HOUSTON, Texas. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team shot the ball efficiently and played stout defense to take down HCU 73-55 to earn head coach Justin Payne's first Southland Conference victory inside Sharp Gym on Saturday afternoon.
 
Nicholls (7-7) started the game on fire and shot 58.8 percent from the field in the first quarter, including hitting two of four shots from beyond the arc. The momentum continued into the second frame as the Colonels finished the half shooting 19-34 from the field (55.9%) while forcing the Huskies to shoot 9-26 from the field (34.6%). The Red & Gray held a 41-26 advantage at the intermission.
 
In the first half the Colonels were led by Senior guard Mikayla Etienne and sophomore forward Lexi Alexander. Etienne set the tone by shooting 5-7 from the field and scoring 11 of her 17 points in the first quarter while Alexander got it going in the second quarter finishing the half with 15 points.
 
In the third quarter, it was senior guard Kyla Hamilton's turn to take charge as she scored 10 of her 12 points including hitting a pair of shots from long range to keep the Colonels' momentum rolling into the fourth stanza.
 
The action in the fourth quarter got as close as 11, but the Colonels were still hot from the field as they shot 53.8 percent from the field to shut the door on the comeback effort from the Huskies.
 
Alexander finished the contest with 22 points to claim her second 20-point game of the season. She also added three rebounds and four assists to her stat line.
 
Freshman guards Betazlys Delgado and Britiya Curtis combined for 10 points and nine assists, while junior forward Deonna Brister scored eight points and grabbed five boards.
 
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The Red & Gray will host UNO on Thursday, Jan. 11 and Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Stopher Gym.