THIBODAUX, La. — Addesha Collins scored a career-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Lamar Cardinals, who dropped a 69-59 decision to host Nicholls in the Southland Conference women’s basketball season opener for both teams.

Collins came off the bench to go 8 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 7 from three-point range for the Cardinals (4-8, 0-1 Southland). The senior guard was a perfect 7 of 7 from the foul line for LU. She also grabbed five rebounds. The senior guard has scored in double figures in four straight games, and is averaging 17.0 points per game in those four contests.

Collins was the only double-figure scorer for LU, as LU shot 36.7 percent (22 of 60) from the field for the game. LU was 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) from three-point range.

Nicholls (3-8, 1-0) led 34-31 at intermission and 50-45 after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth quarter. The Colonels led by as many as 14 points down the stretch.

JaMeisha Edwards had nine points for LU, giving her 977 points for her career as she moves closer to being the 13th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Chastadie Barrs had eight points, while Laka Blache had six points and a team-high six rebounds.

“It’s a disappointing loss,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “We need to have a better effort.”

Marina Lilly had a double-double for Nicholls (3-8, 1-0), finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. LiAnn McCarthy had 19 points for the Colonels, while Tia Charles and Taylor Morrison added 10 points apiece.

The Cardinals return to action at 5 p.m. Monday when they host New Orleans in a Southland Conference game at the Montagne Center. It will be the first conference game of the season for the Privateers (3-6), who were idle Saturday. Monday’s contest is the opening game of a hoops doubleheader, with the men’s game between LU and New Orleans set to start at 7:30 p.m.

“We have to play better,” Harmony said. “But one game doesn’t make or break the season. We have to take care of business on Monday.”