Williams aims to rebound from offseason lapse in judgment
March 13, 2019Oilfield worker praises too often unsung
March 13, 2019
On Senior Day, Nicholls senior Cassidy Barrios did what she’s done so many other times in her storied, dominant career.
She dominated, filled out the stat sheet and led the Colonels to an impactful win.
Oh yeah, and she helped the team make history, too.
The Colonels honored their only senior on Saturday with a 72-55 victory over Southeastern — a win which ends Nicholls’ season with a seven-game winning streak entering this week’s Southland Conference Tournament. It also marked the first time in school history that the team wins 20 games in one season.
Barrios had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the win to go along with 3 steals, 9-14 shooting and a 4-8 clip from 3-point range.
For her dominance, she again won Southland Conference Player of the Week — an honor that she’s dominated all season in a campaign that’s made her a shoe-in to earn back-to-back Southland Conference Player of the Year awards.
“What more can you say?” Colonels coach DoBee Plaisance said earlier in the season. “She’s incredible on the floor and so humble and kind and compassionate off it. She’s accomplished everything with hard work and dedication and commitment to herself and her teammates. She’s done it the right way.”
And Southeastern had no answer for her in her home finale.
The Colonels struggled to separate from their in-state rivals early in Saturday’s game, leading 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and then 27-23 at halftime.
But in the second half, the momentum of the game swung heavily in favor of Nicholls.
The Colonels came out of the lockers with a head of steam, scoring at will, shooting 16-of-27 from the field in the final two quarters, while turning over the ball just three times.
At the end of the third quarter, the Colonels ballooned their lead up to 17 points and every attempt for the Lions to make headway in the fourth quarter was met with resistance and a Nicholls rally.
With the win, the Colonels are 20-10 overall and 14-4 in the Southland.
They’ve earned the No. 3 seed in the league, which earns them the right to hold a first-round bye in the top-heavy event which gives byes to the top four teams and double byes to the top two.
The Colonels will play the winner between No. 6 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 7 New Orleans on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
If they win that game, they will play No. 2 Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Colonels beat Texas A&M – Corpus Christi 85-55 on Jan. 23 in Thibodaux. They beat UNO twice during the season — a 14-point win on Feb. 9 and an 8-point win on March 2 in Thibodaux.
They also played at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 9 and lost 70-62.
Plaisance said last week that she believes her team is playing its best basketball right now and that the team has the ability to make noise in the tournament — the same event they won last year.
NICHOLLS MEN FALL SHORT OF SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT
The Nicholls men’s basketball team knew going into Saturday’s game with Southeastern that they needed to both win and get help from Northwestern State to make the Southland Conference Tournament.
They won, but the help fell short, thus ending the Colonels’ season.
Nicholls beat the Lions 68-63, ending the team’s season with a 14-17 record and a 7-11 mark in the Southland Conference.
But Nicholls finished in ninth place in the league after Central Arkansas beat Northwestern State, which thrust the Bears into the final spot of the 8-team tournament.
But even with a season short of their goal, the Colonels do take momentum into next season.
Southeastern came into Saturday’s game with a 12-5 record in the league. They will be going to Katy next week.
But despite facing a brutally tough foe, the Colonels still were able to get the win, despite falling behind by 10 points in the first half.
The Colonels controlled play in the second half, took the lead and secured the win, thanks in part to 28 points from Jeremiah Jefferson.
Nicholls also go 10 points from Jeremiah Buford, 10 points from Daniel Regis and 9 points from Kevin Johnson.
With the win, the Colonels finish the regular season with 2-straight wins. The team had a 5-game homestand to close out the season and they won three of the five games.
Had they won another, they’d have made it to Katy.
Follow Casey on Twitter for more.
https://twitter.com/casey_gisclair
