NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State will open its 2011-12 home basketball slate on Tuesday when the Lady Demons host I-49 counterpart Centenary at 7 in the newly refurbished Prather Coliseum.
 
Fans coming to the game will be able to buy tickets for just $1 if they bring a non-perishable food item to donate.  The food drive is being done in conjunction with Phi Mu Sorority.  All donations will help feed needy families in the Natchitoches area for the Thanksgiving holidays.
 
“This is such a special time of the year and our girls are more than thrilled to contribute to such a worthy cause,” said Lady Demon head coach Jennifer Graf.  “There are a lot of people that aren't as fortunate as a lot of us.  We'd like to hopefully help spread some holiday cheer.”
 
The Lady Demons (0-1) are coming off a 77-49 loss at Wichita State in the season opener last Saturday.  In that game, senior guard Jordi James scored 16 points while junior forward Trudy Armstead contributed 12.
 
Despite the 28-point loss, the Lady Demon defense forced the Shockers into 25 turnovers while swiping the ball 16 times.
 
“I was really happy with the way we played defensively,” said Graf.  “But we need to do a better job of capitalizing on the turnovers.  We need to score more points off of those.”
 
Centenary will be tipping of its season against the Lady Demons.  Ladies' head coach Kristen Davis is not stranger to the Lady Demon program.  She played for NSU from 2002-05 then was an assistant coach through the 2009 season.  She was part of the Lady Demons' 2003-04 Southland Conference championship team.
 
Also, Centenary assistant coach Layne Huckabay is a graduate of NSU and was a student assistant for the Lady Demons the last three years.
 
On the flip side, Northwestern State director of basketball operations Ashley Jackson wrapped up a stellar playing career at Centenary last season as she joined an elite group by scoring 1,000 career points.
 
Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on the Demon Sports Network that is flagshipped by 100.7 KZBL-FM in Natchitoches.  Tony Taglavore enters his fourth season as the Voice of the Lady Demons.