Northwestern State, HCU rematch up next for homestanding Nicholls women’s team

The Nicholls women’s basketball team will be home for a pair of games this week.

One will be against a first-time opponent while the other will be a familiar foe.

Nicholls takes on Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Stopher Gym in Thibodaux and Houston Christian University at 1 p.m. Saturday.

It will be the first meeting of the 2023-24 season against Northwestern State. Nicholls played at HCU on January 6.

Nicholls goes into the game against Northwestern State 2-5 in the Southland Conference and 8-11 overall. The Lady Colonels have lost two games in a row, including a 71-67 loss at Texas A&M-Commerce in their most recent outing last Saturday.

In the game against Commerce, Nicholls managed only one basket in the opening 6:55 of the fourth quarter, turning what had been a 56-52 lead entering the period into a deficit of seven points as the Lions went on a 13-2 run on the way to the win.

Northwestern State is 4-4 in the SLC and 8-11 overall.

After road wins over the University of New Orleans and McNeese State, the Demons suffered a 50-45 loss at home to Texas A&M-Corpus Christ in their most recent outing last Saturday.

In Northwestern State’s loss to Corpus Christi, the Demons overcame an 11-point deficit down to two points late in the game. After a Islanders free-throw, a desperation shot by the Demons was off the mark. Corpus Christi then added two free throws to account for the final five-point margin.

Northwestern State is third in the Southland in free throw percentage at 33.3 percent. Sharna Ayers is second in the league, connecting on 38.9 percent of her shots, and Karmelah Dean is sixth at 36.7.

The Demons are third in the league in field goal percentage at 40 percent. Individually, Jenny Mtambwe is hitting on 50.9 percent of her shots to rank fifth in the SLC, while Nia Hardison ranks eighth at 45.9 percent.

Northwestern is eighth in scoring offense, averaging 59.9 points per game, and eighth in scoring defense, allowing 55.4 points per contest.

The Demons are ranked seventh in rebounds with 36.1 rebounds per outing.

Individually, no Northwestern State is averaging more than 11 points per game. Dean paces the team at 11.1 per contest, Ayers is averaging 10.8, and Jiselle Woodson 10.6. Ayres leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.6 per game.

Nicholls, meanwhile, is fourth in field goal percentage, hitting at a 38.7 percent clip. Kayla Hamilton is ninth in the league, connecting on 45.8 percent of her shots. Deonna Brister is 10th at 45.7.

The Lady Colonels are sixth in scoring offense, averaging 60.7 points per game, and sixth in scoring defense, yielding 61.4.

Lexi Alexander is 10th in the league in scoring, averaging 12.4 points to lead Nicholls. Other double-figure scorers include Mikayla Etienne at 11.1, Hamilton at 10.6, and Britiya Curts at 10.0

Nicholls is ninth in the SLC in rebounding, averaging 33.1 boards per game. Daelyn Craig is 10th in the league, averaging 6.6 rebounds per outing.

Houston Christian went into the week winless in the Southland through eight games and 5-14 overall. HCU plays at the University of New Orleans on Thursday.

Although Nicholls and Houston Christian play for the second time this season, the Lady Colonels have yet to face every conference foe in the first round.

Because of a quirk in the schedule, Nicholls has yet to play McNeese State. The teams will square off for the first time February 17 in Thibodaux and will meet again March 2 in Lake Charles.

In the first meeting between Nicholls and HCU, the Lady Colonels won their first conference game of the year with a 73-55 win in San Antonio.

With post player Lexi Alexander 7 of 11 from the field and scoring 15 of her team-high 22 points in the opening half, along with guard Mikayla Etienne scoring 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting, the Lady Colonels shot 56 percent in the opening 20 minutes to lead 41-26 at halftime.

N’Denasija Collins kept the Huskies in the game, scoring more than half of her team’s first-half total with 14 points. Other than Collins’ 5 of 7 shooting, the rest of the HCU team combined to shoot 4 of 19 from the field in the first half.

Collins led all scorers with 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.

She goes into the rematch, leading the team in scoring and rebounding in conference play, averaging 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She ranks fifth in the SLC in scoring and third in rebounds.

Kennedy Wilson, who had 12 points in the first encounter, is the only other HCU in double-figure scoring, averaging 12.1 per contest.

HCU ranks near the bottom in the Southland in most team categories.

The Huskies are last of 10 teams in scoring and rebounding. They are averaging 52.5 points per game, and 32.1 rebounds.

HCU is seventh in 3-point percentage at 29.2. The Huskies also are eighth in scoring defense, allowing 65.5 points per outing, and eighth in field goal percentage at 35.6.