NATCHITOCHES – It took some exceptional late-game heroics from Jasmyn Johnson, but Northwestern State escaped with a 61-59 win against Central Baptist to move to 2-0 on the young season.
 
Down by two with less than a minute to go, Johnson found the hoop out of an NSU timeout with 33 seconds remaining, tying the game at 59. The senior from West Monroe then picked the pocket of the Mustangs' Kendra Cummings near midcourt and sprinted ahead for the easy go-ahead layup with five ticks left.. Another steal, her eighth of the game, sealed the win for the Lady Demons moments later as time expired.
 
"Coach (Nicole) Mitchell told me to go win the game," Johnson said. "So that's what I did. I didn't want to lose so I did whatever I had to do to get us the win."
 
The exciting finish sent the fans home happy after what was otherwise a disappointing performance from the home team.
 
"We can enjoy this a little bit and it is always better to win, but there are so many ways that we have to get batter," coach Jordan Dupuy said." We put ourselves in this situation with our preparation in practice. Today's game was a reflection of that preparation or lack thereof.
 
"It would have been a really tough lesson to learn if we had come out on the short end, but thank goodness we were able to make some plays at the end."
 
It was a first half to forget for the Lady Demons, who shot 26 percent from the field missed eight layups and turned the ball over 12 times. Fortunately Central Baptist had its own struggles during the first 20 minutes, primarily from the free throw line.
 
The Mustangs went 7-for-16 from the charity stripe in the half, but still held the 33-24 lead at intermission.
 
It wasn't until late in the third quarter that the Lady Demons found a spark and really began chipping away at the CBC lead.
 
Gabby Bell started a 10-0 run that carried NSU to the end of the third quarter and put them in the lead for the first time in the game as time ran out in the frame. Kira Bonner drained a three-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left, then after a quick miss on the other end Kalen Green drew a foul on a long ball and made all three shots to put NSU ahead 47-46 entering the fourth.
 
Northwestern State maintained its five-point advantage through the ebb and flow of the fourth quarter until the Mustangs a 7-0 run to take the lead on a wide-open three with 57 second on the clock. The shot triggered Johnson to will her team to victory and a 24^thstraight win over non-Division I opponents.
 
NSU plays their final of three straight home games to begin the season next Wednesday as they host Jackson State at Prather Coliseum.
 
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