SHE’S BAAAACK!

Jay Boudreaux
February 11, 2015
Man accused of cutting off two puppies’ heads, killing others
February 11, 2015
Jay Boudreaux
February 11, 2015
Man accused of cutting off two puppies’ heads, killing others
February 11, 2015

The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team did a nice job staying afloat without All-Conference junior point guard Emani White in the lineup.

Now that she’s back, the chase for the Southland Conference Championship is on – in a big way.


The Colonels showed grit and guts when they survived a tough patch without White, who missed several weeks of early season action with hip pain and inflammation caused because of Lupus.

But Nicholls is now at full strength, and it shows. At press-time, the ladies have won five-straight games to push to 8-3 in Southland competition.

This past week, the Colonels made it look easy, blowing past Incarnate Word 69-58 on the road before topping McNeese State 70-59 at home on Saturday afternoon.


The Colonels will push to make it six in a row this week when they host Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Stopher Gymnasium.

Both the Colonels players and coach DoBee Plaisance know that the upcoming week of games will be vital as the team continues its push. At press-time, the Colonels are just a game out of first in the conference standings.

After Saturday’s win against the Cowboys, Plaisance hinted that her team is peaking at the right time.


“We’re gritty,” Plaisance said after Saturday’s win. “We’re gritty and gutsy. We’re playing hard.”

Tough games are something Nicholls is equipped for. The Colonels showed tons of toughness and moxie throughout the season while playing without arguably their best player.

White played Nicholls’ first four games of 2014-15, including a non-conference battle with Arkansas and also both games in the team’s Thanksgiving Tournament at Nashville.


But during that trip, White reported to coaches that she’d started feeling sharp pains in her hip. She tried to play through the ailment, but it proved too painful – she asked coaches to remove her from the game in the second half of the team’s game against Norfolk State on Nov. 30.

She was 1-of-ll with 5 points

‘In the past, something like this would have shot an arrow through our season. Now it stings, but we have so many talented young ladies here to keep our goals in place.’


DoBee Plaisance

Nicholls women’s basketball coach

and 4 turnovers when she asked to sit out – a stat line highly uncharacteristic of a young lady who averaged 19.6 points per game as a sophomore.


As the pain continued to linger, White hoped that the hip pain was the result of a strain, pulled muscle or any other basketball-related injury.

But test results indicated that it wasn’t, and it was actually what she had feared. Her hip was actually inflamed because of Lupus – a blood disorder that she was diagnosed with just prior to enrolling in Thibodaux.

“She was battling and giving it her all,” Plaisance said at the time of the injury. “We love Emani, and she’s so important to us, but she’s going to be gone for a while. But we have depth here. We have a team of young ladies capable of pitching in and doing things to help make up for her being away.”


That they did.

In White’s absence, Nicholls’ rotations were in a bit of flux, but the team’s success was not.

Instead of folding, Nicholls went 5-7 without White. On the surface, that record may not seem overly impressive, but the team played some of its toughest opponents of the year in that 12-game stretch. More important than the overall record without White, Nicholls started Southland play 3-2 without the elite guard, beating Houston Baptist, Abilene Christian and Sam Houston State along the way.


Senior guard Jenny Nash has been a large source of the team’s scoring throughout the year, averaging 13 points per game while shooting 38 percent from behind the 3-point line.

In the Colonels’ most recent game, she scored a career-high 26 points to push past the Cowboys. A few games before that, she surpassed 1,000 career points.

Showing that she is the team player that teammates have always claimed that she is, Nash said the points are an accomplishment, but not a source of celebration.


“I was happier about the win,” she said.

Arnick also stepped up without White, as did fellow contributors like sophomore Marina Lily and freshmen Ekiya Gray and Tia Charles.

The team’s ability to keep things afloat is a testament to the recruiting work Colonels’ assistant coach Justin Payne puts in, according to Plaisance. It’s also a testament to how far the program has come under Plaisance’s watch.


“In the past, something like this would have shot an arrow through our season,” Plaisance said as White’s injury occurred. “Now, it still stings, but we have so many talented young ladies her to keep our goals in place…. We believe in them all.”

Now that White is back, it’s a fast break to the end of the season for Nicholls.

The guard returned to action on Jan. 17 – playing 18 minutes in the team’s loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She struggled, shooting just 3-of-ll from the field. White also wasn’t herself four days later on Jan. 21 against Northwestern State, shooting 2-of-10 in Nicholls’ tough road loss.


But since that time, White’s been more efficient, helping Nicholls get on its roll, while still being eased back into the lineup in limited minutes.

All the while, Nicholls is gliding under the radar in the standings, sitting just one game out of first place.

For all that this team has been through so far this year, that, in and of itself, is a feat.


With White back on the floor, the sky just may be the limit for a program that has long-dreamed to make the NCAA Tournament, and also make a little noise once in it.

Nicholls State University junior guard Emani White makes a move to the basket during a game this season. White is easing back into the lineup for the Colonels after missing several games with complications from Lupus disorder. In her absence, the Colonels stayed afloat and kept their season in tow. With White back, Nicholls has soared and is making a push at the Southland Conference Championship.

NICHOLLS ATHLETICS


Nicholls State University senior guard Jenny Nash wiggles through traffic during Saturday afternoon’s win against McNeese State University. Nash had a career high In points In the win. Her leadership Is helping spark Nicholls.

NICHOLLS ATHLETICS