THIBODAUX, La.  – After nearly a month on the road, The Nicholls State University women's basketball team was beaten by Lamar University 67-53 inside Stopher Gymnasium on Thursday night.
 
The Colonels and Cardinals had a back and forth first half with both teams shooting over 40 percent from the field and the Colonels led 31-28 at the intermission. However, a cold third quarter from the Colonels put them behind.
 
The teams played a physical game that saw the teams combine for 41 fouls.  The Colonels hit two more triples and two less field goals than the Cardinals the difference came at the free throw line. Nicholls shot a season low 27.8 percent and matched a season low five made foul shots while Lamar shot 17-25 from the charity stripe.
 
The Red & Gray offense that featured nine different scorers was led by Britiya Curtis, who reached double figures in the fourth consecutive contest as scored 15 of her 18 points in the first half.  She connected on a season high seven field goals and hit three shots from beyond the arc.
 
Tanita Swift hit five field goals while stuffing the stat sheet with five rebounds and game-high four assists. Deonna Brister added nine points, and five rebounds and Elli Garnett chipped in with five points while leading the team with six rebounds and three steals.
 
Lamar's balanced offense had three double figure scorers as Sabria Dean scored a game-high 19 points followed by Jacei Denley (13) and R'Mani Taylor (10).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nicholls began the game slowly as Lamar opened the game with a 10-2 run until Curtis hit a triple followed by a Swift jumper got the Colonels' offense started five minutes into the contest.
• Following a pair of Brister free throws, Curtis scores on a Daelyn Craig pass and a pull up 3-pointer on back-to-back plays to force Lamar timeout (2:29)
• Behind six field goals including two from beyond the arc and four steals the Colonels carried the momentum and the lead into Q2 (16-14).
• Q2 was a battle between two efficient offenses. The Cardinals hit five field goals and four free throws while the Colonels hit seven field goals including one from long range.
•  In the first half, the Red & Gray had seven different players combine for 13 field goals (46%) on eight assists. The Colonels also incorporated full court defense that led to six steals and held a 31-28 lead at the intermission.
• After an Emani Burks layup (9:48), Lamar began the second half with a 27-7 scoring run across nine minutes in Q3 and the Cardinals led 55-40 heading into the final frame.
• Both teams hit five field goals in Q4 and the Cardinals ran away with the double digit victory.

UP NEXT
The Red & Gray will host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Jan. 17.