WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Colonels come up short at Sam Houston

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team received a trio of double-digit scoring efforts, led by 17 points from Airi Hamilton and Lauryn Bowie, but the Colonels fell at Sam Houston State, 87-71, Saturday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.

With the loss, Nicholls stays winless in league play at 0-4 and falls to 3-10 on the season. Sam Houston State improves to 4-0 in the Southland and 9-4 overall.

Nicholls only led in the opening minutes on a Bowie layup and had to play catchup the rest of the game. After the Bearkats extended their lead to double figures in the third quarter, the Colonels trimmed the deficit to eight midway through the fourth on a basket-and-one by Chrystal Ezechukwu, who had 16 points off the bench. But the ‘Kats cruised the rest of the to keep their perfect league record intact.

Bowie was 7 of 11 from the field and Hamilton was 6 of 11, but the Colonels shot just 37 percent as a team. Sam Houston finished at 47 percent and hit 11 of 26 from 3-point range. Faith Cook and Jaylonn Walker each scored a game-high 19 points for the Bearkats.

Down 24-14 after the first quarter, the Colonels had the upper hand in the second quarter with a 15-12 advantage. Hamilton found her way inside twice for a pair of buckets as Nicholls scored the first six points of the quarter.

Sam Houston extended its advantage back to double figures in the period before Terris McKay nailed a 3-pointer as the Bearkats went into the break with a 36-29 lead. Nicholls made only 8 of 26 from the field in the half, but connected on 12 of 15 at the free-throw line.

Sam Houston outscored Nicholls 9-2 to open the third quarter. Hamilton scored back-to-back layups to bring it to single digits, but the ‘Kats led by as much as 16 in the period. Before the end of the quarter, Nicholls went on an 8-2 run capped on a Tykeria Williams 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Bowie’s basket-and-one to start the fourth made it a seven-point game. Sam Houston answered with the next five points, including a 3-pointer by Faith Cook. The lead stayed around 10 points and the Colonels were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.

UP NEXT
The Colonels return home on Wednesday, Jan. 8 to host Lamar University. Tipoff at Stopher Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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For more information on Colonels Women’s Basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_WBB) and Instagram (@Nicholls_WBB)