Lady Colonels come up short; Octave reaches career milestone

From Sports Information

In spite of senior Jamie Octave eclipsing the 1000-point mark for her career, and a late-game scramble by the Lady Colonels, the University of Central Arkansas was able to walk out of Stopher Gymnasium with a hard-fought 74-72 victory Saturday afternoon.

The loss dropped Nicholls to 3-15 on the season and 1-6 in Southland Conference action. Central Arkansas improved to 9-11 overall and 3-5 in the SLC.

“It was a good game, but in the end we did not make the plays,” said head coach Mark Cook. “We didn’t make the shots when we needed them, especially from the free throw line, and we could not stop them from scoring. All we can do now, is learn from our mistakes and put this game behind us.”

Octave’s 19 points led the Lady Colonels for the afternoon. Needing only nine points to reach 1000 for her career, Octave drained a jumper at the 9:53 mark of the first half, moving her into the Nicholls record books as only the eighth player in Lady Colonel basketball history to achieve such a feat.

“We are extremely proud of Jamie,” added Cook. “She has always been the leader of this team, and it is a compliment to her that her hard work and dedication is paying off.”

In addition to Octave, three other Lady Colonels scored in double figures, including Funaki Kefu, who scored a career-high 16 points, to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Katherine Plummer and Kelli Johnson (4-of-5 from the three point line) chipped in 12 points apiece.

Caronica Randle led the Sugar Bears with 28 points, three assists, one block and one steal. Allyson Sample contributed 13 points and four rebounds.

Both teams finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field. Nicholls shot 83 percent from the free throw line, compared to Central Arkansas’ 73 percent. The Lady Colonels out rebounded the Sugar Bears, 36-32.

The first half featured back and forth action, including eight ties and four lead changes. With UCA holding a 25-19 lead at the 6:41 mark of the opening half, Nicholls jumped out on a 9-1 run, capped by a Johnson three-pointer, to retake the lead, 28-26. The Sugar Bears quickly tied the score at 28-28, and the teams later headed into the locker room tied at 33-33.

The second half began much like the first. The first six minutes of the half saw three different lead changes, to go along with three additional ties. However, trailing 41-40, Nicholls, would make their second extensive run of the game, scoring 10 of the next 12 points, to take a 50-43 lead, with 11:49 left in the game. Not to be outdone, UCA followed with a 12-0 run over a 2:23 stretch, to retake the lead, 55-50. All of the 12 points for the Sugar Bears came courtesy of three-pointers, with Sample and Randle each sinking two apiece.

The Lady Colonels crawled their way back, and after a Johnson three-pointer, cut the UCA lead to two points, at 59-57, with 6:19 remaining in the game. Once again, the Sugar Bears responded to the Lady Colonels’ challenge, and two made free throws by Shannon Oden, opened up a 69-61 lead with just 2:19 left to play. After a layup and made free throw by Tiffany Jones cut the margin to six points, Nicholls used pressure defense to force a UCA turnover. Octave then nailed a three-pointer from the right wing, to trim the Sugar Bear lead to 69-67 with 40 seconds remaining on the clock. UCA’s Renita Dobbins drained a jumper, to give the Sugar Bears a 71-67 advantage, but Johnson answered by nailing her fourth three-pointer of the game, bringing the Lady Colonels to within 71-70, with 16 seconds remaining. Nicholls was forced to foul, and coax Alex Velazquez to miss the second of her two foul shots; however, Sharece Love grabbed the offensive rebound, and was quickly fouled by a Lady Colonel. Love drained both of her free throws, giving UCA a 74-70 lead. A Plummer layup at the buzzer made the final score 74-72.

Nicholls will continue their home stand on Thursday when they host the Lamar Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. in Stopher Gym.

Photo by STEVE FRANZ • LSU * Senior guard Jamie Octave became just the eight player in Lady Colonel basketball history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. With Ocatve (from left to right) are her parents, Wendall and Jane Octave, Jamie, her grandparents and head coach Mark Cook.