Freshmen Curtis, Delgado step up in 69-66 win for Nicholls women’s team against Tulane

Two games into the season, the Nicholls women’s basketball squad Wednesday night showed it may be the kind of team that can get key contributions from different players night after night after taking a 69-66 win over Tulane in New Orleans.

Nicholls saw a 40-34 halftime lead quickly disappear in the third quarter. Tulane’s Kyren Whittington was fouled after driving for a basket after she came up with a steal. Whittington hit the free throw and the game was tied 40-40.

The player who committed the foul for Nicholls was Lexi Alexander. After a season-opening double-double in an 82-65 win over North American University only two days earlier, Alexander had 13 points and five rebounds in the first half against Tulane. She also had three fouls.

Four Nicholls players, including Alexander, had picked up two fouls by halftime.

With Alexander nursing the three fouls, Betzalys Delgado stepped up for Nicholls.

Following Whittington’s free throw, Nicholls went on an 8-2 run. Three of the baskets came from the freshman, the final one on a backdoor layup, to give the Lady Colonels a 50-45 lead with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter.

Nicholls would hold a 52-49 edge after three periods but eventually gave up the lead early in the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Tulane’s Chiara Grattini and a basket by Amira Mabry – the first bench points of the game for the Green Wave – gave the Greenies a 56-54 lead.

Now, it was Britiya Curtis’ time to contribute. Another freshman, Curtis scored eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, as part of a 12-3 run that put Nicholls back on top by seven points at 66-59 with 1:56 left in the game.

Nicholls was up by three points when a 3-point attempt by Tulane’s Marta Galic rimmed out at the buzzer.

The 69-66 win gave Nicholls a 2-0 start under first-year coach Justin Payne. It also gave the Lady Colonels its first win over Tulane after 16-straight defeats in the series.

Curtis ended up with a game-high 18 points. Alexander finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Delgado and Kyla Hamiton each scored 11 points. The duo also combined for 11 assists.

Nicholls shot 49 percent from the field, compared to 36 percent for Tulane.

Hannah Pratt had 17 points for Tulane and Whittington 15. Galic and Irina Parau had 14 each for the Green Wave. Parau also had 10 rebounds.

Tulane (1-1) without Kierra Middleton. The junior guard suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Green Wave’s 68-57 win Monday over Stetson.

Each team had 17 turnovers in the game. The bigger Green Wave out-rebounded Nicholls 37-35.

Tulane was 16 of 19 from the free-throw line while Nicholls was 4 of 8.

The teams traded leads in the opening minutes of the first quarter until back-to-back 3-pointers by Pratt and Galic was the start of a 13-2 run that gave Tulane a nine-point lead at 18-9 at the 3:44 mark of the first quarter.

Nicholls cut away at the deficit with a 3-pointer by Curtis to pull to within 23-21 heading into the second quarter.

Going back to the closing moments of the first quarter, the Lady Colonels would take their biggest lead of the first half at 11 points by putting together a 22-4 run for a 38-27 lead by the 4:18 mark of the second quarter.

Curtis had nine points during the scoring spree and Alexander nine.

Pratt ended the run with a 3-pointer by Tulane.

Tulane chipped away at the lead and an inside basket by Parau with four seconds left in the second quarter narrowed Nicholls’ halftime edge to 40-34.

It will be another quick turnaround for Nicholls, which will host Southern University of New Orleans at 11 a.m. Friday in its Education Day game.