Williams’ late bucket lifts Colonels past Privateers to sixth straight win

THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team has not lost a Senior Day game in nearly a decade and Tykeria Williams, who was one of four seniors being honored on Saturday, made sure that streak continued. Her layup in the final seconds gave Nicholls a 70-68 victory over rival New Orleans on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.

While the win gave the Nicholls seniors an unforgettable memory, it was also the Colonels’ sixth straight victory, improving their record to 12-16 overall and 9-10 in the Southland. With only one game remaining on its schedule, Nicholls is currently 1.5 games ahead of Central Arkansas for the eighth and final spot in the Hercules Tire Southland Conference Tournament in Katy.

The Colonels looked to be on their way to a win against New Orleans (15-12, 11-7 SLC), leading 58-53 with six minutes remaining in the game. But in the matter of two-and-a-half minutes, New Orleans put together a 12-0 run, fueled by three 3-pointers.

Nicholls eventually pulled within one with the help of six points by Lauryn Bowie and following a Privateer turnover with 30 seconds to go, senior Chrystal Ezechukwu put back her own miss for a 68-67 Colonel lead.

UNO tied the game with six seconds remaining when Mia Deck made 1 of 2 free throws. Following a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, Williams received a pass off the inbounds and sliced right through two Privateer defenders for the game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds. New Orleans threw a full-length pass on the final play, but Bowie came up with a steal to close out the victory.

Ezechukwu shined on Senior Day with a double-double, racking up game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Bowie totaled 16 points with 10 coming at the free-throw line. Loan-Anh Johnson scored 12 points and Williams contributed with nine points and six assists. Freshman Terris McKay also added a pair of 3-pointers, both coming in the second quarter.

UNO had three players in double figures, led by Deck’s 20 points. The Colonels held New Orleans to 40 percent shooting while finishing at 47 percent.

UP NEXT

Nicholls will close out the regular season on Wednesday at McNeese. With a win, the Colonels will secure their ninth consecutive trip to the Southland Tournament.

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