NATCHITOCHES – Normally talk of turnovers and possessions are points hammered home by football coaches.
 
When Lamar visits Northwestern State for a 6:30 Wednesday night Southland Conference women's basketball matchup, the same themes will echo throughout Prather Coliseum.
 
The game can be heard on 97.5 KDBH in Natchitoches and on the Demon Sports Network. Streaming audio and video is available at www.NSUDemons.com/watch and through the new Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free from the Apple Store r Google Play. Tony Taglavore, in his 11^th season, will handle the play-by-play call of the game.
 
The visiting Cardinals (17-5, 10-1) lead the nation in forcing turnovers at 25.3 per game. Right behind them? The homestanding Lady Demons (8-14, 3-8), who cause an average of 25 miscues per game.
 
"(Maintaining possession) is the biggest thing going into this game," third-year head coach Jordan Dupuy said. "Both teams want to turn over each other. We looked at it, and they have 553 forced turnovers and we have 552. We're going to put that in the game plan and let them know, 'Who is going to take over No. 1 in the country in turning people over?' Let's have some pride. This doesn't happen very often.
 
"Possession of the ball is going to be huge. If we don't have it, we're going to do everything we can to get it back. If we have it, we're going to do everything we can to keep it."
 
Lamar's defense is fueled by senior point guard Chastadie Barrs, who averages a national-leading 5.8 steals per game and enters Wednesday's game 41 steals away from becoming the all-time Division I steals leader.
 
Barrs has collected a steal in 113 consecutive games and teams with fellow senior guard Moe Kinard (19.4 points per game) in a balanced back court. Kinard established an NCAA record by hitting 13 3-pointers in a 117-110 double-overtime loss at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018.
 
The Lady Demons' backcourt has produced in a similar way. The point guard combination of Sami Thomas and Gabby Bell averages 5.7 assists and almost three steals per game. Meanwhile, shooting guard Nautica Grant has shot 53.7 percent from 3-point range in conference play, averaging 11.4 points per contest.
 
"The value they bring to their teams (is similar), too," Dupuy said. "It all starts with our backcourt play. If our backcourt play is solid, we're solid. Lamar is extremely long, athletic, tough and physical. The biggest difference I see is they can create more of their own offense. You can give them the ball and they can make a play where we utilize our scheme to make things happen."
 
Lamar saw its 10-game winning streak to begin Southland Conference play end Saturday at Stephen F. Austin while Northwestern State snapped a 22-game road losing streak with an 89-73 victory at McNeese that gave the Lady Demons a season sweep of the Cowgirls.
 
After three straight years of traveling to Beaumont, Texas, Northwestern State hosts the Cardinals for the first time since Jan. 17, 2015. Dupuy said he hopes the familiar surroundings of Prather Coliseum can give his team an extra lift against the second-place team in the conference.
 
"Hopefully, we'll play with confidence after how we played Saturday," he said. "You get to sleep in your own be, shoot in your own arena. You're in your own locker room. That level of comfort helps.
 
"The key will be the first five minutes of the game. Can we punch them in the mouth first and realize we can play with this team; we can execute against this team? Coming off the loss at SFA will fuel their fire. We don't have to match their intensity but exceed their intensity. It's much easier to do that in your home arena than on the road."