NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State women's basketball team's home opener Sunday afternoon came against a familiar opponent, yet it produced some previously unseen results.
 
Libba Gilliam set a career high in scoring and Jocelyn Scott collected her first career double-double as the Lady Demons cruised past visiting LeTourneau, 82-39, inside Prather Coliseum.
 
"We did what we needed to do," second-year head coach Jordan Dupuy said. "We didn't know what to expect from them. We didn't have any film on them. We were very aggressive. Our communication was good. Our effort was good.'
 
Two days after dropping their season opener at Ole Miss, the Lady Demons (1-1) looked comfortable in the role of larger-division school against the Division III Yellowjackets, who played the game as an exhibition.
 
Despite missing two projected starters because of injuries, Northwestern State showed off its depth advantage as all but one of the 12 Lady Demons who played scored.
 
Gilliam led the way, tallying a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and a 3-for-3 day at the free-throw line.
 
Through two games, Gilliam has hit 11 of 13 shots from the field and has averaged 17.5 points per game in the early season. Dupuy credited Gilliam's work ethic as a reason for her quick start to the season.
 
"Getting in the gym helps, but a lot of it is my teammates," Gilliam said. "They're getting me those shots. Cheyenne's been out and has been a big scorer for us. Everyone has to step up for us, not just me."


After the Lady Demons built an eight-point lead on Jha'ne Wheeler's 3-pointer with 6:05 to play in the first quarter, LeTourneau whittled the deficit to two points before Northwestern State embarked on a game-changing run that spanned the first and second quarters.
 
Gabby Bell's 3-pointer with 1:19 to play in the first quarter started an 18-0 surge that lasted past the midpoint of the second quarter and helped NSU build its first 20-point lead of the game.
 
Scott scored five of her 10 points during the run. A McKinney, Texas, product, Scott set up her double-double performance by scoring eight points and grabbing eight boards in the first half.
 
She finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, all three of which established new career highs for the sophomore.
 
"All the coaches got on to me for (not playing well) at Ole Miss, and I know I let my teammates down," Scott said. "It was nice to get back to being me, to get back in rhythm. I'm back in the right mind-set."
 
Scott's performance fell in line with many of her teammates.
 
NSU put four players in double-figure scoring – Gilliam, Scott, Wheeler (12) and Leah Barnes (12) – and had three players – Scott, Wheeler (5) and Jada Freeman (4) – record at least four steals.
 
That defensive performance helped NSU force 36 turnovers, the most a Lady Demons team had turned over an opponent since notching 39 at Jackson State on Dec. 20, 2014.
 
"We forced 36 turnovers, had more assists than turnovers and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds," Dupuy said. "We've got to make sure we maintain that over the course of the next few games."
 
Northwestern State returns to action Wednesday when it hosts LSU-Shreveport. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. in Prather Coliseum.