Nicholls women’s basketball clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament with an 81-67 win over in-state foe McNeese State University on Saturday.
Guards Britiya Curtis(21) and Kyla Hamilton(19) led the way for Nicholls with season-highs in points scored.
Curtis scored most of her points toward the end of the game with two points in the last five seconds of the third quarter and 11 in the fourth quarter.
Hamilton was responsible for Nicholls’ first nine points of the game, going 4-4 with a made three-pointer in the first 3:43 of the game.
Nicholls ended the first quarter with a 17-13 lead and used an 18-4 run to take a 35-17 lead, Nicholls’ largest of the game, with 5:54 remaining in the second quarter.
McNeese responded with an 18-4 run that reduced the Nicholls lead to four going into halftime.
The teams were neck and neck in the third, ending the quarter with a 55-55 draw.
Curtis helped Nicholls pull away in the fourth quarter with back-to-back made threes.
Nicholls ended the game on a 17-7 run but struggled with negative plays throughout the game
Nicholls turned the ball over 22 times and committed 19 personal fouls, something Head Coach Justin Payne said the need to work on.
Nicholls continues its season with a home game against UIW on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Nicholls plays its last home game of the season against Texas A&M – Commerce on Senior Night, Saturday, Feb. 24, at 1:00 p.m.
