NICHOLL’S NOTES

Lady Colonels fall in weekend action

The Nicholls women’s basketball team could not overtake a stingy Centenary team, as the Lady Colonels fell to the Ladies, 79-66, in the Gold Dome.

Nicholls fell to 0-3 on the season, while Centenary improved to 1-2.

Jamie Octave led the Lady Colonels with a game-high 24 points and six rebounds. Maggie Green and Barbara Febus added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Jelena Aleksic recorded 22 points and eight rebounds for the Ladies.

Both teams shot 41 percent from the field for the game. Centenary shot 31 percent from beyond the arc, while Nicholls shot 27 percent. The Ladies out rebounded the Lady Colonels 48-30.

The first half featured numerous runs by both teams. With the score tied at 2-2 to start the game, Nicholls went on a 9-4 run to take an 11-6 lead with 15:08 remaining in the first half. Centenary scored five straight points over the next 2:53 to take the lead at 12-11, but the Lady Colonels answered with an 8-3 run to regain the lead at 19-15, with 8:59 showing on the clock. However, the Ladies responded by going 10-0 run over the next 2:58 to go ahead, 25-19. Nicholls answered once again with a run of their own, this time a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 28-25. Centenary answered back by scoring seven of the next eight points to head into the locker room with a 32-29 half time lead.

The Ladies opened up the second half with a 12-6 run, to extend their lead to 44-35 with 16:21 remaining in the game. Two free throws by Febus brought the Lady Colonels to within 46-43, but Centenary jumped out on a 9-0 run over the next 2:30 to extend their lead to 55-43. Nicholls would not get closer then five points for the remainder of the game, as the Ladies claimed their initial win of the young season.

The Lady Colonels return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Prairie View, Texas, to take on Prairie View A&M. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Nicholls’ men fall to No. 7 LSU

The Colonels’ lack of depth and size proved to be their biggest downfall against No. 7 Louisiana State on Friday as the Colonels lost 96-42. It was Nicholls third game this season against a team from last year’s NCAA tournament.

“Our zone defense caused some turnovers and we were able to disrupt their offense at times,” said head coach J.P. Piper. “They (LSU) got us in foul trouble early on and that caused a lot of problems for us down the stretch.”

The Colonels (0-5, 0-0) shot 23.3 percent from field goal range for the game, which is a season low for Nicholls. Gray, one of the nation’s top scorers, was the only Colonel in double digits with 10 points.

“Playing games like this will help us out later on in the conference,” said Piper. “Going to hostile environments like LSU and playing great teams like the Tigers will only better prepare us for conference.”

Nicholls will be back in action at No. 18 Texas on Tuesday November 21. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Matt LeBlanc can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or matt@tri-parishtimes.com.