HAMMOND – Already short-handed with the loss of guard Jasmine Bradley and forward Ebony Ford to knee injuries, Northwestern State was limited in the production from scoring leader Jordi James due to a back injury and the results showed as the Lady Demons were shocked 77-53 by Florida A&M Friday evening in the Southeastern Louisiana Women's Basketball Classic.

The loss dropped the Lady Demons' record to 3-6 on the season.  They'll take on winless Alcorn State at 2 on Saturday in the final day of the classic.

James, who entered the game with a team-best 13.9 points per game scoring average and coming off a career-tying high 24 points in NSU's last outing against Wiley College, played just 18 minutes on Friday and was held to 3 of 13 shooting and nine points.  Her single-digit output snapped a string of six consecutive games when she scored 10 or more points.

The Lady Demons were held to just 27.9 percent shooting from the floor after hitting 19 of 68, and 6 of 24 from 3-point range for 25 percent.

Trudy Armstead and Ronikka Drake each scored 11 points to pace NSU while Meredith Graf sank 10.

Florida A&M (4-5) was led by Antonia Bennett's 24 points and Tameka McKelton's 18.

The Rattlers hit 41.4 percent (29 of 70) from the field, including 7 of 18 for 38.9 percent from long range.

FAMU became the first team since South Alabama to outrebound the Lady Demons, taking a 55-41 advantage on the glass.

Florida A&M scored the game's first points on a 3-pointer by Bennett but the Lady Demons got back-to-back baskets from Armstead and Jasmine Upchurch to go up 4-3 with 18:08 to play in the half.

That would be the only lead NSU would have as FAMU snapped a 7-7 tie with a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to go up by 10.

The lead would get to 14 points at 23-9 with 8:59 to play in the half before the Lady Demons started to chop away at the margin.  After a couple of 3-pointers by Drake and Graf and good free throw shooting, NSU cut the deficit to 31-25 with 2:16 to play.

But the Rattlers was able to string together a 7-2 run to end the half and go into the break with a 38-27 lead.

The game was put out of reach in the first 3:30 of the second half as FAMU rolled off a 12-0 run to open the frame and take a 50-27 lead.

The Lady Demons would get the gap down to 17 points at 63-46 after a jumper by Upchurch with 4:35 to play, but another run by the Rattlers, this time a 7-0 streak, ballooned the lead back up to 27 points at 73-46 with 2:49 to play.