THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's basketball team will battle the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the opening round of the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament. Tipoff from the Legacy Center in Lake Charles is scheduled for 1:30 PM.
 
Nicholls (16-13, 9-11 SLC) enters the tournament on a five-game slide after dropping the final two games at Lamar and SFA. UTRGV (16-15, 11-9) won five consecutive games before falling to Southeastern and New Orleans in the final two games of the season.
 
The Colonels and Vaqueros split the regular season contests with the road team winning both.
 
In Edinburg, the Colonels' stout defense was on full display as they forced UTRGV to shoot 26% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc. The Colonels had three double figure scorers lead the way to victory. In Thibodaux, the Colonels offense struggled in the second half while the Vaqueros scored 39 of their 59 points after the intermission.
 
With the Colonels' leading scorer Tanita Swift (14.4) out with an injury the Red & Gray offense is spearheaded by Britiya Curtis (10.8), Deonna Brister (9.3) and Elli Garnett (8). UTRGV is led by All SLC selections Kade Hackerott and Charlotte O'Keefe. Hackerott averages 13 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists while O'Keefe averages 10.7 points and 12.5 rebounds.
 
Tickets are still available for the 2025 Jersey Mike's Southland Conference Basketball Championships presented by Explore Louisiana. All-session tickets are also still available including standard admission, reserved seats, and premium seats, as well as single-session tickets.
 
Women's first-round games will be played Monday, March 10, at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Women's second-round games are Tuesday, March 11, at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Semifinal games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, at a time to be determined. The women's championship game is Thursday, March 13, at a time to be determined.

The winners of the conference men's and women's tournaments will earn the Southland Conference's automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA tournaments. The NCAA Men's Final Four is April 4 and 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, while the NCAA Women's Final Four will be April 4 and 7 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.