Women’s Basketball: Colonels pull away late in 67-56 win over New Orleans

THIBODAUX, La – The Nicholls State University’s women’s basketball team came up victorious against the University of New Orleans, 67-56, at home Saturday afternoon in Stopher Gymnasium.

Sophomore Chelsea Cain led the way with a team-high of 19 points and was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds, but it was newcomers Chyna Allen and Anna McKendree who delivered down the stretch. Allen broke a 55-all tie with a 3-pointer with three minutes remaining before McKendree scored the final eight points to put the game away. McKendree had a big game off the bench with 17 points, six rebounds, and a team-high five assists.

Nicholls accounted for season highs of nine made 3-pointers and the Colonels went 60 percent for shooting from 3-point range. McKendree was 3 for 4 from behind the arc, while Allen and Adrian Mann were 2 for 3.

The Colonels took the lead in the first quarter of their eighth straight home win against UNO,16-12, with Cain scoring seven of those points. Cain scored first in the game with a 3-pointer, followed by a steal and layup by Terris McKay.

The Colonels kept their lead after the second quarter, 32-29. Both teams went back and forth for the lead at the beginning of the quarter, but after a layup by Cain at the 6:19 mark, the Colonels maintained their advantage for the rest of the half.

McKendree scored the final points for the Colonels in the first half with a 3-pointer, but New Orleans answered with one from Mary Delgado to trim the deficit to 32-29.

The Colonels stayed ahead after the third quarter, 46-45. After a layup and a 3-pointer at the beginning of the period, the Privateers briefly took the lead; however, Cain tied the game at 34 with a layup.

Midway through the third, the Privateers tied the game back up at 38, and a 3-pointer by Mann helped the Colonels regain the lead.

The lead went back and forth at the beginning of the fourth quarter before Allen’s 3-pointer put Nicholls ahead for good. Nicholls outscored the Privateers 21-11 in the fourth.

New Orleans was led by Dionjhae Thomas with a game-high 20 points and eight assists. Unlike the Colonels, UNO struggled from long range hitting only 5 of 27.

Nicholls has won seven of their last eight games against UNO and has eight straight wins at home against them. The Colonels are now 4-0 at home in Southland Conference games.

UP NEXT
Nicholls will play its next two games on the road, starting with a Wednesday night matchup against McNeese. Tipoff in Lake Charles is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.