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The rim was the same size. The ball the same weight. The court the same dimensions.
But it was just something — a little bit of everything — that was just a half-step off for the Nicholls women’s basketball team on Friday at the Southland Conference Tournament.
And Texas A&M – Corpus Christi made them pay in a big, big way.
The Colonels fell 69-56 in the Quarterfinals of the tournament, trailing throughout the game against the same opponent they’d beaten by 30 points in the regular season.
Nicholls’ efficient, fast-pace offense sputtered and stalled throughout the game, shooting 28.8 percent for the game with 16 turnovers.
Coach Dobee Plaisance said it was just one of those days for her team — a costly one, though, because it ended the team’s season shy of a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“Our kids and our players, they didn’t quit. … We didn’t lose today. We have a whole lot of lessons, but we didn’t lose,” Plaisance said, fighting back tears. “It was a tough one today and there’s some things that we could have done better, but we played hard and didn’t quit and … I couldn’t be prouder of a team.”
The Colonels just couldn’t score against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi — a total 180-degree contrast from their earlier meeting when Nicholls lit up their foe for 85 points and 49.2 percent shooting from the field for the game.
This time, the Islanders swarmed, grabbing control of the game in the early stages with a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nicholls made runs in the second quarter and cut the lead to 3, but Corpus Christi separated again before halftime and secured a 33-26 lead at the break — a lead they never relinquished in the second half because the Colonels were unable to consistently play fluid offense like they’d done throughout the course of the season.
When asked why the team was struggling offensively, there was a mix in answers.
Plaisance said it was a tough night for her team, while also crediting the Islanders with a good game plan and effort.
Players said a little bit of the same, but added also that it was just one of those tough days at the office that all athletes have to endure sometime in their careers.
“I don’t think so,” post Airi Hamilton said when asked if Corpus Christi did something different to reverse the outcome from the regular season game. “They were just a little bit tougher than us tonight.”
“I just thought it was our offense,” senior Cassidy Barrios added. “We just weren’t hitting shots and executing like we normally do.”
For Barrios, the tough shooting was uncharacteristic — the rare tough game in a storied, historic career filled with so many dominant performances.
Corpus Christi limited Barrios to just 2-of-17 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line. She still had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the game — the final one of her Nicholls career.
The Colonels also got 11 points from Adrian Mann and Tykeria Williams.
Barrios said she doesn’t think nerves were a problem for the team, adding that the Colonels had won the Southland Conference Tournament last year and had experience playing in Katy, Texas.
“We just didn’t make our shots,” she said.
Plaisance deflected any blame off her players and said the misses were not because of a lapse in preparation or energy within the game.
“It wasn’t a lack of effort,” she said.
So now, the Colonels look to the future — one in which they’ll have to replace Barrios, the team’s lone senior.
Barrios has been the single-best player in the history of the program, literally re-writing the school’s record book during her career, while also helping catapult the team to its perch as an annual contender in the Southland Conference Championship chase.
Barrios has said repeatedly that her time at Nicholls has been like a fairytale — a chapter she never imagined would be this prosperous and fruitful when she signed with the Colonels out of Vandebilt.
Plaisance said the Colonels lose both a dominant player and exceptional person with her graduation and both things will be tough to replace in the future.
“The day Cassidy Barrios said yes to Nicholls, it was a great day for the entire community,” Plaisance said. “What she does is amazing. How she does it, is beyond amazing. She’s a class act. When I tell you, not a second of off-court, on-court issues. (She’s) Yes ma’am, no ma’am, doesn’t miss practice, hasn’t been late for practice, hasn’t been late for the bus. She’s been Student Athlete of the Year. She’s been getting it done.
“As a coach, it’s student-athletes like that that empower you — that just make you want to take everything and use everything you have to the next level. … She’s the best of the best.”
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