VooDoo works on barbecue, too
January 7, 2014
Carla Bernard Sapia
January 8, 2014
The race that is the Southland Conference basketball season is just a week old.
But both Nicholls’ men’s and women’s hoops teams have gotten out of the blocks with reckless abandon – each team sits in the pole position of the standings.
Both Colonels teams started the conference slate 2-0 this week after each beat UNO and Southeastern Louisiana in a two-game homestand.
The victories have moved the men’s team to 5-6 overall on the season, while the women’s team sits at 7-6 on the season.
“I love their conviction, and I also love how convincing it was,” Nicholls women’s basketball coach DoBee Plaisance said of her team’s first weekend of Southland play. “I believe we’re capable of doing this night in and night out. … We just have to keep playing to our strengths.”
“We’re 2-0 in league…,” Colonels men’s coach J.P. Piper added. “There were many-a year where we were wishing to be 2-0. We don’t take this for granted. It’s a great start for us. Hopefully, this gives us a little momentum. Hopefully that winning becomes contagious.”
For the Nicholls women, the early season winning streak has come via the blowout. The Colonels routed both UNO and Southeastern last week – each win coming by 29 points or more.
In the Southland Conference opener on Thursday night, Nicholls pounded UNO 89-40 – a game that was over before halftime.
Six Nicholls players scored nine points or more in the rout, led by sophomore guard Emani White, who poured in 19 points in 18 minutes. Post players Marina Lilly and JonMarie Guillory also combined to score 25, while guard Jenny Nash pitched in 11.
But where the Colonels hammered the Privateers most was on the glass. Nicholls outrebounded UNO 68-26 in the game – a statline that enabled the Colonels to control the conference opener.
Two days later against Southeastern, Nicholls also put the game away early, using a 17-0 first-half surge to take a 24-9 lead.
From there, the Colonels never looked back, taking a 45-17 halftime lead and an 84-55 win.
Nash led Nicholls with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the weekend blowout, which saw the Colonels shoot 9-of-17 from behind the 3-point line.
Plaisance said she’s not surprised to see her team stroke the ball from distance.
She added that the real surprise would be a game where the Colonels fail to shoot the ball well.
“Quite frankly, when we play like this, it can be relentless,” Plaisance said following the Southeastern win. “One of the things I’m excited about is our 3-point shooting effort. It’s when we don’t shoot like that that we’re out of our element. That’s what we do. We get the good spacing. We work hard. And we get the good look.”
While Nicholls’ women have cruised the fast lane en route to easy victories, the Colonels’ men have earned a pair of close, hard-fought wins.
Against UNO, Nicholls scored an 88-83 victory in a game that was defined by free throws and touch fouls.
The Colonels and Privateers combined to commit 72 fouls and shoot 104 shots from the charity stripe in the 40-minute game. UNO’s 61 foul shots were a school record.
But even after yielding 42 free points, Nicholls was able to get a win thanks to its scoring depth. Five Colonels scored in double figures in the victory, led by senior Jeremy Smith’s 17 points.
The Colonels shot 50 percent from the floor against the Privateers, routinely getting open looks from the floor to keep UNO at arm’s length throughout a competitive second half.
But against Southeastern, it was the defense that sealed the win.
In the victory against the Lions, the Colonels limited Southeastern to just 19 total field goals for the game and 24 first-half points.
Southeastern caught fire in the second half and pushed Nicholls to the limit, but the Colonels made enough plays to secure a 64-61 win.
Dantrell Thomas was a force against the Lions, scoring 21 points, while snagging seven rebounds and dishing five assists.
Guard T.J. Carpenter added 13, while Smith had another solid day with 12.
Piper said following the win that he was proud of Nicholls’ effort in the week of victories. He added that it will be defense that carries Nicholls if it hopes to make a push at the Southland Conference Championship.
“Defense wins the day for us again,” Piper said. “And that’s got to be our identity. I think in this league, you can win games every night, even if your offense abandons you, as long as you play defense. So hopefully that who we’re going to be.”
After the past week at home, Nicholls is set to take a bus to Texas for a two-game road swing.
Both the Colonels’ teams will take on Lamar on Thursday and Sam Houston State on Saturday.
The women’s games will tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The men will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
All of the games will be available via local radio.
PIPER
