LSU athletics are humming
February 20, 2019
Lady Terriers move to State Finals
February 20, 2019
The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team hasn’t had a home game since Jan. 23 — the byproduct of a five-game Southland Conference road trip.
The trip was rare. Nicholls is one of the only teams — if not the only team — in the country to have to endure such a long stretch of games away from home.
But now, they can officially say that they’ve come out of the other side whole and in stride — in time for the stretch run of the season.
Nicholls finished their road trip with a 58-55 win at Houston Baptist on Saturday, clinching a 3-2 record in the 5-game trip.
With the trip now complete, the Colonels are through their toughest stretch in the regular season with a 14-10 overall record and a 8-4 mark in Southland play.
The team won’t leave Louisiana again the rest of this regular season before the Southland Conference Tournament in mid-March.
The final game of the road trip caused the Colonels to deposit every last bit of fuel in the tank — just before it hit the empty mark.
Houston Baptist challenged the Colonels, keeping their high-powered offense out of rhythm throughout most of the game.
Nicholls shot just 10-of-32 in the first half, allowing the Huskies to hold the Colonels to 28 first-half points.
But the Colonels’ defense stepped up and kept the team in the game, limiting Houston Baptist without a free throw for the entire first-half while forcing countless turnovers, which allowed for a 28-26 Nicholls lead.
In the second half, it looked like the Colonels were about to put the game on ice.
The Colonels roared out to a 6-point lead a couple times in the third quarter, continuing their dominant defensive effort to take a 41-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, Nicholls led 53-44 with 4:46 left after Chrystal Ezechukwu put home a bucket to cap a run sparked by several big plays from guards Cassidy Barrios and Tykeria Williams.
The duo combined for 35 of Nicholls’ 58 points in the win.
Barrios had 20 of the duo’s points to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 5 steals — playing her customary 40 minutes of basketball.
But no one gave Houston Baptist the memo that they were supposed to roll over and make the final minutes drama-free for Nicholls.
They did the opposite, in fact, even taking the lead in the final minutes before a furious Nicholls rally.
After Ezechukwu’s basket, the Lady Huskies went on a furious 11-1 run over 4-plus minutes to take the lead with 29 seconds to play.
Nicholls had the ball with a 54-53 lead with 50 seconds to play. But Williams turned it over to Houston Baptist, which allowed for a jumper from Amanda Johnson and a 55-54 Lady Huskies advantage.
With the team running on fumes at the end of the lengthy road trip, the Colonels found a little fuel in its reserves, ending the game in style to secure the comeback win.
After Johnson’s go-ahead bucket, Williams made up for her turnover by drawing a foul, then making 2-straight free throws to put the Colonels back up 56-55 with 27 seconds to go.
Houston Baptist had chances in the final seconds, but Sophie Taylor turned over the ball with 6 seconds left, which allowed Williams to be fouled. After two more successful free throws, the Colonels were up 58-55.
The Lady Huskies had a final heave — a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that could have sent the game to overtime.
But it went for naught, clinching the victory for the Colonels — allowing them to keep pace with some of the top teams in the Southland.
After the completion of the road trip, Nicholls is 8-4 in conference — fourth place. They sit just outside of Abilene Christian for third, but are also just ahead of Sam Houston who is at fifth.
The Colonels will play Sam Houston tonight at 6 p.m. — arguably the biggest remaining game of the regular season for Nicholls.
After that, the Colonels play Central Arkansas, McNeese, UNO and Northwestern State — all teams that are currently below .500 in Southland Conference play.
It’s not inconceivable that the Colonels could finish strong and head to the Southland Conference Tournament with momentum again — just like they did last year when they won the whole thing.
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