Nicholls women’s basketball team plays with more energy in second quarter to pull away from Dillard

After Nicholls jumped out to an 8-0 lead, the Lady Colonels hit a bit of a lull, allowing Dillard to inch back to trail only 15-11 after one quarter of play.

There was no such lull in the second quarter as Nicholls scored the first 15 points of period to build its lead to 19 points on its way to a 68-36 win Tuesday night at Stopher Gym.

“We played with a lot more energy and we played team ball,” said forward Deonna Brister of the difference between the first quarter and the remainder of the game. “We executed on offense, but most importantly, we started up on defense.

“We just wanted to play in our gaps and stick to our principles and focus on us and just make sure we were helping our teammates and having each other’s backs.”

Nicholls extended its lead as guard Kyla Hamilton became more aggressive going to the basket and distributing the basketball.

“My coach always has confidence in me,” Hamilton said. “He always tells me to push the ball and get my teammates involved. Anytime we can push the ball, that’s what I’m going to do. If people collapse, I kick it out and find the open people. That’s just how we work together.”

It worked together particularly well for Brister and Hamilton. Brister finished with a team-high 12 points and added five rebounds. Hamilton had 11 points and three assists, with both playing less than 25 minutes while giving way to reserves in the second half.

“We turned up the pressure in the second quarter,” Nicholls coach Justin Payne said. “I felt like we were kind of lax in the first quarter. We started off well and just kind of got complacent. I talked to them about that in the huddle, ‘let’s not get complacent. Let’s continue to ramp up this energy right now.’ I thought we did that in the second quarter. We guarded really, really well in that second quarter. I was pleased with their guarding. Offense wasn’t there, but we will continue to build on that.”

Nicholls did not allow the Lady Bleu Devils to score until within two minutes of the second quarter. A free throw by Slyvia Jones gave Dillard its first point of the period. After being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, Erika Diaz hit all three of her free throws to make the score 30-15 at halftime.

Diaz was the only double-figure scorer for Dillard, a NAIA school in which the contest against Nicholls was considered an exhibition game for the Lady Bleu Devils.

Dillard managed to cut the score to within 10 points at 32-22 on a floating jump shot by Jordyn Rowe at the 7:35 mark of the third quarter before Nicholls put it out of reach.

The biggest lead for Nicholls in the third quarter was 28 points at 50-22 on a 3-pointer by Traya Bruce at the 4:36 mark.

Payne went to his bench, inserting a complete second unit starting late in the third quarter.

A basket by Adyson James with 19 seconds gave Nicholls a 68-36 win, with the final 31-point margin being the largest of the game.

“We wanted to work on these guys getting some confidence who don’t normally play much. We felt like that could happen in the third quarter. That one group in the third really pushed it out so we could do that,” Payne said. “I just love what I saw from Kate Manley. Traya Bruce for two games now how been really great.”

Manley, a 6-foot-4 center, scored seven points in 11:36 of action. Bruce finished with eight points.

The win improved Nicholls to 5-3 on the season. The five wins equaled the win total for all of last year by the Lady Colonels.

“We talked about it earlier, this was going to be huge for us to get five wins already night now, but we are taking it one game at a time. We’re not satisfied. We’re 5-3 right now, which is awesome. We’re truly blessed. The team has continued to work hard. It’s all about energy and effort and trusting one another. We will continue to build off of that,” Payne said.

“Every day he says we’re doing something different. This year, it’s a different team, a different atmosphere. We just love it. We’re proving every day that it’s a new team and we’re ready to win and we will come out ready to win,” said Hamilton.