THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team was beaten 58-54 by Southeastern Inside Stopher Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
 
After getting out to a slow start offensively, the Colonels stepped up their defensive intensity to stifle the Lady Lions offense. The Red & Gray closed first half on 17-4 run final 7:11 of second quarter. Nicholls led 27-23 at the intermission. Southeastern came out swinging in the third and outscored the Colonels by 10 in the frame and led by six heading into the final quarter.
 
Nicholls began the fourth with a 6-0 surge to erase the deficit and force a Lady Lion timeout. The Colonels kept the momentum rolling to the tune of a 12-1 run across seven minutes of the quarter. However, SLU closed the game on a 12-4 run as the Colonels were unable to retake the lead down the stretch.
 
Tanita Swift hit six field goals including one triple and seven shots from the charity stripe to score a game-high 20 points. She hauled in 10 boards to record her first double-double of the season.
 
Elli Garnett added 10 points, Emani Burks had 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Jesslynn Jalomo and Paris Miller combined for 12 points off the bench.
 
For SLU, Jalencia Pierre led the way with 18 points followed by Alexius Horne who had 16 and Kaili Chamberlin who had eight.
 
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The Red & Gray (7-3) will host New Orleans on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 3 p.m.