Nicholls women top win total of entire previous season after 61-58 triumph over USA

The Nicholls women’s basketball team can thank a six-point trip down the court that helped ignite the Lady Colonels’ sixth win of the season with a dramatic 61-58 triumph over the University of South Alabama on Monday night in Mobile.

Nicholls improved to 6-4, with the victory representing one more win than the team had during the entire 2022-23 season.

The key moment, which helped Nicholls erase what had been an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, came with 2:17 remaining in the game.

Trailing 55-50, South Alabama’s Kiana Anderson was called for a shooting foul. Anderson protested the ball and received a technical foul.

Ashley Malone, who was fouled on the play, hit both of her free throws. Traya Bruce knocked down the two technical fouls. Malone scored on a layup, giving Nicholls the lead by one point.

The drama was not yet over.

A free throw by USA’s Zena Elias, followed by a 3-pointer by Deonna Brister, and another Elias free throw left Nicholls with a 59-58 lead with 58 seconds left in the game.

Malone missed a layup with 33 seconds left in the game, but Lexi Alexander came up with the offensive rebound and was fouled.

Alexander hit her two free throws to cap a career-high 25-point night, to extend the Nicholls lead to three points.

Following a missed 3-point attempt by USA’s Michiyah Simmons, Nicholls got the rebound and called timeout with 22 seconds remaining.

A tie-up on the inbounds play gave possession to USA. Following a Jaguar miss, a foul sent Violette Skipworth of Nicholls to the free-throw line with 14 seconds left in the game. Skipworth missed both free throws.

Simmons missed on a 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining, allowing Nicholls to take the 61-58 victory.

Along with her 25 points, Alexander also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Malone added 11 points for Nicholls.

South Alabama (6-3) was paced by Jordan Rosier’s 16 points. Simmons added 15, while Elias had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Neither team shot the ball well.

Nicholls was 19 of 59 (32.2 percent) from the floor, 7 of 25 (28 percent) from 3-point range.

South Alabama shot 22 of 59 (37.7 percent) from the field, 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from distance.

USA out-rebounded Nicholls 42-37. Nicholls committed 12 turnovers and South Alabama 17.

A scoring drought of six minutes in which Nicholls managed only one basket in the third quarter looked as though it might doom the visitors from Thibodaux.

Nicholls held a 26-24 lead at halftime before Alexander scored on a basket following a Jaguars turnover for a 31-28 lead at the 6:36 mark of the third quarter. From that point until two Alexander free throws with 36 seconds left in the quarter, the only other basket for the Lady Colonels in that span came on a Britiya Curtis 3-pointer.

Meanwhile, South Alabama went on a 14-3 run. Simmons hit four baskets, including two 3-pointers, and Rosier hit a 3-pointer before a basket by Emani Burks gave USA its biggest lead of game at nine points heading into the final period.

Rosier scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a jumper to give South Alabama its biggest lead of the game at 11 points at 47-36 before Nicholls began its really.

Nicholls missed its first six shots from the field yet managed to trail only 6-5 after a basket by Betalys Delgado.

A basket by Alexander gave the Lady Colonels a 7-6 lead with 2:25 remaining in the opening quarter, but South Alabama scored the final eight points of the period. The final two were 3-pointers by Rosier and Kelsey Thompson. Thompson’s shot from long range came at the buzzer to give the Jaguars a 14-7 lead after one quarter.

USA held a six-point edge before going on a scoreless stretch of more than three minutes late in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Nicholls rallied back behind the play of Alexander. After a free throw, she followed with a basket before adding two additional free throws that allowed Nicholls to edge to within one point at 22-21 with 2:23 remaining in the second quarter.

Trailing 24-21, a 3-pointer by Curtis tied the game before Kyla Hamilton hit a jumper at the buzzer to give Nicholls a 26-24 lead at halftime.

Alexander managed 13 points by halftime.