THIBODAUX, Louisiana – After HBU took its first lead just before halftime, but Nicholls got hot in the fourth period to hand the Huskies a 76-57 defeat in Southland Conference women's basketball Wednesday at Stopher Gym.
Senior guard
Heidi Byrd poured in a career-high 21 points for the Huskies (4-14, 2-6 SLC), hitting 7-of-13 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Freshman guard
Sophie Taylor added 11 points, while freshman guard
Shannon Jones had 10 points and led HBU with six rebounds. Sophomore guard
Lisa Zderadicka handed out five assists.
Hope Pawlowski led Nicholls (7-12, 4-4) with 24 points, hitting 11-of-16 from the field, while grabbling five rebounds and dishing out six assists. Cassidy Barrios chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Taylor Morrison had 10 points. Tia Charles scored nine points and grabbed seven boards.
Nicholls shot 52.7 percent from the field, 62.9 percent in the second half, hit 7-of-14 from long distance and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line. HBU shot 40.8 percent from the field, 6-for-16 from behind the arc, and also went 11-for-13 from the stripe. The Colonels outrebounded the Huskies, 34-24, and scored 21 points off 15 HBU turnovers, nine of which came in the second half.
The Colonels led by as many as seven in the second period, but a pair of threes by Taylor cut the deficit to one. White answered with a three, but Byrd, who had 14 points in the first half, drilled a trey. Pawlowski gave Nicholls a four-point lead, but sophomore forward
Brooklyn Moore put in a layup with 1:30 to go and Taylor buried another three from the corner just before the buzzer to give HBU a 31-30 lead at the break.
HBU took a five-point lead early in the third, but Nicholls came back to take a one-point lead at the midway point, 38-37. The Huskies regained the lead on a jumper by Jones with 1:35 remaining, but the Colonels scored the final seven points of the period to take a 54-48 lead.
A 7-0 spurt early in the final frame, extended Nicholls' lead to 11, then the Colonels' held the Huskies scoreless for nearly five minutes during an 11-0 run that put the game away.
The Huskies will have a second-straight weekend off before returning to action Thursday, Feb. 2 against Incarnate Word at 5:30 p.m. in San Antonio.
