Women’s basketball wins first conference championship

The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team entered the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed, but left as tournament champions for the first time in program history.

GAME RECAPS
The Colonels started tournament play facing the No. 5 seed Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders.

Nicholls won 61-59, with junior guard Cassidy Barrios scoring 22 points and blocking a last-second shot attempt by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to secure the win.

Their next matchup was against the No. 1 seed Lamar University Cardinals in the semifinals. Behind a 17-0 run by the Red and Gray in the third quarter, Nicholls upset Lamar 74-68.

Barrios scored 27 points, senior guard Tia Charles added 17 points and sophomore guard Tykeria Williams tallied 17 points as well.

In the Southland Conference Championship against the No. 2 seed Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks, the Colonels trailed 23-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Barrios, Williams and Charles, who combined for 49 points, helped Nicholls defeat Stephen F. Austin 69-65 and advance to the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

LOOKING AHEAD
With the tournament bid, the No. 16 seed Colonels (19-13) face the No. 1 seed Mississippi State University Bulldogs (32-1) in Starkville, Mississippi, this Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

The first and second rounds will take place March 16-19, and the Regionals follow from March 23-26.

The Final Four and Championship tip-off are scheduled to take place on March 30 and April 1, respectively