NATCHITOCHES – As has been the case for the past week, the Northwestern State women's basketball team has little time to process its first loss of the season.
Instead, the Lady Demons have a very simple focus for Friday's 6:30 p.m. game against Mississippi Valley State.
"We've got to defend our home court," said first-year head coach
Jordan Dupuy, whose team is 3-1 with all three wins coming at home between Nov. 11-21. "We've got to learn from (Wednesday's loss at Texas). We've got to wipe it from our memory and be ready to play."
Mississippi Valley State (1-2) has dropped decisions to Power Five foes Alabama (93-44) and No. 2 Baylor (101-36). The Delta Devilettes thumped NAIA member Tougaloo, 99-55, for their only victory of the early season.
Despite the lopsided nature of all three games, Valley has shown an ability to force turnovers, causing an average of 20 miscues per game.
"They're a very athletic team that can cause matchup issues," Dupuy said. "They play different defenses. We could see a 1-2-2 (zone), a 1-3-1, a 2-3 or a matchup. They throw out two different presses."
While Friday's game is the visiting Devilettes' fourth game of the season, Northwestern State plays its fourth game in seven days. The Lady Demons are 2-1 through the first three games of that stretch, defeating LSU-Alexandria (97-76) and Central Baptist (93-42) before falling to No. 14 Texas (86-39) on Wednesday.
In Wednesday's game, seniors
Beatrice Attura (15) and
Shahd Abboud (13) combined for 28 points. In addition to his seniors' performances, Dupuy said he wants to build on the fourth quarter at Texas in which the Lady Demons played the Longhorns evenly thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Abboud.
Friday's game marks the first time NSU will host a Division I opponent, but Dupuy said strategy may not be the determining factor for the Lady Demons.
"It will be our fourth game in seven days with just a couple of days to prepare and we have to worry about legs, so it's going to be a difficult game," Dupuy said. "There won't be an X or an O that will change the outcome of Friday's game. It's going to be about our mental toughness."
Friday's game can be heard on 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches. Tony Taglavore, in his ninth season, will handle the play-by-play call of the game.
