STILLWATER, Okla. – Coming off its longest break of the season, the Northwestern State women's basketball team faces one final non-conference challenge Monday night.
 
The Lady Demons (5-5) draw their third ranked opponent of the season when they face No. 18 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
 
The game will be broadcast on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 KZBL in Natchitoches and including SportsTalk 100.7 FM and SuperTalk 1340 AM KRMD in Shreveport, and KWLA 103.1 FM in Many/Leesville. Free audio is available at NSUDemons.com and SuperTalk1340.com. Tony Taglavore will deliver the play-by-play.
 
The Cowgirls (9-1) are the fourth power conference opponent for the Lady Demons, who also have
played at Arkansas, Texas A&M and Texas in the season's first two months.
 
"We have had a difficult schedule in terms of the level of teams we've faced and the number of road games," said third-year co-head coach Brooke Stoehr, whose team will play its sixth road game of the year. "This group has improved in some areas, but we are still trying to grow and focus on improving every single day. We have shifted some roles along the way, and we will continue to do so until we find what works best for this group."
 
In its last outing, nine days ago, the Lady Demons fell to Jackson State in overtime, 62-61, despite forcing a season-high 39 turnovers.  NSU also surrendered a season-high 29 turnovers in that game.
 
"We have to value the basketball better than we have in the last few weeks," Stoehr said. "To be efficient offensively, we have to convert on takeaways without giving up possession ourselves. This has been an area we've focused on since we took over and an area that has to be better in conference play in order for us to be successful."
 
Keisha Lee led the Lady Demons with 18 points against Jackson State and continues to pace NSU in scoring at 11.1 points per game. Lee had eight steals against Jackson State. Her second eighth-steal game of the year pushed her to 52^nd nationally in steals per game (2.6).
 
The Cowgirls, meanwhile, feature four double-figure scorers – Brittney Martin (13.7), Roshunda Jackson (13.1), Liz Donohoe (12.5) and Brittany Atkins (12.4).
 
Defensively, Oklahoma State ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 50.7 points per game. NSU ranks 76^th in the same category, allowing 58.2 points per contest.
 
Much like the other power conference teams NSU has faced, Oklahoma State poses a physical challenge for the Lady Demons.
 
"Oklahoma State has size across the board and can score the basketball," Stoehr said. "Coach (Jim) Littell has done a tremendous job with the program and sustaining a level of success in the NCAA Tournament. They rebound the basketball well and are a tough, physical team."
 
Monday's matchup is the third of NSU's season-long, four-game road trip, which concludes with Friday's 3 p.m. matinee at Houston Baptist in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.