The Northwestern State women’s basketball aims to start off the new year in grand style, as it welcomes in-state rival McNeese for its first Southland Conference home game.
Tip-off is 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2 at Prather Coliseum with the contest being streamed live on ESPN+.
The Demons (4-7, 1-1) pulled through with a much-needed victory last time out, securing a 57-51 win on the road against Houston Christian.
Graduate student Sharna Ayres (20) and freshman Vernell Atamah (19) combined to score 39 of Northwestern State’s 57 points to even the Demons conference record.
Despite making just one triple, Ayres dominated from inside the arc, making eight of her 11 attempts from 2-point range.
“One of the things I wrote on the board is that an off-shooting night is not an excuse for a bad game,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “I think way too often kids equate the two. Sharna wasn’t hitting from the outside, but she had a great pull-up game and a great 2-foot shot game with her pull-up jumpers.
“Her shot didn’t fall. She got great looks, but that didn’t impact her level of play. That is something we needed to see growth from the UIW game when maybe the shot did affect the overall play with some of us. It’s didn’t against HCU and Sharna had a great game on both sides of the ball, and players fed off her energy.”
McNeese (5-7, 0-1) has only played one league game so far, an 82-56 loss at home to Southeastern Louisiana, but despite the result, the Cowgirls are a much-improved team from last season.
“This is a very different McNeese team this year,” Nimz said. “They are a little more athletic and they are still running the same stuff, including their 1-3-1 zone, which is difficult when you don’t face it often. They are firing on all cylinders and have had a good preseason. This if a game we’ll have to play for 40 minutes to get the win.”
While Ayres dominates Houston Christian when she sees the Huskies on the schedule, the same can be said for Nia Hardison and McNeese.
In her two games against the Cowgirls last season, she scored an average of 14.5 points per game, including a career-high 18 points in the victory in Lake Charles.
The Demons are one of three SLC teams to have three players average in double figures in scoring, led by freshman Vernell Atamah, scoring 13.5 points per game.
In addition to Atamah, Mya Blake and Sharma Ayres also score in double figures.
The Demons are one of three teams in the SLC to have three players average at least 10 points per game.
While Blake did not have her best offensive output last contest, she came through with arguably the biggest plays of the game.
With the Demons lead cut down to three late in the third, Blake had a role in nine straight points with two baskets and two assists to push the lead to 42-30 early in the fourth.
While the three playmakers for the Demons garner many of the headlines, the defense has been as stifling as any unit in the conference.
In the first two games of the conference season, Northwestern State has given up an average of just 49.5 points per game, one of just two schools in the SLC to hold teams under 50 points per game so far during league play.
The Demons stingy defense has held UIW and HCU to just 33.9 percent shooting overall, as well as a terrific 16.7 (5-for-30) from behind the arc.
Led by Blake and defensive specialist Jasmin Dixon, the Demons’ eight blocked shots are both the most total and most per game. Both Blake and Dixon have knocked away two shots during SLC play.
The Demons cap off the weekend with a visit from another in-state foe, hosting Nicholls on Sunday.