Sumar Leslie vs. SELA – she dropped 30+ points in an NSU win.

Sumar Leslie vs. UTSA – She led the team in scoring and assists in a big conference ‘W’.

One win down, 2 to go for Nicholls' quest to reach the NCAA Tournament.

History was made Tuesday night in Katy, Texas.

The No. 1 team in the Southland Conference went down.

The Nicholls State women’s basketball team tasted victory in the conference tournament for the first time in school history.

Thanks to sharp outside shooting and a career-high 13 assists from Sumar Rain, the Colonels pounded Central Arkansas early and often, scoring a 79-59 win.

“Everything came together and we finished strong as a whole,” Sumar said following the win. “We played as a unit and we played together to get the win.”

After losing to the Sugar Bears twice in the regular season, the Colonels were hungry for revenge.

It was evident from the get-go on Tuesday.

Nicholls shot 14-of-25 from the 3-point line in the win, including 32 points from sophomore LiAnn McCarthy.

With Central Arkansas’s defense taking away penetration lanes, Sumar Rain made the Bears pay with decision making, recording 13 assists to 2 turnovers in the win.

With the victory, the Colonels move to the Southland Conference Semifinals for the first time in school history.

The team will now play Stephen F. Austin on 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals.

The Colonels and Lady Jacks met one in the season with Nicholls scoring a 64-63 win on a last second 3-pointer by Jenny Nash.

Nicholls needs a few wins to clinch a spot in the Southland Tournament.

Fresh after scoring just 2 points in a loss to Lamar, Sumar Rain was fired up and ready to go in last Saturday’s game with UT-San Antonio.

It showed.

She led her team to another ‘W’.

Thanks to a 29-point, 8-assist, 6-rebound and 5-steal effort, Leslie and the Colonels broke a halftime tie and rolled to a 6-point win.

With the victory, the Colonels improved to 14-11 and 7-5 in the Southland slate.

Sumar was big statistically, but she was also efficient in the win, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 3-point attempts.

Leslie also made all 9 of her free throws in the win and had just 1 turnover.

Following the win, Nicholls traveled across the Southeast to take on conference rival Central Arkansas.

That result didn’t quite go the way Nicholls expected.

Thanks to a dominant 38-18 first half, the Sugar Bears pounced the Colonels, scoring their second win of the season against their opponent in a 67-47 win.

Sumar struggled to find a rhythm in the early stages of the game, shooting just 4-of-12 from the field.

Sumar’s 33% shooting was actually more efficient than most of her teammates.

Nicholls shot just 28% from the field in the loss.

Sumar also added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals to her stat sheet in the game.

With the loss, the Colonels are now 13-13 and 6-7 in Southland play.

That’s not a type-O.

The Colonels had to forfeit their win against Texas-Arlington this week because the team played an ineligible player.

Sumar Rain and the rest of the Colonels return to action tomorrow when the team plays McNeese State at home.

Tipoff for that matchup is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Stopher Gym.

Nicholls returns to the floor Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.

It was a hot or cold week last week for Sumar Rain.

Fresh off a 29-point outburst in a win against Texas State, Sumar went the distance again, playing a full 40 minutes, scoring 20 points in Nicholls’ thrilling 1-point win against Stephen F. Austin.

Down 2 points with less than 10 seconds to play, the Colonels didn’t have the basketball. But a steal by sophomore point guard KK Babin and a 3-point shot by freshman Jenny Nash gave the Colonels a thrilling 1-point win over the only team in the conference to beat both Central Arkansas and McNeese State.

In addition to the 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting, Sumar also had 5 boards and 5 steals in the win — adding to her total, which is easily No. 1 in the Southland Conference.

But Sumar Rain’s streak of 2-straight 20-point games was snapped in a big way just days later as the Colonels were blown out last weekend at Lamar.

Sumar got a pair of offensive fouls in the first half, which limited her playing time. After getting an early second half foul, Sumar returned to the bench and was never able to find a rhythm, shooting just 1-of-6 from the field with a season-low 2 points. Sumar Rain did record 5 assists in the loss to help her team.

Fresh off a bye week, Nicholls will look to rebound from their loss last Saturday this weekend when they take on the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Tip-off for that game will be at a special time for a weekend game – 1 p.m.

Go out and watch the Colonels move closer to the Southland Conference Tournament!

Until next time!

Sumar and the Colonels are now 5-4 in the Southland with this week's 2-1 spurt.

Playing their third game in seven days, the Nicholls State women’s basketball team battled tired legs, a road crowd and a very good Texas State team this afternoon.

Sumar Rain didn’t let the Colonels go home unhappy.

With a 29-point output (on 10-of-15 shooting), Leslie helped spark a 53-point second half, pushing Nicholls past Texas State 83-74.

The Bobcats came into the game as the best team in the Southland Conference’s Western Division. With their ambitious record, they also boasted the conference’s leading scorer, junior guard Diamond Ford.

But the brightest diamond on the floor Saturday was Leslie, who dribbled and drove her and her team to victory to cap off a week-long road trip with an even 1-1 record.

Part of the reason for the extra motivation was the Colonels’ prior game Wednesday, a 70-63 road loss to Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Sumar contributed 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in that game, but the Colonels couldn’t buy a bucket from 3, shooting just 3-of-15 from downtown.

Prior to dropping a close one in Corpus Christ, it was the Colonels hitting from outside a week ago in a win against Lamar.

Thanks to 24 points from sophomore LiAnn McCarthy, the Colonels pasted the Cardinals 40-26 in the first half and held on late to secure the win.

Sumar facilitated in that game, posting 8 assists to go with 14 points.

Following the 2-1 week, Nicholls is now 5-4 in the Southland Conference and 12-10 overall.

The Colonels return to the floor Wednesday for a home tilt with Stephen F. Austin. Nicholls also plays Lamar against next Saturday, this time on the road.

Until next time!

Congrats to Sumar Rain for being the LSWA and Southland Conference Player of the Week!

It’s been a wild and crazy few days for the Nicholls women’s basketball team, filled with both ups and downs.

For starters, the Colonels played a home tilt with conference power Central Arkansas last Saturday at home.

Nicholls rolled to a strong start in that game and even led by 16 at halftime. But the Bears rallied back in the second half to send Nicholls to a disappointing 66-59 loss.

Sumar had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the game, struggling to stay out of foul trouble throughout the game.

A few days later, Sumar Rain did just that — rained on Southeastern Louisiana’s parade.

Leslie dropped a career-high 34 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and dished out 2 assists, while shooting 12-of-15 from the field to lead the Colonels over the Lions.

Sumar’s efforts in that game made her not only the Southland Conference Player of the Week, but also the LSWA Player of the Week — the first time in two years that a Colonel won both honors in the same week.

With her name in the headlines, the Colonels took on McNeese State two days later on Monday. Determined to not let Sumar loose, the Cowgirls employed a face-guarding strategy to take Leslie out of her rhythm, limiting her to just 5 points in a double digit loss.

The Colonels are now 3-3 in the conference schedule and will take on Lamar Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Stopher Gymnasium.

Check it out – you don’t want to miss what Sumar Rain and them Colonels will do next in their road to Katy!

The Colonels will try to rebound Wednesday against Central Arkansas.

Sometimes the little orange ball just doesn’t fit in the hoop.

Sumar and the Nicholls State women’s basketball found that out the hard way Saturday in Texas.

The Colonels had countless solid looks at the basketball, but couldn’t find anything more than iron, shooting just 13-of-62 as a team (21 percent) in a 67-46 road loss to Sam Houston State.

Nicholls State was flat from the get-go Saturday, falling behind both 15-5 and 20-9. Nicholls rallied and cut the lead to single digits a handful of times, but Sam Houston always had the upper hand, eventually pulling away.

Sumar led all Colonels with 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.

She and her teammates will hope to get back on track Wednesday when Nicholls hosts Central Arkansas.

Sumar and the Colonels are trying to keep pushing and drive to 3-0.

With a young roster and little experience winning, the Nicholls State Colonels relied on its leader to make the jump to 2-0.

Falling behind 24-13 in the opening half, Sumar Leslie recorded helped the Colonels ‘steal’ a 16-0 run that put them on top for good.

Steals were a theme of the night for Leslie, as Nicholls forced a total of 25 turnovers as a team and Sumar had 10 pick pockets of her own.

Sumar had her defensive game on point Wednesday, but her offense wasn’t half bad either. The Nicholls senior led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, posting an efficient 8-of-11 from the field.

In addition to the 22 points and 10 steals, Leslie also had 8 assists, several of which were thanks to LiAnn McCarthy, who scored 20 points off the bench for the Colonels.

With the win, the Nicholls women’s basketball team improves to 2-0 on the conference schedule.

They will collide with another 2-0 opponent this weekend when they travel to take on Sam Houston State on Saturday.

One of Sumar’s biggest goals in this senior season was to help Nicholls State make a splash

1-0 in conference play!

in Southland Conference play.

So far, so good.

Sumar Rain and them Colonels did their thing in the conference opener!

Thanks to a game-high 23 points, Leslie and the Colonels routed their way past Texas-Arlington, scoring a decisive 78-59 win.

The victory moves the Colonels to 1-0 on the Southland slate and 8-6 overall.

But the ascent to 1-0 wasn’t easy. The Colonels battled UT-Arlington, holding just a 30-29 lead late in the first half.

But a half court heave by Alisha Allen, who also scored 23 points gave the Colonels a four-point halftime lead.

After exchanging blows in the early minutes of the second half, Sumar flipped her motor into overdrive, scoring 19 points in the second half to muscle Nicholls to a gritty win.

With the win, Nicholls will now try and go 2-0 Wednesday night against Northwestern State.

Tipoff for that road contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.