THIBODAUX, La. - The 2019-20 Nicholls State University women's basketball campaign was an uphill battle before the first game was even played, but the Colonels rallied under head coach DoBee Plaisance and kept their postseason streak alive by winning the final seven games of the season.
Although Nicholls looked to have everyone back from last year's 20-win squad, with the exception of three-time All-Southland selection Cassidy Barrios, the Colonels were hampered by injuries. Before it even began, key players Kinzie Heineman and Bryanna Washington suffered season-ending injuries. Sophomore Adrian Mann, who was averaging 10 points, joined the two after just two league games and missed the rest of the season with an injury.
But despite having only eight available players, Nicholls caught fire to close out the year. The seven-game winning streak vaulted the Colonels from 3-10 in the Southland and on the verge of seeing their postseason streak end at eight seasons to 10-10 in the league, 13-16 overall, and a No. 6 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament.
Although the Colonels fought their way back to Katy, Texas, just hours before their opening game on Thursday, March 13, the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing health concerns surrounding COVID-19. Nicholls headed home that day and it was the official end to the season and the careers of seniors Chrystal Ezechukwu, Airi Hamilton, Korie Leary, and Tykeria Williams.
SCHEDULE REVIEW
Nicholls opened the season with a brutal three-game stretch, taking on Rice, Indiana and TCU on the road. The Colonels returned home and lit up the scoreboard in wins against Paul Quinn College (101-68) and SUNO (94-61).
A three-game skid, which included a loss at LSU, was ended with a convincing 74-59 win over ULM at home on Dec. 13 in the nonconference finale. The Colonels would begin Southland Conference play before the holiday break as the league played a 20-game schedule for the first time.
Although the Colonels started their conference slate with an 0-5 mark, the games could have gone either way. After a six-point road loss at eventual champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Nicholls was unable to hang on at home against Abilene Christian and fell in overtime. The New Year started with another heart-breaking loss at UIW in the final seconds, a setback to Sam Houston, and a close defeat at home against Lamar.
Nicholls finally captured its first SLC win on a Hamilton buzzer-beater at Southeastern Louisiana. It was the lone basket for the senior but she was able to beat the clock with a putback for a 67-65 win.
After two more losses, Nicholls closed out January by winning two of three. Wins at HBU and at home against McNeese were split with a road loss at New Orleans. Against McNeese, the Colonels were led by a team season-high 35 points by Ezechukwu.
February started with losses to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State, putting the Colonels at 3-10 and near the bottom of the standings. In the next game at Lamar, Hamilton sank a layup in the final seconds for a 62-60 win and Nicholls rode the momentum for the rest of February.
Two home wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State gave the Colonels their first three-game winning streak of the season. In a must-win game at Central Arkansas, sophomore Loan-Anh Johnson poured in a career-high high 23 points in a 67-58 victory.
The winning continued against HBU and it set up a showdown against tourney-bound New Orleans on Senior Day. While Ezechukwu led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds, it was her classmate Williams who put Nicholls ahead with a layup with 3.6 seconds remaining for a 70-68 win.
The victory officially secured the Colonels' ninth consecutive trip to Katy and they would add one more win at McNeese to end the regular season with a seven-game winning streak.
STATISTICAL REVIEW
The Colonels averaged 64.8 points per game and totaled 1,879, which was the 10th highest total in team history. Six of the Colonels' top 10 all-time scoring seasons have been in Plaisance's tenure.
Nicholls scored 101 points in the win over Paul Quinn College on Nov. 18 -- its third-most in a single game in school history. Sophomore
Adrian Mann scored a team-high 19 points while
Tykeria Williams had her second career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
Nicholls finished ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in two categories - steals per game (9th/11.1) and free throws made (10th/477).
Chrystal Ezechukwu led the way with 96 made free throws, and Williams had a team-high 72 steals (2.5).
Airi Hamilton ranked fifth in the NCAA in minutes per game, logging 38.8 per game. She played every minute in 19 games, including all 45 in the overtime loss against Abilene Christian.
The Colonels had four players average double figures in scoring, led by Ezechukwu's 14.2 points per game. She was followed by Hamilton (11.9),
Loan-Anh Johnson (10.9) and Williams (10.0). Mann also averaged 10.4 points but played in only nine games.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Chelsea Cain
14 pts, 12 reb; Stephen F. Austin, 2/5/20
Chrystal Ezechukwu (2)
18 pts, 11 reb; ULM, 12/13/19
21 pts, 10 reb; New Orleans, 2/29/20
Airi Hamilton (2)
20 pts, 13 reb; at HBU, 1/22/20
15 pts, 10 reb; at New Orleans, 1/25/20
Tykeria Williams
14 pts, 10 ast; Paul Quinn College, 11/18
INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES
Two Colonels earned Southland Conference Player of the Week -
Loan-Anh Johnson (Jan. 13) and
Chrystal Ezechukwu (Feb. 3). Johnson averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting a staggering 77.2 percent for the week. Ezechukwu garnered the award after scoring a career-high 35 points against McNeese on 14 of 22 from the field. The total was just four points shy of tying the school's single-game record.
Johnson was also recognized for her effort in the classroom, earning Southland All-Academic Second Team. Along with averaging 10.9 points, she posted a 3.71 grade-point average as health sciences pre-professional major.
Two career milestones were achieved on Nov. 25 against SUNO as
DoBee Plaisance earned her 300th career victory and
Tykeria Williams became only the 16th player in team history to score 1,000 career points. Williams finished with 1,246 points to rank eighth all-time.
TOP 10 CAREER ALL-TIME RANKINGS
Chrystal Ezechukwu
- 9th -- Blocks (46/0.79)
Airi Hamilton
- 1st - Games Played (125)
- 7th - Field Goal Percentage (.496)
Tykeria Williams
- t-3rd -- 3PM (207)
- t-4th -- 3PT% (.332/207-623)
- 5th -- Steals (240/2.1)
- 6th -- FT% (.799/215-269)
- 8th -- Points (1,246/11.1)
- t-8th -- Games Played (112)
- 9th -- Assists (297/2.7)
