Both Northwestern State basketball teams return to Prather Coliseum after a string of road games, getting in homecourt outings before the Christmas holiday.
Saturday afternoon at 1, coach Rick Cabrera’s NSU men will host Southern-New Orleans in the Demons’ final nonconference matchup of the year.
Sunday, a share of the early Southland Conference lead is at stake when coach Anna Nimz’ Lady Demons take the court in a 1 o’clock matchup with Lamar. Both teams and UIW are the only schools with 2-0 marks in SLC contests.
Fans attending home games during the holidays at Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum can get a ticket discount for kids and help the NSU Food Pantry.
For the remainder of the calendar year, one child 12 and under will receive free admission with the purchase of every adult ticket.
Additionally for the final five home games of 2025 Northwestern athletics will be collecting non-perishable items for the NSU Food Pantry, which helps feeds students on the university campus.
The games will air live on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches.
NSU MEN: Although the Demons carry a 2-8 record, they’re on an upswing with an impressive SLC win at Southeastern then a highly competitive performance in a 79-70 loss last Saturday at Cal-Berkley.
The Demons put together an offensive showcase that kept pace with the Golden Bears’ fast-paced attack, leading the game with seven minutes remaining. The contest unfolded as a back-and-forth battle, featuring nine ties and 14 lead changes — the most Northwestern has seen this season.
“I think we should have won the game,” Cabrera said. “We made some defensive mistakes late that hurt us, but I’m proud of our guys. They put themselves in a position to win on the road, in a different time zone, with a lot of things factoring in.”
Junior guard Izzy Miles put on a show in Berkeley, scoring a career-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 performance from 3-point range. Miles has now made more 3s during his time with the Demons (12) than he did in his two-year tenure at Tarleton (11).
Cabrera credited recent practice time for Northwestern’s continued growth, particularly on the defensive end.
“Practice is so important because of the teaching part of it,” Cabrera said. “Mistakes are going to happen because the game is so fast, but when they do, your effort has to be elite. We’ve shown that the last couple of games. We’re making progress, and it’s never too late to get better. Our record doesn’t define how good we are.”
Saturday’s contest is the Demons’ first home game in three weeks.
Despite the Knights’ non-Division I status, Cabrera emphasized that the Demons’ approach will remain unchanged.
“SUNO is a scary team,” Cabrera said. “We’re going to treat them just like a Division I team. The focus is on us getting better, playing hard, and continuing to improve so we can head into the break the right way.”
Northwestern opens its conference home schedule on Dec. 29 against Lamar, beginning a stretch that Cabrera knows will demand consistency and focus.
“It’s a little different this year with the breaks and the timing,” Cabrera said. “But once conference play hits, it gets real serious. Our league is one of the best mid-major conferences in the country top to bottom, and we’re excited about getting into that routine and competing night in and night out.”
NSU WOMEN: The Demons have posted two very impressive road wins to begin the 22-game SLC season, beating defending champion Southeastern and McNeese, which has the coach and 10 players who were at SLU last season.
Northwestern sophomore Vernell Atamah leads the conference with her 20.2 scoring average, built on the strength of 82 percent free throw aim (37-45), 40 percent accuracy (31-77) on 3-pointers, and a 45 percent overall shooting percentage. She is also averaging 5.3 rebounds.
Clarence Djuela leads Northwestern with a 6.1 rebounding rate. The Demons have a plus 4.0 rebounding margin.
Lamar (5-4 overall) has opened its SLC slate with homecourt wins over UT-Rio Grande Valley and A&M-Corpus Christi.
Both the Demons and Cardinals have played at Kansas. Lamar fell 65-54 on Nov. 12 to the Jayhawks, three days after KU beat the Demons 75-60.
After Sunday, Nimz’ team will not play again until a home game New Year’s Eve against Stephen F. Austin.
