The Northwestern State soccer team kicked into gear after halftime Sunday for an important Southland Conference victory at home. The Demon volleyball squad had a rough outing against perennial SLC power Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, and a former Demon basketball player took a step toward reaching the NBA when chosen in the G-League draft.
SOCCER: After being shut out in the previous four halves, NSU (8-8, 5-3) exploded for three goals in the second half to post a 3-0 victory over Nicholls (5-5-6, 3-2-3) on Sunday in the annual Fork Cancer game at the Demon Soccer Complex.
Demons went without a goal for the first 64 minutes but made up for it with three goals in the next 6:18 to blow the game wide open and push the home team to the victory.
“I thought we were really good in the second half after a tough first half,” head coach Ian Brophy said. “We weren’t at our best in the first half, and we challenged the team athalftime to play better in the second half and make sure we do the little things right and have some confidence in themselves, and I thought they did that.
“We played with a lot of confidence and played really well and connected well and saw our style of soccer come through. We took advantage of some great chances and scored three goals. I felt we could have had more, but I am happy we scored those three and took advantage of some good chances.”
Tayla Crandell found the back of the net for the second time this season and it was quickly followed by goals in the 70th minute by Maliya Maldonado on a penalty kick and a goal from Tiana Cruz a little over a minute later to put the finishing touches on the triumph.
With the victory and an East Texas A&M tie against McNeese, the Demons clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament, which begins Nov. 10 in Commerce, Texas.
NSU dominated the second half but could not break through until Crandell’s second goal of the season.
“We talked about how in the first half we weren’t really connecting with our soccer and weren’t really finding each other,” Brophy said. “We were also losing too many individual matchups and we’re a good team and we know we have great players, so we know we should win more of those matchups. In the second half, we won nine, 10 or all 11 of the matchups. We really challenged them to look at themselves and know they can perform better so much better.”
The end of the regular season begins with a trip to McNeese next Sunday before heading home for the final game of the regular season against UTRGV on Nov. 5.
VOLLEYBALL: The Demons hit a season-low .020 in a straight set loss to the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (25-17, 25-17 and 25-19) Saturday afternoon at Shelton Gym in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The Demons (12-13, 4-6 SLC) finished the match with 27 kills and 25 errors on 98 attacks. Elizabeth Muguruza led the Demons with seven kills while Jade Longlad had 21 assists and Emmarie McFarland 11 digs.
The Ladyjacks (14-9, 8-2 SLC) had a balanced attack and hit .325 for the match (39-9-83).
NSU is home twice this week, Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
BASKETBALL: The NBA G League once has a tie to the Northwestern State men’s basketball team. That relationship resumed Saturday when Raptors 905 selected former Demon standout Justin Wilson with the second pick of the second round in the 2026 draft. Raptors 905 is the G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.
A 6-foot-9 forward, Wilson spent the 2023-24 season at Northwestern after transferring from South Carolina State. In his lone season under coach Rick Cabrera, Wilson led the Demons in blocks (29), rebounding (4.3 per game) and field goal percentage (.659). His field goal percentage mark ranks third in school single-season history.
Following the end of his Demon career, Wilson played professionally in Georgia and Latvia. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 13 games for Amra Gagra Akhaltsikhe in the Georgian Super League during the 2024-25 season.
Wilson becomes the first Demon to be drafted by a G League team since center Ishmael Lane, a standout in Asian leagues following his Demon days under Mike McConathy, was selected by the Indiana Mad Ants with the 27th pick of the second round in 2024.