THIBODAUX, La. – While the Nicholls State University women’s basketball team celebrated its 2018 Southland Conference Tournament Championship with the unveiling of its banners, the Colonels never lost focus in the crucial matchup with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi that followed by dominating the Islanders with an 85-55 victory Wednesday night in Stopher Gymnasium. The Colonels improved their record to 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the Southland, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi slipped to 10-9 and 4-2. The 30 points was the fifth largest margin of victory in a conference game for Nicholls since joining the Southland.
Senior guard Cassidy Barrios notched her Southland-best 13th double-double with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, and also had six assists and three blocks. She made 9 of 13 from the field, helping Nicholls to a 49 percent night. With her first bucket of the game, she reached 1,700 career points and stands at 1,721, trailing only Realia Davis’ 1,750 on the program all-time scoring list. The Colonels also received big offensive nights from Tykeria Williams, who had a season-high 19 points with four 3-pointers, and Airi Hamilton added 14 on 7 of 9 from the field. Chrystal Ezechukwu tacked on 11 points, going 7 of 8 at the line.
Nicholls wasted no time in taking control of the game, leading 28-13 after the first quarter. The Colonels held the Islanders to four points through the first six minutes and ended the period shooting 8 of 15 from the field. In addition to nine turnovers, the visitors had eight fouls in the quarter and Nicholls took advantage by sinking 10 of 13 free throws. The Colonels had another strong offensive quarter in the second, fueled by a perfect showing by Barrios. The reigning Southland Player of the Year went 5 for 5 from the field and hit three 3-pointers. The defense limited Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to nine points on just 4 of 18 to go into the locker room with a commanding 51-22 lead.
In the second half, the Islanders never came closer than 22 points as the Colonels improved to 7-1 at home. Nicholls totaled 18 assists with 11 turnovers, while their counterparts had 18 miscues leading to 10 steals. Freshman Adrian Mann totaled five of the steals and chipped in with eight points. Tiara Matthews came off the bench for the Islanders for a team-high 12 points.
UP NEXT:
Nicholls will have the weekend off before heading to Texas to face conference leader Lamar on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Article courtesy of Nicholls State Sports Information Department.