‘You can’t eat an elephant all in one bite.’

When Juan Ponce de Leon set out to search for the Fountain of Youth, he likely never imagined a downside to being young.

But then again, the 16th century Spanish explorer probably never considered the benefit of having veteran basketball players.

Even if the fountain actually did exist, the last people to drink from it would probably be the Nicholls State Lady Colonels because they are young enough already.

It was evident the minute first-year head coach DoBee Plaisance arrived on campus that she was in for a challenge. With a roster comprised of four seniors and seven true freshmen, the Lady Colonels have earned themselves the title as one of the youngest basketball teams in the country.

Plaisance isn’t concerned. She is still helping the team learn her system.

“Our challenge every day is to get them to understand their roles, where they need to go and what they need to do,” the coach said. “We’re working hard at it every day, and we’re doing all of this to prepare for conference.”

“They’re young,” she added. “Hopefully, by conference, people will come in here and see a totally different team.”

The team has had a bumpy start this season. The Lady Colonels have lost by 53, 57, 51 and 72 points this year and have not scored more than 66.

It’s been a tough hill for her team to climb, but Plaisance said it’s one that will teach valuable lessons along the way. Despite the winless record, the coach has faith that once everyone is on the same page things will get better.

“We’re still learning about each other,” she said. “The seniors are learning an entirely new system and the freshmen are adjusting to college ball. You can’t eat an elephant all in one bite. We have to do it one bite at a time.”

Plaisance has turned to her four seniors for guidance. Together, Christie Bryant, Tiffany Jones, Fuanki Kefu and Dominique Washington have not only assisted the freshman, they’ve picked up a few things.

According to Washington, Plaisance has brought an added enthusiasm to the team that they haven’t been a part of before.

“It’s a whole new pace as to where we’ve been at as a team,” she said. “She’s a great coach, and she knows a lot of things. Even I’m still learning things from her that have taken me further than I ever expected. She’s a very good coach, a very good motivator, and she knows how to make you a better player.”

Washington has adjusted nicely to learning a new system, leading the Lady Colonels in scoring with 7.8 points per game.

Despite the slow start and early struggles, all is not lost. The Lady Colonels still have five more games left to play before conference play begins. Plaisance said the Lady Colonels will continue to fight on the court, and she is determined to turn this team around.

She used her team’s second-half effort against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as an example of how good the team can be.

In that game, the Lady Colonels fought back from a 28-point deficit at one point to narrow the gap to 14. The Colonels went on to outscore the Cajuns 33-26 in the final half of play.

Washington just hopes that this year’s seniors can lay the foundation for the younger players to turn things around.

“I can see the improvement of this team just by playing on the court with them,” she said. “We are getting better game-to-game. It’s going to come. It just takes time. We’re going to take it slow and things will start coming together. This team has a bright future, and things will turn around.”