Foul trouble dooms Nicholls women’s basketball team in 78-76 loss at McNeese
The game seemed destined to come down to free throws.
Nicholls hit on 18 of 19 free throws in the first half to take a 40-35 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Colonels went to the free-throw line hitting all four to finish 22 of 23 from the line.
Conversely, McNeese State, after going 7 of 9 from the free-throw line in the first half, went to the charity stripe 17 times in the second half, knocking down 11.
None were bigger than the free throws by Azjah Reeves.
With the score tied 76-76, Reeves tossed up an off-balance shot and was fouled with .4 seconds remaining. He hit both free throws to put the Cowgirls on top.
Off the inbounds play from the sideline of the Nicholls frontcourt, Mikayla Etienne tossed up potential game-winning 3-pointer. The shot hit the glass and bounced off the rim, handing the Lady Colonels a devastating two-point loss on Saturday afternoon in Lake Charles.
McNeese had not won a Southland Conference game all season until coming up with a 72-64 win two days ago over Houston Christian.
No team wants to be the first to lose to a winless team, and in that regard, the pressure might have seemed to be off of the Lady Colonels.
It was a close game throughout most of the contest, but Nicholls led by as much as nine points in the third quarter.
Numerous trips to the free-throw line and personal fouls go hand-in-hand. The 26 fouls against Nicholls caused two Lady Colonels to foul out and two others to finish with four fouls. McNeese was charged with 19 fouls.
The timing of the fouls also played a role. By the 2:16 mark of the second quarter, Lexi Alexander and Daelyn Craig each had three fouls. Less than a minute later, Brister picked up her second foul.
Because of foul trouble, Alexander was limited to 19 minutes of action and Craig 24 minutes. Alexander, the team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, was limited to four points and three rebounds.
The loss dropped Nicholls to 7-10 in the Southland Conference and 13-16 overall. McNeese moved to 2-15 in the SLC and 6-24 overall.
Kyla Hamilton, playing against her former team, led Nicholls with 18 points. Britiya Curts added 16. Brister finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Etienne had 13 points.
Mireia Yespes led all scorers with 19 points. Boston Berry added 16 points, Clara Rosini 15, and Reeves 12. Rosini also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Nicholls outscored McNeese 6-2 to open the second half to take its biggest lead of the game at nine points, 46-37, on a jumper by Curtis.
McNeese fought back to trail 55-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cowgirls took their first lead of the second half at 65-63 on a layup by Yespes with 4:51 left in the game.
Nicholls quickly tied the game 65-65 and regained the lead at 74-73 with 13 seconds remaining on a driving basket off the glass by Alexander, setting the stage for the closing moments.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter with each team enjoying small leads.
The biggest lead for Nicholls was four points on two different occasions, the last time at 11-7 on a 3-pointer by Etienne.
Following Etienne’s 3-pointer, the Cowboys outscored Nicholls 11-2 to close the quarter with a five-point lead at 18-13.
Yespes scored seven of the points on a 3-pointer, a jumper, and two free throws.
The only points for Nicholls the span came on a Curtis jumper.
Etienne knocked down the first two baskets of the second quarter, including a 3-pointer that tied the game 18-18 less than two minutes into the period.
Nicholls built its biggest lead of the first half at six points on the strength of free-throw shooting.
The Lady Colonels were 14 of 15 from the free-throw line in the second quarter and 18 of 19 for the game.
Nicholls hit its first 18 free throws before Skipworth missed her second attempt with 28.9 seconds left in the second quarter.
Hamilton stole an inbounds pass under the McNeese basket and scored on a reverse layup that gave Nicholls a 40-35 lead at halftime.
