Lady Demons begin lengthy road swing at No. 9 Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After a short couple days at home for Christmas, Northwestern State will make its home on the road for nearly a month beginning Monday night.
The Lady Demons (0-4) begin a stretch of five consecutive and eight of their next nine games on the road that include seven Southland Conference games. The long road stretch begins with the final non-conference game of the season and the second against a top 10 opponent in No. 9 Texas A&M (8-0).
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Reed Arena and can be heard live on 92.3 FM The Fox with steaming audio available at www.nsudemons.com or the NSU Athletics mobile app, a free download in the Apple and Google stores. Monday’s game will also be broadcast online at SEC Network Plus.
Despite a huge third quarter surge and career-high performances from sophomores Anessa Dussette and Tristen Washington, the Lady Demons were not able to maintain the momentum into the final period in their most recent outing, a 73-58 home loss to Mississippi Valley State.
Dussette leads the Lady Demons in scoring after her 20-point effort, the first of her career, at 14.0 per game with Washington right behind with 13.8 per game.
A couple days off after the game and a chance to, as first-year head coach Anna Nimz put it, “fill their bucket,” with family time and friends proved helpful for the Lady Demons as they returned to campus and preparation for not only Texas A&M but the upcoming conference slate.
“We had a great day one back after break,” Nimz said. “There was focused energy, and the effort was there. We didn’t back it up with a great second day, but we’ll take this bus ride to focus, get to A&M this evening and get an additional workout there.”
Focus, effort and discipline have been the cornerstone of development for Nimz through the first four games, and that remains the same entering Monday’s game.
“We’re continuing to focus on us,” Nimz said. “Play with poise and be disciplined in all we do. It’s about the details, details, details.”
The Aggies have had the same break between games as NSU, picking up a 57-53 win over Rice in their last game a week ago. The win pushed them into the top 10 for the first time this season and creates the second top 10 matchup of the season for the Lady Demons. It is the first time since the 2014-15 season NSU faces multiple teams ranked in the top 10 after player No. 7 Baylor on Dec. 18.
Senior forward N’dea Jones and guard Aaliyah Wilson lead the undefeated Aggies averaging a combined 27.7 points and 16.0 rebounds a game. Jones has recorded double-doubles in five of A&M’s eight games this year and has scored 10 points or had 10 rebounds in all but one game so far.
