LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State spent the first week and a half of the new year at home with three straight games in Prather Coliseum. On Saturday, the Lady Demons make their second-ever trip to McNeese's new H&HP Complex for their first road conference game of 2020.
 
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. as a part of the first road doubleheader of the season with the NSU men. The game can be heard locally on 92.3 FM The Fox with live streaming audio available at www.nsudemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which is available to download on either the Apple Store or Google Play.
 
The Lady Demons (4-10, 1-4 SLC) make their second trip to the new facility in Lake Charles after a heartbreaking 69-67 overtime loss on Wednesday to Incarnate Word.
 
NSU erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to force the game into extra time, thanks to a pair of clutch free throws from Victoria Miller with three seconds left in regulation. However, the biggest challenge from the game, and most of the season to this point, ended up costing the Lady Demons the win at the end.
 
UIW outrebounded NSU 47-35 in the game with 24 coming off the offensive glass, including the final one that led to the winning shot falling through the hoop as time expired. The Lady Demons have been outrebounded in 12 of their 14 games this season.
 
McNeese (3-10, 0-4 SLC) presents a challenge for the Lady Demons on that front as one of three teams in the conference with two players ranked in the top 10 in rebounds per game.
 
Senior Damilola Balogun leads the Cowgirls with an 8.3 per game average, second in the conference, with Bre'Ashlee Jones checking in at 6.8 per contest.
 
Being physical around the glass is something that fourth-year head coach Jordan Dupuy has talked a lot about during a season for his own team, and something that is characteristic of the Cowgirls under head coach Kacie Cryer. 
 
"It's always a grind and a dog fight when you play McNeese," Dupuy said. "Kacie does a great job of having those girls play so tough and physical. It's one of those games where we're going to have to go in with the mindset that we're down 15 and going to have to fight to come out on top."
 
NSU snapped an eight-game losing streak in Lake Charles a year ago with an 89-73 win in its first appearance in the new H&HP Complex. The victory secured the first season sweep of the Cowgirls since 2010.
 
A third straight win against McNeese would be the first road victory of the year for NSU.
 
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