THIBODAUX, La. - With the Southland Conference Tournament a month away, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will play one of the teams it's battling for a postseason spot as the Colonels take on Lamar University Wednesday night in the Montagne Center. 

With seven games remaining on its schedule, Nicholls (6-16, 3-10 SLC) is tied for 10th in the Southland standings and trails Lamar (9-13, 5-8 SLC) by two games. UIW currently holds the eighth and final spot in the eight-team tournament with a 6-6 league mark. Nicholls and LU squared off earlier this year in Thibodaux with the Cardinals squeaking out a six-point victory. A win for Lamar would give them the advantage in a tiebreaker scenario over Nicholls for seeding.

The Colonels faced two of the top teams in the Southland last week and nearly came away with a split. Following a loss to first-place Stephen F. Austin, the Colonels held a lead late in the third quarter against Sam Houston State but could not claim the victory in an 80-77 decision.

Nicholls received impressive outings from its top three scorers in the loss to Sam Houston, getting a combined 54 points from Airi Hamilton (20), Loan-Anh Johnson (18), and Chrystal Ezechukwu (16). Ezechukwu remains as the Colonels' No. 1 scorer for the season at 13.7 ppg, followed by Hamilton (12.2) and Johnson (10.5). Since her buzzer-beating game-winner which was her only two points against Southeastern Louisiana, Hamilton has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games. The lone exception was nine points in the win over McNeese. 

Lamar has lost six of its last seven games, coming off a 75-49 setback at home against Abilene Christian. Like the Colonels, their last victory came against McNeese.

Amber Vidal paces the offense with 12.4 points per game, with Angel Hastings ranking second at 11.7. Hastings, who has come off the bench the last four games, scored 22 points in the win over Nicholls on Jan. 8. 

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