EDINBURG, Texas – The Northwestern State women’s basketball team saved its best defense for when it mattered the most.
The Lady Demons held one of the league’s highest scoring and most efficient offenses to just three points over the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime to earn a thrilling 64-59 road win Thursday at UT-Rio Grande Valley.
The victory by Northwestern (15-13, 12-8) came over a UTRGV team (17-12, 14-6) second in the SLC standings. The win keeps NSU firmly in the hunt for one of the top four seeds in the upcoming conference tournament.
Vernell Atamah, the SLC’s leading scorer, poured in 26 for the Lady Demons. Nya Valentine added 19.
NSU outscored the Vaqueros 11-3 across the final 7:58 of the game and held them to a 1-for-10 effort from the field during that time.
“The girls were resilient, never blinked and never gave up,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “I am so proud of their defensive performance. That’s who we are. That’s our identity. It was on full display and I was happy to see them be so intentional with it.”
Valentine’s critical rebuttal 3-pointer with 1:51 left in overtime not only answered UTRGV’s lone points of the period but started an eight-point run to seal the game.
“My team and coaches just instill so much confidence in me,” Valentine said. “I was open so just had to let it fly. You’ve got to have that confidence whether I make it or miss it.”
The pivotal shot was set up by the eighth offensive rebound of the day from Clarence Djuela who finished the game with 10, her seventh double-digit rebounding effort of the season and second in the past three games.
In a matchup of the SLC’s top two rebounding teams in league play, the Lady Demons won the war on the glass 46-43, with a plus-nine margin (20-11) in the fourth quarter and overtime.
While the late-game heroics will be remembered, it took some third-quarter grit from the Demons to put themselves in position to win.
After holding a two-possession lead for most of the first half and into the third quarter, the first big run from either team shifted the momentum squarely onto the home bench. After a Valentine transition 3-ball from one of Atamah’s season-best matching three steals, the Vaqueros scored the next 11 points in a row to take the lead, 41-36.
Following an NSU timeout, Valentine buried a three halting the UTRGV momentum and pulling the Demons back within two points. An Atamah second-chance layup with less than 30 seconds left tied the game at 41, but a pair of Jalayah Ingram free throws put UTRGV ahead entering the fourth.
The Vaqueros stretched their lead to the largest by either team on the day, six points, with just over five minutes remaining.
Back-to-back jumpers from Valentine and Tiara Abron, with a defensive stop between them, brought the Demons back with two. After two more free throws from Ingram, Valentine sunk the only 3-pointer she made in the period, but it made it a one-point game with 3:26 left and triggered the final stretch of play that led to the win.
Atamah made 1-of-2 free throws with 20 seconds left in the fourth to tie the game at 56. She converted three more times in the final second of overtime.
She also connected three times from behind the arc to became just the fourth player in NSU women’s basketball history to make 80 3-pointers in a season, and the first since Beatrice Attura set the school record with 88 during the 2016-17 season.
“This is a good win for us against a really good team,” Valentine said. “They have a really good coach and some really good players. We just need to carry this momentum into Saturday and keep it rolling into the tournament.”
The Lady Demons play their final road game of the season on Saturday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tip-off is 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
MEN AT CORPUS: A season-ending, two-game road trip for the Demons begins Saturday evening with a matchup against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi inside the Hilliard Center.
Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the game can be streamed live on ESPN+, with radio coverage available on the Demon Sports Network and flagship station 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches.
Northwestern enters Saturday having won four of its last five contests, its strongest stretch of the conference slate.
The Demons (10-19, 8-12) are armed with momentum after a gritty 54–49 win over UIW on Monday night in their home finale.
“Last game was so important,” head coach Rick Cabrera said. “It was a fun, ugly game. But we defended so well and scored the buckets we needed at the right times. It’s all about momentum, especially late. A lot of people remember what you do late rather than what you did early.”
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (15-14, 11-9) enters Saturday fresh off a 73–68 win at Southeastern on Monday.
The first matchup this season came Jan. 10 on Mike McConathy Court, when Micah Thomas delivered a running 25-foot, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Demons a 79–78 victory over the Islanders.
NSU’s men wrap up the regular season Monday at UTRGV, hoping to have secured an SLC Tournament berth.
