Nicholls Women's Basketball: Colonels vs UNO

https://geauxcolonels.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary THIBODAUX, La. - Saturday will mark the final home game for four seniors - Chrystal Ezechukwu, Airi Hamilton, Korie Leary, and Tykeria Williams - as the Nicholls State University women's basketball team will go for a sixth consecutive victory, hosting rival New Orleans on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the men's game to follow 30 minutes after. It was just a few weeks ago that Nicholls was near the bottom of the standings, but five straight wins have placed the Colonels (11-16, 8-10 SLC) in a battle for the few remaining spots in the Southland Conference Tournament. Saturday's opponent New Orleans (15-11, 11-6 SLC) is one of five teams that have clinched a spot. Nicholls is currently in eighth, 0.5 games up on Central Arkansas, with just two games remaining before its final by next weekend. Wednesday against HBU, the Colonels had a slow start offensively, but the defense was consistent with another 60-point or less effort. With the 57-53 victory over the Huskies, it marked the fourth time during the five-game winning streak that the opposing offense failed to score more than 60. All four of the top scorers - Ezechukwu (13.6 ppg), Hamilton (12.0), Loan-Anh Johnson (10.8), and Williams (10.1), have been the leading scorer over the last five games, led by Johnson with three games. In the win over Northwestern State, Hamilton and Williams shared the honor with a team-high 17 points. Johnson had 13 against Lamar, 16 versus Southeastern Louisiana and a career-high 23 at Central Arkansas. Ezechukwu came off the bench against HBU for 19 points on Wednesday. New Orleans will be looking for a sweep of the Colonels for the first time since joining the Southland Conference in 2013-14. The Privateers won in New Orleans to close out January, 77-65, and will be aiming for their first win in Thibodaux since 2008. The Privateers are headed by their hometown guard Rehema Franklin at 13.4 points per game. In the win over Nicholls, she poured in 23 points to lead the way. STAY SOCIAL For more information on Colonel Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_WBB).