SAN ANTONIO – The Northwestern State women's basketball team produced its highest-scoring half of the season Wednesday night at the McDermott Convocation Center.
 
However, homestanding Incarnate Word was nearly as efficient offensively throughout the matchup with the Lady Demons, holding on for a wild 100-91 Southland Conference victory.
 
The Lady Demons scored 62 points in the second half and shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range, but it wasn't enough to overcome the a hot-shooting night from the Cardinals (4-22, 4-11), who set a season high in scoring.
 
"With those offensive stats, it sounds like we won the game," third-year head coach Jordan Dupuy said. "Defensively, we didn't guard, we didn't rotate and we didn't make the plays we needed to. We made plays that you can't make if you want to come back and win. We have to do a better job of executing."
 
The Lady Demons (9-17, 4-11) got off to a hot start with a trio of 3s in the first three minutes, including eight points from senior Libba Gilliam, to go up 11-3 early. UIW took over in the second quarter sparked by a 5-for-9 effort from 3-point range in the quarter.
 
The Cardinals rode that momentum to a 10-0 run that put them up 36-21 midway through the period.
 
Down 42-29 at the half, NSU showed signs of a comeback. A RaVon Nero 3 with 6:39 remaining in the third capped a 6-0 run and pulled the Lady Demons within four, the closest they came for the rest of the game.
 
Fierce defense and clutch 3-point shooting gave the Lady Demons one last opportunity down the stretch when Nautica Grant nailed her seventh bucket from beyond the arc, tying a career high, and pulling NSU within five with 1:20 remaining in the game.
 
The Cardinals were able to seal the game at the free-throw line down the stretch, capping a 31-for-36 effort at the charity stripe (86.1 percent).
 
Five Lady Demons reached double-digit scoring led by Grant's 27. The senior went 7 for 12 from 3-point range and added three assists and one steal. Nero had another huge game with 24 points and eight rebounds.
 
Grant was particularly effective in the final quarter, doing her best to help Northwestern State complete a wild comeback by scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, sinking five 3s in the frame.
 
The Cardinals were lights-out from deep, shooting 50 percent for the game led by Macy Ray's five. UIW's Angelica Wiggins put up 28 points to lead all scorers, hitting all 10 of her free throws.
 
While Dupuy said he was proud of the individual standout performers, it's not the numbers that are most important right now.
 
"We are at a point in the season where numbers only matter on the scoreboard," he said. "We didn't play hard the first half and they had us on our heels. If we want to get to Katy (Texas) for the conference tournament, we have to finish playing, and we didn't do that tonight, especially on defense."
 
The Cardinals won the rebounding battle 42-34, including 24 on the offensive glass.
 
UIW won the battle of the benches as Wiggins (28), Lunden Henry (20) and Liz Holter (10) all reached double figures, leading the Cardinals to a 58-13 advantage in bench points.
 
Gilliam finished with 15 points and Victoria Miller added 10 points for Northwestern State, giving the Lady Demons four double-figure scorers.
 
The Lady Demons conclude their road schedule at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. inside the University Center.