WICHITA, Kan. – A tone-setting first quarter set the stage for a signature win for the Northwestern State women’s basketball team Thursday night.
The Demons (1-1) forced nine Wichita State (1-1) turnovers and turned their precision offensive execution on the other end into a double-digit lead that carried them to a 55-42 win, the first road victory against an American Conference team in program history.
“From the tip the girls were incredibly locked into the scout and on the defensive end,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “We guarded well. We found people in transition. We rebounded well. I told the girls after the game that if I had to pick a player of the game I absolutely couldn’t. So many people had standout nights. They trusted the plan, stayed true to the plan and I was just proud of their overall attention to detail.”
Vernell Atamah’s quick eight points that included a pair of triples in the first quarter. The early range was just the beginning for the reigning Southland Conference Freshman of the Year.
Atamah obliterated her previous career high for made 3-pointers in a game by knocking down seven, two in each quarter but the third, on the way to a 25-point night.
She becomes the first NSU player with consecutive 20-point games against Division I opponents to start a season in more than 25 years.
Atamah’s second triple of the second quarter gave the Demons their largest lead of the first half at 31-13 with just over four minutes remaining. The bucket followed a blocked shot on the defensive end and ended with Atamah’s triple on an assist from center Clarence Djuela, who had two helpers on Atamah buckets alone. Djuela filled the stat sheet with a team-leading 12 rebounds, six points, two steals and a block.
The Demons stretched their lead to as much as 22 points early in the fourth quarter.
NSU travels to Kansas for a 2 p.m. Sunday tipoff against the Jayhawks.
NORTH TEXAS MEN 80, NSU 53: In Denton, Texas, North Texas exploded late and pulled away inside The Super Pit.
“We competed and gave ourselves a chance for about 30 to 34 minutes,” third-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “But the last seven minutes of the game, I thought we quit. That’s not the team I’m known for coaching, and we’ll fix that and get better.”
The Demons (0–2) led early, 16-15, and were down 28-20 at halftime.
“Our guys play hard,” Cabrera said. “We don’t talk as much as we should on defense, and that’s something we have to fix. When you’re down seven with eight minutes to go and end up losing by 30, that’s frustrating. It’s unacceptable.”
The Mean Green hit 68 percent from the field and 73 percent from 3 in the second half, stringing together an extended 33–12 run. The Demons went scoreless from the field over the final 9:36 as the Mean Green closed strong.
EAST TEXAS A&M VOLLEYBALL 3, NSU 0: Jade Longlad had a season-high 30 assists but Northwestern couldn’t get over the hump in two hard-fought sets, falling 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21 Thursday night in Southland Conference play at Prather Coliseum.
The Demons (1-26, 0-13 SLC) and the Lions (8-16, 6-7 SLC) meet again Saturday in Commerce, Texas.
“The fact that we can play with that kind of passion is awesome,” said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. “I love that we play with this kind of grit game in and game out. We just are young and learning how to make the big plays when we need to make them.”
NSU was led by Deja Benjamin with 13 kills while Olivia Bush finished with 10. Longlad’s 30 assists helped pace the offense while Emmarie McFarland had 14 digs.