New coach Payne, Nicholls women’s basketball ready for bright lights of new season

The bright lights are about to come on for the Nicholls women’s basketball team.

“After a good preseason and a successful scrimmage, I think we are getting closer to where we want to be as a team,” Nicholls coach Justin Payne said. “It’s a long season, but in terms of starting a season, I feel like we are getting where we want to be at. I’m seeing some things that looks like our style of play, and we’re really, really fired up about that.

“We just can’t wait to do it when the bright lights come on and fans are in the seats and just feel the energy of Stopher Gymnasium.”

Payne is familiar with the energy of Stopher Gym. He is a former player with the Nicholls men’s team and an assistant coach with the women’ program, Payne begins his first season as coach of the Lady Colonels after posting a record of 69-35 in four seasons as head coach at Georgia Southwestern, a Division II school.

The Lady Colonels look to play at a quick pace on offense, according to their coach.

“We want to spread the floor as much as possible, but we do want to make sure we are playing fast but under control,” Payne said. “When we need to sit down and run some half-court offense and execute, we want to be able to do that as well. We just have to limit these turnovers a little bit.”

Nicholls is expected to be an in-your-face style defense.

“We will press you. We are going to make it tough for you to score. We really want to guard you, and we are fired up about the way we are looking as well. We will mix it up a little bit with some man-to-man and zone. We will keep mixing it up,” said Payne, who inherited a team that went 5-24 overall a year ago and 2-16 in the Southland Conference.

At one of forward spots is 6-foot junior transfer Daelyn Craig. Craig played for Payne at Georgia Southwestern.

“She’s doing what she does. She’s coming off an injury. With her, we were 14-1 (last season) before she got injured at Georgia Southwestern. We are excited to see her healthy and back into the swing of things,” said Payne.

Having a player on the squad who already knew Payne, his system, and his personality, has been a plus, the first-year coach said.

“It’s been phenomenal. It’s been great. She did the same thing for us in Georgia,” said Payne. “We wouldn’t have turned it around without her over there. The same thing over here. She knows what I like. She knows what I don’t like. So she’s able to let them know ahead of time. It’s just always good to have that in the locker room.

“From what she brings from a leadership position and on the court – she’s a great player. That always helps.”

At the other forward spot is 6-foot sophomore forward Lexi Alexander. She was named Freshman of the Year in the Southland Conference off her performance from a year ago when she ranked fourth in the conference in scoring at 13.8 per game, and third in rebounds with 8.4 per outing.

“She’s been great in the preseason as well. She has really taken on a leadership role. We gave her a voice in this locker room. We are looking at her doing tremendous things, not only on the court, but tremendous things in the locker room for our team as well. She has been voted a captain, as well,” said Payne.

At point guard for Nicholls is 5-foot-6 senior Kayla Hamilton.

Hamilton played three years at McNeese before transferring to Nicholls a year ago. In her first year at Nicholls a year ago, she averaged 10.7 points, amassed 122 assists, pulled down 15 rebounds, and had a team-high 59 steals.

“She’s a tremendous point guard. I love her vision. We’re just trying to get her in control of her turnovers. We want to make sure we are winning the assist-to-turnover ratio, starting with her every night,” said Payne.

At the other guard spot is Mikayla Etienne, a 5-foot-8 senior transfer from Mississippi Valley.

“We are looking at her to do some things out there for us as the two-guard position. We really love her ability to score the basketball. We feel like she can put some pressure on the defense in transition and half-court offense,” Payne said.

Expected to play in a combo guard-forward role is 5-foot-11 junior Deonna Brister.

“She was battling some injuries but has finally gotten healthy,” Payne said. “She was a tremendous player as well for them in the past, and she’s doing the same this year.

“A glue player. I love those type of kids. I got to see her and actually recruited her out of high school. We’re really excited about her length and the way she can guard. She can do it all offensively and defensively. She gives us everything in practice. She has been voted captain already.”

The bench should provide quality depth. So much so, Payne said he could play with an entire second unit.

Expected to see action off the bench at guard are Betzalys Delgado and Britiya Curtis.

“They are two freshmen. They are going to have their growing pains, but we love what we see from them. They will see the floor early this year,” Payne said.

Among the other bench players is Violette Skipworth, a transfer from Florida Southwestern State, a junior college.

“She’s another energy player. I love energy guys and she’s that for us. He brings a whole bunch of energy and can’t say enough good things about her. She is a force on the wing, and on the inside, we love what she’s bringing,” said Payne.

Returning at center is 6-foot-4 senior Kate Manley

“We are looking for her to turn the corner. We are really, really excited about her,” said Payne.

Also vying for court time are Ashley Malone and Traya Bruce.

“They have been competing. It’s been tough in practice, which is good,” said Payne.

Nicholls fans will get to see the team in action at home early in the season. After opening up by hosting North American University on Monday, the team will be action at home four days later against Southern University of New Orleans.

“We gave us a mix,” Payne said. “We felt we needed a tough schedule to make sure our girls were ready for our conference as our conference continues to get better and better. We wanted to make sure they get prepared.

“I also wanted to mix in some home games so that our seniors get to play a good bit of games at home. We did that.”

Nicholls also will have non-conference home games against the likes of Dillard and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Two days after opening with North American, Nicholls will play its first road game of the year at Tulane. Southern Methodist University and South Alabama are among the road the road contest.

The Southland slate begins with a home game against Southeastern Louisiana on January 4.

“The conference will be tough,” Payne said. “I kept up with it since I left, but right now you have Southeastern who is locked and loaded. They have built a powerhouse. They went to the NCAA Tournament and played against Iowa and did some pretty good things against them. They pretty much have that whole team coming back. They are going to be a power.

Lamar has been really good. Corpus Christi has been really good. All three have really good head coaches.

The goals and expectations for the team, said Payne, will be lofty from the start.

“We want to win the league. We are trying to go from worst to first. Our goals are clear. We want 20 wins. We want to win a conference championship, whether that’s regular season or tournament, we want to make sure we have an opportunity to do so. We are working toward that.”