THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls State University women's basketball forward Marie Kenembeni secured her first double-double of the season to lead the team to a 70-47 victory over HCU inside Stopher Gym on Thursday night.
 
Kenembeni stuffed the stat sheet as she finished with a game high 21 points while hauling in 10 rebounds with three blocks and two steals.
 
After a back and forth first quarter and holding on to a five-point lead, Nicholls (5-4) hit eight field goals, forced seven turnovers, and held the Huskies without a made field goal for the final 4:03 of the half. Along with the strong defensive intensity, Kenebeni set the tone offensively for the Red & Gray as she poured in 14 points in the first half. The Colonels dominated the second stanza 18-4 to generate a 19-point lead (38-19) at the intermission.
 
The Red & Gray was dominant on both ends of the floor as the defense had 18 steals and forced 25 overall turnovers while the offense shot 50% from the field and had three double figure scorers. Jesslynn Jalomo hit five field goals including three triples to finish with 14 points while Tanita Swift added 14 points and had a game best eight steals and five assists.
 
For HCU, Grace Booth scored 11 points while Jordan Jackson and Sidney Carr combined for 17.
 
For Nicholls, this is the fifth consecutive victoru over HCU dating back to 2023. The Colonels lead the series 14-7 dating back to 2014.
 
UP NEXT
The Red & Gray will be off for 11 days before returning to action at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday Dec. 29 at 5 p.m.