NATCHITOCHES – Entering the final week of the 2018-19 women's basketball season, as many as six teams could find themselves tied for the final three Southland Conference Tournament spots by the end of the week.
 
With two games remaining, Northwestern State finds itself one game behind Central Arkansas for eighth place in the conference standings. The top eight teams qualify for next week's conference tournament in Katy, Texas.
 
The Lady Demons (10-17, 5-11) start their most important homestand of the season Wednesday night, hosting Nicholls (18-10 12-4) at 6:30 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum.
 
The game can be heard on 97.5 FM KDBH and on the Demon Sports Network. Streaming audio and video are available on www.NSUDemons.com/watch. Tony Taglavore, in his 11^th season, will handle the play-by-play call of the game.
 
Amid all the possibilities involving Northwestern State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, New Orleans, Central Arkansas, McNeese and Incarnate Word, the Lady Demons have a singular focus.
 
"I told the girls don't worry about who everybody else is playing and what they do," third-year head coach Jordan Dupuy said. "We've got to take care of our situation and what's in front of us. The good thing is we don't have to get on bus at all this week. We're in our own gym. We're sleeping on our own beds."
 
The Lady Demons hope that familiarity plays into a better showing against the visiting Colonels, who enter on a five-game win streak and are one win away from securing a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
 
Nicholls won the first matchup between the teams, defeating Northwestern State, 97-86, in the conference opener Jan. 2 in Thibodaux. With 15 games between meetings, much has changed for both teams.
 
"It was 73-72 with about 5:30 to play down there," Dupuy said. "To be in that situation in the conference opener against the defending tournament champions, we felt pretty good about it. We just didn't finish the way we needed to. We were right there.
 
"Victoria Miller was only 2-for-3 in that game, and now we look her as a third scorer, our best rebounder, and a really good defender. RaVon (Nero) has gone through pretty much an entire conference season. We've been through some battles, and being battle-tested, I expect us to play well."
 
The Lady Demons still are searching for consistency on both ends of the floor.
 
In the past week, Northwestern State dropped a 100-91 decision at Incarnate Word before outlasting Southeastern Louisiana, 60-56, in double overtime on Saturday. That win kept the Lady Demons' conference tournament hopes alive.
 
"If we're defending well, our offense isn't there," Dupuy said. "If our offense is there, we're not defending. We haven't put it all together yet. This is the time of year where we need it, and we need it Wednesday."
 
Doing so will require the Lady Demons to slow Southland Conference Player of the Year candidate Cassidy Barrios.
 
Barrios is the only Southland player averaging a double=double (20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds). She also leads the Colonels in assists, steals, blocks and 3-point shooting percentage. Her 17 double-doubles lead the conference and rank 12^th nationally, one of seven top-12 national marks for the senior guard.
 
Barrios had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the first meeting while Nero (23) and Kira Bonner (21) each broke the 20-point mark in Stopher Gym.
 
Wins in two of their past three games have put the Lady Demons in position to return to Katy after a one-year absence, something Dupuy isn't taking for granted.
 
"There was a point in time we didn't think we'd have this chance," he said. "We have to pull through and give ourselves that chance, but first things first, we've got to take care of Wednesady."