THIBODAUX, La. - After the teams were knotted at halftime, McNeese outscored the Nicholls State University women's basketball team 24-9 in the third quarter and a late rally was too little, too late as the Colonels fell 77-68 Thursday on 'Stuff Stopher" night at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (4-13, 1-5 SLC) fell behind by as much as 19 points in the final period but caught a tremendous second wind, making it a 72-67 game with 2:23 remaining. However, a turnover and a missed field goal stalled the threat and the Cowgirls went on to put the game on ice by hitting five free throws down the stretch.
The duo of
Deonna Brister and
Lexi Alexander came through again with big games, scoring 22 and 19 points, respectively. Brister recorded her third double-double with 10 rebounds while Alexander finished a rebound short with nine.
Traya Bruce totaled 12 points and
Kyla Hamilton, facing her former squad, racked up 10 points, seven assists and six steals.
McNeese (6-11, 3-3 SLC) also had four players score in double figures but dominated the bench points, outscoring Nicholls 34-1. Autumn Watts (13 points) and Paris Mullins (11) each came off the bench while Divine Tanks also scored a team-high 13 points.
The teams were even with 44 points in the paint and the Cowgirls did most of their damage inside during the third-quarter run. Eight of the 11 made field goals were made inside the key, leading to a 65 percent shooting effort for the period. McNeese finished the night at 56.4 percent from the field.
Trailing 71-52 with six minutes to go, Nicholls went on a 15-1 outburst over the next four minutes. Brister and Alexander scored inside while Bruce hit a big 3-pointer to spark the run. Although the Colonels held McNeese to not a single field goal for the final six minutes, the comeback fell short.
Nicholls had an extremely tough night at the free throw line, making a season-low 31.3 percent (5 of 16). McNeese also struggled (9-17) but made five of its final six in order to seal the victory.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will have rematch with the Cowgirls on Saturday, Jan. 21 in Lake Charles. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
