The Northwestern State soccer team plays for an NCAA Tournament berth Sunday in Commerce, Texas, in the 1 o’clock Southland Conference Tournament championship game after halting Houston Christian’s 15-game unbeaten streak Thursday night in the semifinals.
It was not as good a night for the NSU volleyball and women’s basketball teams, which will hope to bounce back quickly.
SOCCER: One season after a heartbreaking loss in the same round against the same opponent, Northwestern State (11-9) exacted some revenge with a 1-0 win over Houston Christian (9-4-5) in the SLC semifinals on Thursday evening at the Lion Soccer Field.
Kendall Hemperley scored for the Demons in the 75th minute. Paige Baumgartner sent a cross into the box from right to left, and Tayla Crandell deflected it to Hemperley, whose blast sailed past HCU goalkeeper Emmy McKeon.
“Paige took it down and then Tayla getting that flick and Ravina (Sandhu) leaving it and the defense just left me completely wide open at that back post,” Hemperley said. “I said ‘Just make contact. I don’t even need to hit it hard, just make contact and you’re good’ and it went in.”
“This win means a lot for me and the group,” fourth-year NSU coach Ian Brophy said. “I am so happy to see the smiles and laughs and all the joy. We’ve worked really hard for this, and we’ve been working toward this since I’ve been here, to get to a conference tournament final. I am really proud of the team for getting us here, and we have one more to go.”
In the title match Sunday at 1 on ESPN+, NSU faces top-seeded Lamar, which knocked off UIW 1-0 in the first game of the day.
It is the third time the Demons have gone to the conference tournament title game since 2019. The winner goes to the NCAA Tournament.
HCU was denied a repeat trip to the NCAAs and lost for the first time since August, which includes an undefeated SLC record (5-0-5).
VOLLEYBALL: A straight set loss to visiting East Texas A&M (25-20, 25-23 and 25-20) Thursday night at Prather Coliseum means NSU’s bid for a Southland Conference Tournament berth will come down to the rematch Saturday in Commerce, Texas.
The teams are tied at 6-9 in the SLC standings, with Saturday’s winner getting the eighth and final slot for next weekend’s SLC Tournament at Corpus Christi.
“We know what’s on the line but if we talk about it too much then we just put more pressure on ourselves,” said second-year coach Ben Kaszeta. “Pressure is a privilege and if we treat every game like it’s important then we will treat this one like that and we will be ready to go on Saturday.”
NSU (14-16) was led by Olivia Nzioki with 13 kills while Kenadii Winfrey and Elise Sanchez both had nine to pace the Demons’ offense. Jade Longlad had 35 assists as she passed over 1,400 career assists (1,410). Emmarie McFarland had her 28th game out of 30 matches with at least 10 digs as she finished with 19.
The Lions (12-16) hit .483 in the first set and pulled away from a 17-15 edge on an 8-3 run.
In the second set, NSU had a 21-20 lead on a kill by Winfrey. After Amber Craig tied the match at 22-22 for the Demons, the Lions pushed ahead on a pair of kills and Demons’ service errors to prevail.
East Texas got on top what turned out to be the final set, going on a 12-3 run to grab a 16-11 lead. The Demons rallied within 17-15 but the Lions responded to build a 23-18 lead and finished the contest.
“We did not adjust very well to their size,” said Kaszeta. “We’re going to go back and see how well we actually defended it on film. But we might have to change things up on Saturday.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The visiting Demons fell behind early when a double-figure, first-quarter run set the tone for Louisiana Tech, which cruised to a 78-51 victory at Ruston’s Thomas Assembly Center in the first meeting between the teams in 12 seasons.
“First, congratulations to Louisiana Tech,” first-year NSU head coach Alan Frey said. “We talked a lot the last couple of days about what it takes to be a championship program, and we got a first-hand look at it tonight. We did not meet their energy and effort level in the first half at all. By the time we started competing the way that we know we can, the lead was close to insurmountable.”
Northwestern (1-3) committed 25 turnovers, which the Lady Techsters (4-0) turned into 22 points. Louisiana Tech outscored the Demons by 17 points off turnovers while winning the turnover battle by 14. NSU sank just 32.7 percent of its shots.
Payton Miller was one of three Northwestern players to crack double figures, sharing the team scoring lead of 12 points with Stephie Salumu. KP Parr, coming off a 20-point performance at Oklahoma State on Monday, added 11 points. Both Miller (6-for-6) and Parr (7-for-10) did a good bit of their damage at the free-throw line.
“We need to show up ready to play from the opening tap,” Frey said. “That’s the standard, and we didn’t meet it tonight.”
Northwestern returns to action Monday when it comes home to face LSU-Shreveport. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: The Demons (1-3) visit Little Rock (0-3) Saturday night at 7 in an ESPN+ televised contest, hoping to post a second straight win on the heels of Wednesday’s 77-49 romp over Millsaps. The Trojans have an 83-79 homecourt loss to Southeastern Louisiana sandwiched around road losses at VCU and New Mexico.