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Their glass slipper may have broken a couple blocks from the ball this time around, but the Nicholls State women’s basketball team sure had a Cinderella-like run in their first Southland Conference Tournament under coach Dobee Plaisance.
Entering the Southland Conference Tournament as the No. 8 and final team in the field, Nicholls State sent shockwaves throughout the conference last Tuesday, trouncing the league’s No. 1 seed Central Arkansas in a 79-59 rout.
Once in the semifinals, the Colonels stayed hungry for more and trailed Stephen F. Austin by just one point with six minutes to play.
But Nicholls couldn’t seal the deal and faltered late, stumbling to a 66-57 loss, which end’s the team’s historic season with a 15-16 record.
“I can’t be any happier for not only my women and this program, but for Nicholls State University,” Plaisance said following the loss. “The diligence and character of these women all year is unmatched. I am so proud to be a Colonel, and I couldn’t be any prouder of my women tonight.”
Two things ultimately sent Nicholls home from the conference tournament.
The first was rebounding.
The Lady Jacks outrebounded the Colonels 43-28 throughout the game. A total of six Stephen F. Austin players recorded two or more offensive rebounds, which helped to give the Lady Jacks 17 second chance points and 24 points on the afternoon.
“Looking at the stats, we knew this wasn’t one of the better rebounding teams in the conference,” said Stephen F. Austin center Amina Sawyer. “So coach just told us that we needed to expose them. So we all just gave the extra effort to do what we had to do.”
“At the end of the day, it came down to the 17 points off rebounds for Stephen F. Austin,” Plaisance said. “The women executed the game plan. It was the second-chance points.”
The second major culprit for the Colonels was shooting.
Nicholls had just six turnovers in the game, but couldn’t take advantage of their ball security, shooting just 31 percent from the field and 5-of-20 from the 3-point line.
The team’s three leading scorers, senior guard Sumar Leslie, junior forward Alisha Allen and sophomore guard KK Babin combined to shoot just 10-of-34 in the loss.
On the other bench, the Lady Jacks couldn’t miss – especially in clutch situations – shooting 9-of-20 from the 3-point line.
“We just needed a few breaks,” Plaisance said. “We did get a few open looks, but they just didn’t fall tonight.”
Just 48 hours prior to their offensive woes, Nicholls lit up the nets in the quarterfinals, shocking the entire Southland Conference in a win against Central Arkansas.
Facing a foe that they’d lost to twice in the regular season, Nicholls pounded the Sugar Bears early and often in a dominant 20-point victory – the first-ever conference tournament win for the Colonels.
Nicholls did most of their damage in the game from behind the arc, shooting 14-of-25 from the 3-point line, led by sophomore LiAnn McCarthy, who scored a game-high 32 points.
Most of those shots came off assists from Leslie, who finished with 10 points (2-of-3 from the 3-point line) and also a career-high 13 assists to go with just two turnovers.
“Every shot they took was either a layup or a 3-pointer and they both looked the same because every shot was going in the basket,” a stunned Central Arkansas coach Matt Daniel said. “But some nights you have it, and some nights you don’t, and tonight we did not have it.”
While Nicholls scored at will from deep, they sealed the deal on the defensive side of the floor. With primarily a guard oriented lineup, the Colonels have had problems in the past controlling Southland Conference Player of the Year, Central Arkansas center Megan Herbert.
But thanks to a man-to-man defensive scheme, Colonels’ senior post Jasmine Hoskins, combined with masterful help defense, shut out Herbert in the opening half and limited her to just 7-of-17 shooting in the game.
“She isn’t the player of the year for nothing,” Plaisance said. “She is just a great person of character. We knew that we had to contain her, and it was by committee. The plan was to front her and deny her a touch. And then we had to help and double-team down. We came up with a game plan and it was the players that executed it.”
Daniel agreed the team’s game plan against Herbert kept the Sugar Bears out of rhythm. He added an intangible not included in X’s and O’s – heart.
“Let me say this: I have never seen a team as amped up to play a game as Nicholls State was tonight,” Daniel said. “I have never seen a team play like that. … Nicholls was unbelievable tonight.”
Despite finishing two wins short of their primary goal, the 2011-12 season was nothing short of a success by all statistical measures for Nicholls.
In addition to winning their first-ever Southland Conference Tournament game, the team’s 15 season wins is a school record.
The upward movement continues a now-four-year pattern for the team under Plaisance.
Nicholls has doubled its wins every year under the coach.
With Plaisance’s fifth year looming, 30 wins seems unlikely.
But something more than 15 appears to be par for the course.
Cinderella likely will not be the underdog next season.
“The future is bright, and it has been a process,” Plaisance said. “I am grateful for the ups and grateful for the downs. The challenging times have only forced me to work harder. The harder the leader works, it just resonates down to the team.”
“This is our first time [to Katy] since I have been here,” Babin added. “And it definitely won’t be our last.”
Nicholls State guard KK Babin makes a move during the Colonels’ semifinal game with Stephen F. Austin.
