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February 6, 2019
Nicholls State University senior guard Cassidy Barrios made history on Saturday.
Heck, she also filled up the stat sheet, helped spark a furious second-half rally and was unquestionably the best player on the court in a tense overtime period, playing all 45 minutes of a thrilling win — just another day at the office for the greatest women’s basketball player in the history of the Colonels’ program.
The Nicholls senior etched another chapter in a storybook career on Saturday, becoming the all-time leading scorer in Colonels’ history, surpassing Realia Davis’ 30-plus-season record of 1,750-career points.
Barrios’ record-setter was ho-hum — a first-half layup, a move she said she’s made hundreds of times in her collegiate career.
What happened after that was everything but ho-hum — a second-half rally from double-digits down for Nicholls to force overtime, then secure a 73-66 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
Barrios scored 23 points, while also grabbing 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in the thriller.
She said making history is a moment she will never forget. That it happened in a huge win for the Colonels was the icing on the cake of what she called one of the best days of her collegiate career.
“This is a feeling that no one can take away from me,” Barrios told The Times after the win. “This doesn’t just show the hard work I’ve put in at Nicholls, but it shows the hard work I’ve put in throughout my whole life. It’s all led me to the place I’m at now and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Barrios woke up on Saturday morning just nine points away from the record — a near-lock to make history against the Lions.
It took her less than a half.
Barrios scored her first points in the game three minutes in — a 3-pointer that pushed her within four of the record. She made a pair of free-throws at the end of the first quarter to get within 4, then another shot with 3 minutes left in the second quarter.
The record-setter was a late-first-half layup on the left side of the paint — a score that came with 39 seconds left in the first half.
“I wasn’t nervous (going into the game) because I knew that I put in the work to get me in this position, so I just had to play my game and it was going to happen,” Barrios said. “I made it off a quick streak under our basket, so I didn’t have much time to think about it. I was just praying I made the shot.”
But despite Barrios’ record-setter, the Colonels struggled in the first half, trailing Southeastern 35-28 after two quarters, then 52-44 after three.
But then Nicholls started heating up.
The Colonels turned up their defensive intensity in the final quarter and made enough shots to secure a win, dominating the fourth quarter to force overtime at 60-all.
Nicholls took a 58-57 lead with 1:18 left on a free-throw from Barrios. They extended their lead to 60-57 with 44 seconds left on a pass from Barrios to Chrystal Ezechukwu.
But Southeastern spoiled Nicholls’ plans at a regulation win on a game-tying 3-pointer from Charliee Dugas with 4 seconds left to force overtime.
But that’s all they spoiled on Barrios’ historic day.
In overtime, the Colonels dominated with Barrios, Tykeria Williams and Ezechukwu teaming up for clutch buckets and key stops in the road win.
Barrios said the win was a must for Nicholls — a team in the middle of a rare 5-game road trip. Nicholls lost the first game of the trip last week against Lamar and couldn’t afford another setback in the quest to jockey for positioning in the Southland Conference chase.
The Colonels are now 6-3 in the league — in the upper-half of the conference standings.
“This was a major win for us,” Barrios said. “We needed this to help our standings out and give us confidence and momentum into the next games.”
As for what Barrios has her sights set on next with the record in the rear-view mirror, she said all of her goals the rest of the way are team-related — an attempt to finish her collegiate career with a bang.
“My goals are definitely to win another tournament championship and make it to the NCAAs,” Barrios said. “We also want to get a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament.”
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