NATCHITOCHES – The longest running women's basketball in Northwestern State history is renewed on Wednesday when the Lady Demons host Louisiana-Monroe in a special noon tip-off time in Prather Coliseum.
 
The 87^th meeting between the two teams, which is open to free admission for elementary school kids, is expected to have a boisterous yet young crowd as several area schools, who are in session for the last day until the Christmas break, will be in attendance.
 
The game will also be broadcast on the Demon Sports Network while free live audio and live stats, along with video for a minimal fee, will be available on www.nsudemons.com.
 
The Lady Demons (3-7) will be looking to turn things around after dropping games to Florida A&M and Alcorn State at the Southeastern Louisiana Classic.  And with just two-and-a-half weeks until the start of the Southland Conference season, the turnaround needs to happen now.
 
“We're excited to be back home and to play in front of all the school children as well as our other fans,” said head coach Jennifer Graf.  “It's been tough for us lately with the injuries we've encountered, but the girls are really working hard in practice and are ready to get things turned in the right direction.”
 
NSU lost sophomore guard Jasmine Bradley to a knee injury three weeks ago, and just last week, freshman forward Ebony Ford injured her knee in practice.  Bradley's injury will require season-ending surgery while Ford will have another MRI in the next few days to determine the severity of her injury.  She will not play on Wednesday.
 
The injuries have forced several Lady Demons to roll with more playing time than normal.  Junior forward Jasmine Upchurch and junior guard Meredith Graf set career-highs while playing all 40 minutes in a 70-60 loss to Alcorn State last Saturday. Also in that game, senior guard Jordi James played 40 minutes while senior guard Ronikka Drake saw just under 39 minutes of action.
 
Statistically, NSU is led in both scoring and rebounding by junior forward Trudy Armstead (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg).  She is coming off a 17 point outing against Alcorn State – her third straight double-digit scoring game.
 
Drake has also become a scoring machine for the Lady Demons.  She's one of three players averaging double-digits (10.1 ppg) and has scored in double figures in six consecutive games.  She has also hit 8 of her last 18 shots from 3-point range covering the last three ballgames.
 
The Warhawks, who are coached by former Northwestern State associate head coach Mona Martin, are struggling so far this season with a 1-11 record.
 
The Lady Demons hold a 49-37 advantage in the all-time series but ULM, a former Southland Conference foe, has won the last five outings.