Women’s basketball earned victory in Southland Conference

The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team completed the regular season with a 79- 64 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions on Saturday in Hammond.

GAME RECAP
The Colonels controlled the game behind junior guard Cassidy Barrios, who earned her 15th double-double of the season with 22 points and 14 rebounds, and senior guard Tia Charles, who also scored 22 points.

With the win, Nicholls clinched the fourth seed and a bye in the Southland Conference Tournament.

The Red and Gray earned a spot in the postseason Feb. 28 with an 85-53 victory at home over the Northwestern State University Demons.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
After the win over the Lions, junior guard Cassidy Barrios earned her league-best fifth Southland Conference Player of the Week Award.

Soon after, the league’s head coaches and sports information directors named Barrios the 2017-18 Southland Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, the first Colonel to garner the award in program history.

Barrios also became a member of the 2018 Women’s Basketball All-Conference First Team. Barrios averaged 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game during the Colonels’ 18 conference matchups.

In the Colonels’ 29 regular season games, Barrios tallied an average of 16.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

SADDLE UP, PARTNERS
The Colonels (16-13, 11-7 SLC) venture to Texas this week for the Southland Conference Tournament.

This season so far has been a successful one for Nicholls, entering the tournament with eight wins in its last nine games.

It is also the team’s fourth winning season in the last six years, and its 16 regular season victories is the fourth most in program history.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Colonels will play the fourth seed Friday at 11 a.m. at Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. They will play against the winner of the Thursday game between the eighth seed McNeese State University Cowboys and the fifth seed Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders.

ESPN3 will televise the first, second and semifinal rounds and CBS Sports Network will televise the championship round.

The 2018 Southland Conference Tournament Champion will earn a trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.