Barrios continues record-setting pace

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Vandebilt Catholic graduate and Nicholls State University standout Cassidy Barrios won the Southland Conference Player of the Year award last year — the icing on the cake of a near-flawless junior season.


Believe it or not, but Barrios has actually been even better this year, too, as scary as that is for the opposition in the Southland Conference.

The Colonels’ senior leader is rewriting the school’s record books in the midst of another dominant season — one that she hopes is again capped with a Southland Conference crown.

At press-time, Barrios is putting up video game numbers, averaging 20.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game — all while shooting 47 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from 3 and 88.2 percent from the free-throw line. Those numbers are up from the 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists she averaged last year.


Barrios’ consistency is startling. She’s scored in double figures in every game and has dropped 15 or more points in all but two games this season.

Barrios downplays the successes when asked, adding that she’s just trying to help her team — a group that’s now 3-1 in Southland Conference play after a weekend blowout of Houston Baptist.

But coach Dobee Plaisance said that while she applauds Barrios’ humility, she also wants people to understand and appreciate the dominance that we’re seeing in Thibodaux — the final season of probably the greatest player in the history of the Colonels’ program.


In the preseason, Plaisance actually predicted that Barrios would find a way to top last year’s successes — as lofty a feat as that’d be.

“She is beyond amazing,” Plaisance said. “And you would think, ‘What else could Cassidy Barrios do for this basketball institution and for this community and for this conference?’ But I guarantee you that she’s going to figure it out and she’s going to take it to another level.”

And that she has.


Barrios is re-writing Nicholls’ record book with her dominance, while also proving to be one of the best players — not just in the Southland — but in the whole country.

Against Power 5 competition, Barrios’ success hasn’t faltered. She averaged 19.3 points and 11 rebounds per game — shooting 47.3 percent from the field in the Colonels’ three games against Baylor, Auburn and LSU, the “biggest” opponents the team will face all year.

At press-time, she is No. 1 in the Southland and No. 20 in the country in scoring. Her rebounding is also No. 1 in the Southland and ranks No. 25 in the country. Her 11 double-doubles are in the Top 10 in the country and she’s just one of 11 players in America to record a triple-double so far this season.


Barrios has won the Southland Conference Player of the Week four times — far more than anyone else in the league.

And she is closing in on the Colonels’ all-time scoring mark, currently held by Realia Davis with 1,750 career points. Barrios is on pace to pass that mark sometime in the next handful of games.

But for all the successes and the attention, Barrios said her individual successes are always going to take a backseat to Colonel victories and right now, Nicholls is playing team basketball in an effort to repeat as Southland Conference Champions.


In conference play, the Colonels’ offense has come to life, averaging 80.5 points per game, while winning three of their first four league games.

In the victories, the Colonels have been near-flawless, showcasing the form the team exhibited to win the Southland last spring. All three wins have been by double-digits.

The Colonels are supporting Barrios’ dominance with balanced scoring — likely the key to the team’s successes.


In three of the four Southland Conference games, Nicholls had four players score in double figures. In the other game, Saturday’s win against Houston Baptist, the Colonels had just 3 double-figure scorers (Barrios, Bryanna Washington and Airi Hamilton) but they also had two other players pitch in 9 points (Tykeria Williams and Chrystal Ezechukwu) in the lopsided win.

Plaisance said in the preseason that this is possibly the deepest, most talent-rich team that she’s had at Nicholls.

And now, it’s the Colonels’ mission to show it in the games that matter most — a journey that they hope will again end with the team cutting down the nets in Katy, Texas.


The Colonels will look to defend their hot start tonight at 6 p.m. in Stopher Gym against McNeese. The Cowgirls come to Thibodaux a bit of a mess with just a 2-13 record and an 0-4 record in Southland games.

After that home game, the Colonels will travel and take on Central Arkansas. The Lady Bears are also struggling so far in Southland play — a rarity for a storied program.

But in Southland play, nothing can be taken for granted and Plaisance knows that as well as anyone.


But having the best player in the league helps ease some of those nerves.

And that’s a luxury the Colonels enjoy — the final stretch run of the best player in the history of the program.

Cassidy Barrios


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