THIBODAUX, La. – After earning the most victories in non-conference action since 2011, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will begin Southland Conference play against Southeastern on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tipoff inside Stopher Gym is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
 
Nicholls (7-2) is off to one of the best starts in program history as the unit reached seven victories in non-conference action for the first time since 2011 and finished one win shy of the program record that was set in 2012.  Additionally, the two losses by the Colonels to LA Tech and Louisiana were by combined seven points.
 
Southeastern (6-3) is off to a solid start as well with wins over Southern Miss, Memphis, Charlotte, and LA Tech. The Lady Lions have split their last four contests including a 70-65 loss at Houston in their most recent outing.
 
Offensively, the Red & Gray have been spearheaded by two-time SLC Player of the Week Tanita Swift who is the league's third leading scorer (15.1). Swift has reached double figures six times including a 28-point outburst against Alcorn. She also paces the offense with three assists per game while leading the SLC in steals (2.8).
 
Deonna Brister has also been a two-way force for the Red & Gray. Last time out she put together an impressive week where she averaged 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and went 8-12 from long range in a pair of victories. She enters league action averaging 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game.
 
Heading into league play, the Red & Gray has the fourth best percentage from beyond the arc (.322) and has three players that rank in the top 20. Brister leads the league with a blistering (.640) followed by Jesslynn Jalomo (.424) and Britiya Curtis (.350) who rank 11^th and 20^th, respectively.
 
The Colonels have played stout defensively as they boast the SLC's second best opponents ppg (55.1) to help the squad have a scoring margin of 8.4 and a turnover margin of 3.44. Along with Swift and Brister on the perimeter, Emani Burks provides stout rim protection as she has the second most blocks in the SLC (12) and has tallied at least one in all but one game.
 
Elli Garnett is a force on the glass as she averages six boards a game which is 11^th in the league. In the win over MVSU Garnett tallied 13 points and hauled in 12 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season.
 
Southeastern has a balanced offense that is led by Alexius Horne who averages 14 points per game. Former Colonel Lexi Alexander averages 9.9 points, followed by Taylor Bell (9.1) and Cheyanne Daniels (8.6).