THIBODAUX, La. – After a three-game road swing, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will return home to host the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (2/5) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2/7).
Last week, Nicholls (10-10, 6-7 SLC) fell below .500 in league play and now sit in seventh place after dropping contests at Northwestern State and East Texas A&M.
For the offense the Colonels have been playing through the paint as
Marie Kenembeni continued her solid play as she has scored at least 17 points and hauled in at least seven rebounds in all of them. While starting the last four contests and following the scoring outbursts she now averages 10.5 points per contest.
The Red & Gray rank 82nd nationally in bench points as their balanced attack as four other players join Kenemebeni averaging at least eight points per game.
Tanita Swift leads the way with 10.6 followed by
Sh'Diamond McKnight (9.9),
Jesslynn Jalomo (9.7), and
Jasmine Matthews (8.9).
The Colonel defense is stout as they rank 46th nationally in steals per game (10.7) and 66th in overall turnovers forced per contest (19.35). Both of those marks rank second in the SLC.
Anyra Wilson ranks fifth in the SLC in steals per game (1.42) while
Emani Burks ranks fourth in the SLC in blocks per game (1.20).
UTRGV (13-9, 10-3 SLC) are riding a four-game winning streak and are tied for third place in the league standings. Last week the Vaqueros defeated HCU (63-41) before beginning a three-game road swing with a victory at UIW (80-70 OT). After playing the Colonels on Thursday, the Vaqueros will play at New Orleans on Saturday. UTRGV has four players averaging at least eight points as Jalayah Ingram leads the way with 17.6 per game followed by Charlotte O'Keefe (11.8), Erin Maguire (8.5), and Chazlyn Dettor (9.4).
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-16, 3-10 SLC) split games last week as they beat UIW (70-64) before falling to HCU (63-50). The Islanders are 10th in the league standinds and they have four players averaging at least nine points. Samora Watson is the lone double figure scoorer as she averages 13 points while Asha Walker and Chelsea Wooten average 9.1 apiece and Marissa Shelton adds nine points per contest.
The Colonels are 3-1 all time against the Vaqueros, however each game between the teams have been decided by 10 points or less. The Red & Gray have won three of the last four matchups with the Islanders but trail the all-time series 12-16 dating back to 2007.
