Barrios scored a team-high 20 points in the 58-55 win at HBU, putting her average at a Southland-best 20.3. Barrios had five steals in the victory as well, with Nicholls forcing the Huskies into 27 turnovers. It marked the second time in the last three games that the Colonels' opponent had 20 or more turnovers.
Already the program's all-time leading scorer, Barrios will now set her sights on entering the Southland's record book. With 1,820 career points, the Vandebilt Catholic graduate needs just 15 to break into the league's top 10 list.
Sam Houston State is coming off a close loss to second-place Lamar, 81-76. The Bearkats had won three straight before the setback at LU. Two of the wins were on the road at McNeese and ACU, and their last was a two-point victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Bearkats have four players averaging double figures, led by Jaylonn Walker at 15.2 points per game. Against Lamar, Walker finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
Nicholls won the only meeting last season against Sam Houston, 70-65, in Huntsville. Barrios paced the Colonels with 25 points and Tykeria Williams added 20.
TICKET INFO
Get season or single-game tickets now by calling 985-448-4790 or visiting nichollstickets.com. For the latest news on Nicholls women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_WBB.
