THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will play New Orleans in the first round of the 2024 Southland Conference Tournament on Monday, March 11. Tip-off from Lake Charles is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and the action will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The Colonels had a major turnaround under first year head coach Justin Payne as he returned to his alma mater and won more games this season (13) than the last two campaigns combined (11).
 
Nicholls is making its 15th all-time appearance and third as the No. 7 seed. The last seventh-seeded Colonels fell 58-79 to McNeese in 2017. The Red & Gray earned a postseason berth for the first time since 2020 but enter the tournament on a three-game losing streak.
 
The Colonels were swept by No.6 UNO in the regular season, and the games were decided by a combined 8 points. The first matchup in Thibodaux was a 69-63 game which saw the Colonels offense go cold in the second half.
 
The game in New Orleans was an 80-78 thriller that saw a Red & Gray rally fall just short. The Colonels hit seven more field goals than the Privateers and hit 12 field goals in the final quarter. However, the difference came from the foul line as the Privateers shot 24-28 (85.7%) from the charity stripe compared to the Colonels who were 6-8 (75%).
 
Nicholls is led by All-Southland Second Team selection Lexi Alexander who averaged 14.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in league play. She tallied six double-doubles this season including a career night where she scored 28 points and hauled in 15 boards in a win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Her points per game and rebound per game average ranks fifth and eighth in the SLC. She finished the season shooting 39.6% from the field and a team-best 78.3% from the charity stripe on 120 attempts.
 
Another major contributor for the Colonels is SLC Freshman of the Year, Britiya Curtis, who was one of the most efficient scorers in the conference. In route to becoming the fourth Colonel to earn the rookie award she averaged 10.9 points while shooting 41% percent from the field, and 37.2% from beyond the arc and her percentages rank 13th and fifth in the league, respectively. Curtis was a two-way force for the Red & Gray as she ranked ninth in the SLC in steals per game (1.6) while racking up 49 steals and having 14 games this season with multiple steals.
 
For UNO, they are led by All-Southland Second Team member DeArica Pryor who averages 14.3 points while leading the league in 3-point percentage (42.3%). Defensively the Privateers are led by Justice Ross who recorded the second most blocks in the league (34) and All-Defensive team selection Alexis Calderon who led the SLC in steals (72).