Lady Colonel basketball team showing signs of improvement

At 1-5 overall it’d be hard for someone to believe the Nicholls Lady Colonel basketball team has actually improved, but considering last year’s team went winless until February, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

The improvement is evident in the results this season.

In the Colonels’ 63-50 loss to South Alabama Saturday, the Lady Colonels showed poised and promise of a team that could be on the rise, especially since the effort was against the same Lady Jaguars team that tormented the Lady Colonels 83-30 in Mobile last season.

With one of their leaders – junior guard Richanda Bickham – out with a ankle injury, it would have been easy for the team to give in. However, the team erased a 20-point deficit in the second half down to 10 with solid shooting and the help of an 8-0 run.

It was the kind of heart head coach DoBee Plaisance hopes to see in her team the rest of the way as they make their final stretch run before Southland Conference play begins.

Including tonight’s home game against Centenary, the Lady Colonels have six games of non-conference play left before their Jan. 9 home showdown with Northwestern State.

Plaisance hopes the team can put together sound basketball games to gain the confidence they need heading into league play.

“We have made progress and expedited progress,” she boasted. “It’s a testament to this program and shows the rate this program has improved. If we convert off of turnovers that we force, we’d be even better than we are.”

However, one of the downfalls the team has experienced this season is a lack of numbers.

Due to a low APR (Academic Progress Rate) under the former coaching staff, the Lady Colonels only have nine players able to suit up and only a handful of scholarships to handout.

In an effort to build a promising recruiting class Plaisance had to reserve some scholarships to ensure she had them ready.

“Because we didn’t have seniors this year we had to save those scholarships to sign the dynamic 2010 class we have coming in,” she said. “It’s a challenge with the numbers but it’s not a problem. We have a competitive team who could lay the foundation this season.”

To lay that foundation, Plaisance said she’ll need to see continued progress from her transfers – junior Bickham, Jamia Akins, Cassie Hearon and sophomore Chelsea McNamee – continue to carry their leadership on the floor.

With freshman Alisha Allen also helping out returnees sophomores Jasmine Hoskins and Portia Washington, success could be sooner rather than later, according to Plaisance.