Three of Northwestern State’s women’s basketball seniors have epitomized what it means to be a Demon and are reaping the rewards with being on the brink of a winning season for the first time in nearly a decade.
The three seniors who have been at Northwestern the longest — Sharna Ayres, Jasmin Dixon and Nia Hardison — have made a major impact throughout their time in Natchitoches.
Along with relative newcomers and fellow seniors Mya Blake and Skye Miller, the trio will play in Prather Coliseum for the final time tonight at 6:30 when they host East Texas A&M to close the regular season.
The group will be honored prior to tipoff. The game will be carried on ESPN+.
With a victory, the Demons finish the regular season with an overall winning record and a solid 12-8 Southland Conference slate as they head to the SLC Tournament, which begins Monday in Lake Charles.
The trio has aided the resurgence of the Lady Demons program, leading them to 14 wins and counting after only recording one season of more than 11 victories since 2017-18.
“I have to give a lot of credit and a lot of thanks to everybody, but to Jasmin and Sharna,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “They came after that COVID year in which we went 1-19, they trusted the process and have gotten better. They were the first kids I had for three years and now the first ones I have had for four. It is great having some true program kids in an era where program kids are pretty hard to come by.
“I am pretty grateful for them and the leadership they have shown and the consistency they have shown to continue to allow us to get better every single year and I hope they are proud of themselves because where we were when they got here to where we are now, a lot of positive things have happened. I am grateful for this senior class.”
During that time, both Ayres and Dixon have rocketed up the charts in the 3-point field goals made and blocked shots, respectively.
On the defensive side of the ball, Dixon and Hardison have been the key cogs in one of the Southland Conference’s best units.
During SLC play this season, the Demons have surrendered just 58.9 points per contest, the third-best mark in the league, as well as posting the top field goal percentage defense during conference games at 35.5 percent, just ahead of conference regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana.
At the back line of that stellar defense is Dixon, the 6-3 force who has been with the Demons for four seasons following a transfer from Prairie View A&M. Her 144 total blocks are fifth in school history.
Hardison’s impact is more subtle.
“Nia has a tough job,” Nimz said. “It doesn’t always hit the stat book, but she is constantly guarding a No. 1 on the opposing team and we can’t do a lot of what we want to do defensively without her on the court. She’s a tough kid, she’s a fighter and she is going to do her best to guard her yard and hold her ground. I’ve been really happy to have her for the last two years.”
She helps Northwestern to rank fifth nationally in 3-point percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot a mere 26 percent from deep.
While Hardison and Dixon lock it down defensively, Ayres has been lethal throughout her career from the outside. She been one of the more lethal shooters from the outside in the league, making 194 3-pointers, the fourth-most in program history. She has a chance to become just the fourth Demon in program history to bury 200 3-pointers.
A valuable player and team leader, Ayres has started 95 games in her career and when she steps onto the court for her last game at Prather Coliseum, it will be overall game No. 100 for her at Northwestern State.
With a run in the SLC Tournament, she could become the 28th member of the 1,000-point club at Northwestern. She has 915 with the Demons.
The senior group aims to lead the Demons to their first regular season winning season in nearly a decade before heading off to Lake Charles for the SLC Tournament, which begins Monday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.