DESTIN, Fla.—Virginia’s inside game overwhelmed the Northwestern State women’s basketball team Monday night as the Demons dropped the opener of the Emerald Coast Classic 69-48 on the campus of Northwest Florida State.

With the loss, Northwestern (3-3) faces Purdue Fort Wayne (3-3) today at 5 p.m. The Mastadons fell against Nebraska earlier in the day Monday.

NSU allowed UVA (5-1) to score 40 points in the paint and six more at the free throw lane, as the Cavaliers used their height advantage to dominate inside.

However, even though the Cavaliers are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation and hauled down 17 of them in the game, the Demons limited the impact, as UVA only had nine second chance points.

UVA forced 19 NSU turnovers and converted them into 23 Cavaliers points, including 21 in the first three quarters.

“I thought our girls played their tails off,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “We absolutely had grit and toughness for 40 minutes. The bench energy was also fantastic. We held the third best offensive rebounding team in the nation to just nine second chance points.

“However, we absolutely did not take care of the ball and gave up 20+ points off turnovers.”

The Cavaliers held a 17-13 advantage after 10 minutes and led 30-20 at halftime.

Demons leading scorer Vernell Atamah was held scoreless in the first half but recorded all seven of her points in the third quarter.

Carla Celaya buried two triples in the third, including one to cut the deficit to seven early in the period. Those triples were part of a team-high eight points.

Virginia took control later in the third quarter and put it away In the final period.