THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University women's basketball team opens the road portion of its Southland schedule with its first ever trip to league newcomer Texas A&M-Commerce before a Saturday trip to Northwestern State.

Tipoff Thursday in Commerce is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday's game is slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff.

Nicholls (3-9, 0-1 SLC) will play its next three on the road and a total of six of the eight games in January will be away from Thibodaux. The Colonels came up short in all five of their road games in the nonconference with the closest outcome being a 64-49 loss at Mississippi Valley State.

Down a few players for their two-game Texas road trip to close out December, the Colonels scored 12 points or fewer in each quarter and the sluggish output trickled to the first three quarters of the Southeastern game. But the Colonels exploded for a 20-point quarter in the fourth against SLU; however, were unable to notch the victory in the league opener. Lexi Alexander scored seven points in the final frame, Traya Bruce hit two 3-pointers and Deonna Brister scored five points.

Alexander, a freshman from Round Rock, Texas, enters the New Year as the team's leader in scoring (12.2) and rebounding (7.7), while also shooting a team best 44 percent from the field. Her rebounds rank second in the Southland as does her 17 blocks.

Kyla Hamilton is second on the team in scoring (10.7) and leads the Southland with 40 assists (3.3). She is joined by in double figures in the scoring column by Brister who is averaging 10.6 points per game.

The Colonels and A&M-Commerce (3-10, 1-0 SLC) had one common opponent in the nonconference -- New Mexico. The Lobos won 78-71 at Commerce in late November and three days later, picked up a 72-55 win in Thibodaux.

The Lions are led by Dyani Robinson who is the Southland's top scorer so far, averaging 17.6 points per game. She has scored 20 or more points seven times this season, including 21 in the league-opening victory over UIW on Saturday in A&M-Commerce's first Southland game in program history. The Lions are in their debut season at the Division I level, moving up from Division II as a longtime member of the Lone Star Conference.

Northwestern State (5-6, 0-1 SLC) was on the short end of its conference opener last Saturday, falling 65-50 to preseason favorite Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. But the Lady Demons will have a chance to bounce back with a road game Thursday at McNeese before hosting the Colonels.

Prior to last season, Nicholls has won seven of eight previous meetings between the two schools but NSU earned a sweep in 2021-22. Northwestern State ended a three-game skid in the series with a 68-64 win in Thibodaux before taking the matchup, 73-60, in Natchitoches.

STUFF STOPHER
Following the three-game road trip, Nicholls returns home to host Northwestern State (Jan. 14) and McNeese (Jan. 19). The contest against McNeese on Thursday will serve as the program's annual "Stuff Stopher" game. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by calling the Nicholls Athletics Ticket Office at 985-448-4790 or visiting NichollsTickets.com.

FOLLOW THE COLONELS
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