Three Southland Teams Tip Off Post-Christmas Schedule
Nicholls, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Northwestern State are the first Southland women's teams to get back to work after the Christmas break as each program will tip off Monday.
Nicholls will face former league member Louisiana-Monroe in the Fant-Ewing Coliseum after a 12 day break. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m.
The Colonels are coming off of a 56-51 loss to Southern on Dec. 17, while Louisiana-Monroe is fresh off of a loss as well, losing to Denver 63-62 on Thursday.
Nicholls is led by junior guard Ricshanda Bickham with a 15.6 points per game average, while also leading the conference in steals with 4.3 per contest.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will play host to the Houston Cougars at the American Bank Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Islanders come into the game following the Christmas holiday looking to continue their winning ways. The last game played was a thrilling 61-60 victory over Texas-Pan American Dec. 19 in Edinburg, Texas. Junior Adrienne Scott was the player of the game with 20 points and had a crucial block as time was winding down, allowing the Islanders to stay within one and giving junior Jade Davis the opportunity to score the winning points.
Davis leads the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game while Scott is averaging 12.0 per game. Senior Deziree Green continues to lead the team with her 7.7 rebounds per game while senior Elisa Beagle follows close behind with a 7.3 per game average.
Houston comes into the game with a record of 6-5 with their last game being an 89-69 loss against Kansas. The Islanders will try to do what three other Southland schools have been unable to when they face the Cougars.
Houston comes into the game with wins over UT Arlington, Texas State and UTSA this season. A&M-Corpus Christi will also be looking for the programs first-ever win against the Cougars, having gone 0-4 in their previous meetings.
Northwestern State returns to play after a seven day layoff over the Christmas holidays. The Lady Demons will travel to Houston to face Rice University at 7 p.m.
The Lady Demons will be playing their final non-conference road game of the season before wrapping up non-league action at home on Jan. 4 against Southern-New Orleans.
Rice is coming off an 82-66 loss to Lamar in its last outing on Dec. 20.
Northwestern will be facing Rice for just the third time in school history. The Lady Demons are 2-0 against the Owls with the last meeting coming on Jan. 6, 1992 in an 86-77 win.
The Lady Demons will be looking at getting back to form from the three-point range after a lack-luster performance in a 73-58 loss to Memphis before the break on Dec. 20. In that game, Northwestern hit just 3-of-13 from long range but despite that poor shooting, the Lady Demons still lead the Southland and rank fifth in the nation at 42.1 percent.
Junior guard Brooke Shepherd, who ranks second on the team in scoring with a 11.4 per game average, leads the league and ranks 12th nationally knocking down 51 percent from long range for the season.
A Look at Last Week
Last week's Southland schedule saw four league teams take to the hardwood prior to Christmas break. On Monday, UTSA fell four points short of its first win against a Big 12 opponent this season as Kansas State took a 59-55 win over the Roadrunners.
On Tuesday, Central Arkansas extended its win streak to a league-best eight games with a 52-47 win at Eastern Kentucky. Southeastern Louisiana fell to in-state rival No. 12/11 LSU, 72-27, and McNeese State fell on the road to neighboring Tulane, 75-45.