Nicholls beat reporter's account.... I know UCAsports.com has the unedited and correct article up from our perspective!
Central Arkansas edges Lady Colonels
Raymond Legendre
Staff Writer
THIBODAUX – Nicholls State senior guard Jamie Octave achieved a career milestone in the first half of Saturday’s Southland Conference game against Central Arkansas, then watched from the bench as her team achieved an unwanted milestone in the second half.
Octave scored 19 points to become just the eighth Lady Colonel to score 1,000 career points, but, in spite of her individual achievement, Nicholls suffered a 74-72 loss in Stopher Gym. The loss was the Lady Colonels’ 15th of the season and dropped them to 1-6 in SLC action.
“It would be much better if we had won,” Octave said about reaching the 1,000-point mark. “We had the opportunity.”
Octave’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left capped a 6-0 run to pull Nicholls within 69-67. But Central Arkansas’ Renita Dobbins sliced through the Lady Colonels’ defense for a layup to make it a two-possession game.
Lady Colonels reserve Kelli Johnson answered with her fourth 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 71-70 with 16 seconds remaining.
Despite being pressured on the inbounds, the Sugar Bears (9-11, 3-5) were able to run off eight seconds before Octave was whistled for her fifth foul.
After Alex Velazquez hit the first free throw, her teammate Sharece Love grabbed her miss on the second shot and was fouled. Love hit her first free throw to push Central Arkansas’ lead to 73-70, then after a Nicholls’ lane violation gave her a mulligan, she sank her second free throw to clinch the Sugar Bears’ victory.
“It was a tough game,” Central Arkansas coach Checola Seals-Horton said. “Our legs were a little tired and our shots weren’t falling. But our team just stuck with it to get the win.”
Entering the game, Octave needed nine points to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier. She reached the mark on a putback with 9:52 remaining in the first half, and was honored during the under-eight minute media timeout. She scored nine of Nicholls’ first 11 points and finished with 12 points in the first half as the teams entered halftime tied at 33.
Foul trouble limited Octave’s impact for much of the second half. With less than 16 minutes to play, she picked up three fouls in a span of 15 seconds guarding SLC leading scorer Caronica Randle. Octave sat down at the 15:26 mark, after picking up her fourth foul, and didn’t return until the 6:54 mark.
“It’s like you can’t even be aggressive anymore,” Octave said about the foul calls. “It’s like high school now. This is college.”
Initially, Octave’s absence didn’t hurt Nicholls. The Lady Colonels went on a 10-3 run to take their largest lead, 50-43, with 12 minutes remaining.
But just as it seemed like Nicholls had taken control, Central Arkansas exploded on a 3-point rampage. Allyson Sample (13 points) and Randle each hit a pair of 3’s as the Sugar Bears turned a seven-point deficit into a 55-50 lead. It was a lead the visitors never relinquished.
Randle, who entered the game leading the SLC with 18 points per game, scored a season-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Both she and Octave, who entered second in the SLC in scoring, fouled out. But whereas Octave picked most of her fouls up in one cluster, Randle picked her fouls up gradually.
“We have to have Caronica to win these ballgames,” Seals-Horton said. “And she knows that. She stepped up and gave us a huge lift tonight.”
Both Nicholls and Central Arkansas shot 44 percent for the game, but the Sugar Bears outshot the Lady Colonels 50 percent to 39 percent in the second half. The Lady Colonels, who came into the game worst in the SLC in rebounding margin, outrebounded Central Arkansas, 36-32.
In addition to Octave, center Funaki Kefu scored 16 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Katherine Plummer and Kelli Johnson each added 12 points. Plummer led Nicholls with eight assists....
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Last edited by Bear Fan 101 on Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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