Colonels heading to Katy with swagger

Houma Christian falls in State title game

March 7, 2018

Lafourche Booking Log – March 8

March 8, 2018

March 7, 2018

The Nicholls State men’s basketball team is getting all the headlines – and rightfully so. They’re incredible.

But the ladies can ball, too – heading to Katy and the Southland Conference Tournament with a load of momentum.

The Colonels ended their regular season with a 79-64 win at Southeastern – closing their regular season with a 16-13 record and an 11-7 record in the Southland Conference.

Nicholls ended their regular season blistering hot, winning eight of their final nine games of the season to move from the bottom-half of the standings to fourth place.

With that fourth-place position, the Colonels earned a first-round bye in the Southland Conference Tournament. They will face the winner of the No. 5 Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and No. 8 McNeese State on Friday morning at 11 a.m. – three wins away from the NCAA Tournament.

Nicholls trailed at the end of the first quarter in the win, but led by one at halftime. They controlled the game in the second half to secure the win.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance said. “I felt like we were going to get that big run at some point in the game – whether it was from the jump or the third quarter. And we did it. We got it. The timing might not always be the same. But we’re always good for one really good run because once we get on a roll, we get on a roll.”

Two seniors helped power the Colonels to victory.

Guard Tia Charles played all 40 minutes in the win, scoring 22 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists – going 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in the win.

Post Marina Lilly controlled the post, scoring 13 points with 7 rebounds in 29 minutes.

Plaisance applauded the work of her seniors, adding that she’s not surprised they played well in such a big game.

Why? They’ve been doing that their entire career on campus.

“They’ve been really a big piece since they’ve walked on campus,” Plaisance said. “Tia was thrown into the fire as a freshman when Emani White was hurt. And then Marina, in fact, we’ve always called her the Big Ticket. She’s always been the one that – she’s our big. She’s the one we’re going to focus on. She’s the one we’re going to run our offense through. Them being seniors. Watching them grow – not just as players, but as people and as leaders. That’s what means so much to me.”

But in the second half, one of the best players in the Southland Conference stepped up and made plays to help seal the win.

The Colonels led by 1 point at halftime, despite no first-half field goals from junior guard Cassidy Barrios.

In the second half, the Raceland native exploded, scoring 16 second-half points to register 22 points total, as well as 14 rebounds and 4 steals.

The Colonels penetrated and attacked, shooting 41 free throws in the win, compared to 18 for the Lions.

Nicholls also out-rebounded the Lions 43-34 in the win.

“Strategically, we needed to get to the free throw line,” Plaisance said. “Believe it or not, we were getting to the free throw line early, but we weren’t converting at the line. That was one of the things at halftime that I really emphasized – that and the offensive rebounds. They had nine second chance points and in a game like this, that’s nine too many if you ask me.”

At the end of the third quarter, Nicholls led 52-44. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions made a surge at them, but Nicholls’ offense was efficient, scoring 27 points to seal the win.

Plaisance spoke at length about her pride in the team after the win.

This season hasn’t been easy for the Colonels. They started Southland play with just a 3-6 record – outside of the Top 8 in the league. Since that time, they’ve finished 8-1 to get into the Top 4 – earning that much-needed first-round bye.

“We came out 3-6 in conference and we had to change the narrative,” Plaisance said. “I’ve said this many times. I told the kids, ‘We don’t want to beat another team. We just want the Colonels to win.’ And we do that by fighting the good fight and grinding and controlling what we can control. … It’s really indicative to how we are when we’re playing together.”