Stern tasks loom for Nicholls women’s basketball team with home, road tilts

The Nicholls women’s basketball team faces stern tasks both at home and on the road this week.

Nicholls opens with a home game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Stopher Gym. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, it’s a road game in Beaumont against Lamar.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi goes into the game 7-2 in the Southland Conference and 14-6 overall. Lamar, which plays at the University of Incarnate Word on Thursday, entered the week 8-1 in the SLC and 14-5 overall.

Nicholls is 4-5 in the league and 10-11 overall.

With play in the Southland Conference now in the second round, it means Nicholls has faced each foe once before. Nicholls lost to both opponents, falling 58-52 on the road to Corpus Christi and 52-49 at home to Lamar.

Playing teams for a second time presents a bit of a chess match for coaches.

“It’s going to be coaches making adjustments to both things that we didn’t do well and try to continue to do some things that you did that worked against them and see if they make adjustments to that,” Nicholls coach Justin Payne said. “You also will have a backup plan just in case that doesn’t happen.

“For us, we just want to continue to play well. We’re finishing right now with the last two games. Finishing has been our focal point.”

Nicholls has been able to finish in its last two outings with wins over Northwestern State and Houston Christian but was unable to close out in its earlier game against Corpus Christi that featured each team turning the ball over 25 times.

Nicholls was leading 49-48 when Britiya Curtis hit a 3-pointer for a four-point edge, but a continuing nemesis occurred as the Lady Colonels were unable to close out the game, falling to score in the final 3:40 of the game in losing 58-52.

“At Corpus, we had a lead, and we didn’t finish it off. We just want to make sure we are working on finishing and continue to do the things that we do do to put us in that position to win the game,” Payne said.

Each team shot less than 39 percent from the field, but the Islanders hit 21 of 28 free throws, including 9 of 10 in the fourth quarter. Nicholls went to the free-throw line only eight times in the contest, making six.

Two players do most of the scoring for Corpus Christi. Mireia Aquado is seventh in the SLC in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game and is third in field goal percentage.

“She’s playing really well,” Payne said. “We held her in check for the most part until kind of toward the end of the game. She loves to play in transition, gets to the rim at will. She hit a big three on us late to give them the lead, which is not her forte but speaks volumes about her and how she’s just a winner.”

Alecia Westbrook is the other double-figure scorer for Corpus Christi, averaging 12.7 points. She is second in the conference in field goal percentage.

Westbrook is third in the Southland in rebounds, averaging 9.6 boards per outing. Teammate Paige Allen is fifth at 8.2.

The Islanders are tough on defense, allowing only 56.2 points per game, which ranks second in the league. Corpus Christi also is second in the conference in rebounding, pulling down 41.8 rebounds per contest.

The long-distance game is not in play for the Islanders, who are last in the league in 3-point shooting, connecting on only at a 22.7 percent clip.

By contrast, Nicholls has two players among the Top 10 in 3-point shooting. Kyla Hamilton is fourth, hitting 39.3 percent of her shots from distance. Curtis is 10th at 34.5 percent.

Hamiton also is 10th in the league in field goal percentage at 44.7, while Lexi Alexander is ninth in scoring, averaging 12.8 per outing.

In the loss to Lamar, Nicholls trailed by as many as eight points with 11.5 seconds left in the game. Hamilton connected on a desperation heave from almost the entire length of the court at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late, as the Lady Colonels fell 52-49.

Nicholls held Akasha Davis, who ranks third in the Southland in scoring at 17.1 points per game to 11. Davis also leads the league in field goal percentage at 58.9 percent and in rebounding, pulling down 13.9 rebounds per outing.

“She’s a load. I thought we did a great job of her here at first, which is why the game was close and we had a chance to win at the end,” said Payne.

The 52 points given up by Nicholls was well below the Cardinals’ season average of 66.57 points in conference play.

Lamar’s other top scorer, Sebria Dean, is fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game.

“We need to continue to do a good job on (Davis), and on dean as well, their guard. Those two really get them going. Then it’s about holding the others in check. We want to solidify and stop those two from doing what they want to do. We want to make things a little bit harder,” said Payne.

The key to the second half of the season, said Payne, is how his team will play on defense.

“Whenever you guard the way we have been guarding, you always give yourself a chance to win,” Payne said. “That’s one thing I know from being a player and coach, we want to continue to guard the way we are doing.

“Our players will make some plays. They are going to start making these shots that we are left open. Once we do that and put it all together, we will be able to come out on top consistently.”