THIBODAUX, La. – Senior guard
Kyla Hamilton hit two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining in the Nicholls State University women's basketball team's 52-50 victory over HCU inside Stopher Gym on Saturday night.
Despite the poor shooting from the field, the Huskies managed to hit 6 of 8 free throws to eventually tie the game at 50 with six seconds left. With the game tied, Hamilton drove to the basket and was fouled by Yasmin Butler to set up her go-ahead free throws.
The Colonels won the final quarter 16-8 as they held HCU to just 1-11 from the field. The Red & Gray offense was clicking as they went on a 17-6 run that lasted nearly 10 minutes across the third and fourth quarters.
The teams began the game trading runs to foreshadow how the entire 40 minutes would go. After a 9-4 run by Nicholls tied the game at 11, HCU went on a 14-0 run that included eight scoreless minutes for the Red & Gray.
The Colonels stopped the bleeding and finished the half strong as they went on an 11-2 run across the final 6:47 of the half. Despite the rally, HCU led 25-22 at the intermission.
Nicholls kept the momentum rolling into the second half as they extended their surge to a 18-4 run across 10 minutes of play. After that, the Colonels went cold for over six minutes and the Huskies pieced together a 14-5 to finish the third quarter up 42-36.
Hamilton was the lone Colonel in double figures (10 points), but it was a total team effort as everyone who scored for the Red & Gray posted at least six points.
Senior guard
Mikayla Etienne hit three triples to finish with nine points while grabbing five rebounds.
Lexi Alexander scored eight points and had five rebounds, while
Deonna Brister added seven points.
Freshman guard
Britiya Curtis, junior forward
Daelyn Craig, and senior guard
Traya Bruce recorded six points apiece. Additionally, Craig snagged a team-high nine boards.
After today's victory, Nicholls leads the all time series against HCU 12-7, including winning the last three matchups.
UP NEXT
The Red & Gray will conclude its home stand against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
