Lady Demon Basketball | 11/27/2017 11:39:00 AM

NATCHITOCHES – A Conference USA women's basketball team will visit Prather Coliseum for the first time in more than three years Tuesday night.
 
And there is no mistaking what a 6:30 p.m. visit from Southern Miss means to second-year Northwestern State women's basketball coach Jordan Dupuy.
 
"When you look down at the other bench, you see family down there," said Dupuy, a two-time Southern Miss graduate who spent eight seasons on Golden Eagles coach Joye Lee-McNelis' staff.
 
"Coach McNelis gave me my shot in women's basketball. She groomed me to take over this position. A lot of what I do and how I run things is how she does it. A lot of things you'll see on the court is what she had done over the course of her tenure there. It's definitely going to be a special night."
 
The Lady Demons (3-2) are unbeaten this season within the confines of Prather Coliseum, but the visiting Golden Eagles (5-1) will pose the biggest challenge NSU has faced at home in the first month of the season.
 
Southern Miss features a pair of double-figure scorers in Jayla King (16 ppg) and Shonte Hailes (15.5) who double as defensive sparks. Hailes (16) and King (15) have combined for nearly half of the Golden Eagles' 63 steals.
 
"I see good balance," Dupuy said. "They're able to score the ball down low and to get their perimeter people to score. They do a great job of creating tempo. If the tempo isn't what coach McNelis wants, she'll create it on her own – whether it's running the fast break after a make or a miss or full-court pressure. We have to create our tempo and slow them down to where they're a half-court team."
 
For Dupuy, slowing down Southern Miss, which averages 72 points per game, may mean not slowing himself down as well.
 
After spending eight seasons on McNelis' staff and another on former USM men's basketball coach James Green's, Dupuy has ties up and down the Southern Miss bench and on the roster, including players he actively recruited.
 
Less than 36 hours before tipoff, Dupuy said he has a plan for how to handle the likely surge of emotions that will rush over him.
 
"I've already had the internal conversation with myself about not making it bigger than what it is," he said. "We want to win every game we play. We're not changing the way we prepare. I'm not changing the way I coach. That approach will make sure our team stays poised and approaches it like any other game. They know it's special for me, and they know I want to win it.
 
"I want them to win it for themselves. It's one that will be very difficult, but if we implement our game plan, we'll have a good chance."
 
All particulars aside, there is a little extra motivation for Dupuy.
 
"There's going to be some emotion involved," he said. "When you have this scenario, (McNelis) is going to want to beat me more than anybody else, and I'm going to want to beat her more than anybody else. It's going to be fun. No matter the outcome, we're going to hug and love each other and still be family at the end of the night. It will be a very special night and hopefully a special atmosphere."
 
Tuesday's game can be heard on 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches and via streaming audio on www.NSUDemons.com. Tony Taglavore, in his 10^th season, will handle the play-by-play call of the game.