CONWAY, Arkansas – Northwestern State closes its season on Saturday at Central Arkansas and with it the careers of five seniors, in what poses to be a game where the first one to 60 wins.
 
Gabby Bell, Jocelyn Scott, Victoria Miller, Kira Bonner and Jasmyn Johnson suit up for the Lady Demons (7-21, 4-15 SLC) for the final time as they try and match the result, they produced on senior day a few weeks ago.
 
Saturday's 1 p.m. tip is part of doubleheader action with the NSU men who look to lock up a tournament spot with a win. Fans can hear the game live on 92.3 FM The Fox with Tony Taglavore or stream it on www.nsudemons.com or on the NSU Athletics mobile app, which is available for download via the Apple Store or Google Play.
 
Although it ended in a six-point loss, the Lady Demons had one of the best outings of the season on Wednesday in New Orleans. The team shot better than 45 percent for the game for the third time this year and outrebounded their opponent for the fourth time in the last nine games.
 
They erased two separate 14-point leads to pull within one possession but missed chances, fouls and turnovers kept them from tying the game. The effort in the game was due in large part to what interim head coach Aaron Swinson called the best practice of the season to start the week.
 
"I went in to practice on Thursday and told them I was pleased with the first part of the week," Swinson said, "but now we have to refocus to prepare ourselves for Saturday."
 
"I told them about the physicality of Central Arkansas, and we've got to go out with the mindset that we can compete with that physicality, with their aggressive play and know what we have to do from a defensive standpoint."
 
Defense looms large in the final contest of the season. The Sugar Bears (12-16, 8-11) play some of the toughest defense in the Southland, holding opponents below 60 points on the season, one of just three teams in the league to claim that.
 
NSU had success Wednesday getting out in front of the UNO defense allowing them to get to the basket quickly.
 
"Our philosophy is not going to change," Swinson said. "If we get a rebound, we want to push the tempo. They do a good job of crashing their player to the board so if we do get a rebound, we have to go.
 
"Hopefully they'll be behind us while we're advancing where we'll have some numbers the other way. I want the players to enjoy themselves, to get out and have fun and make easy baskets where we don't really have to run much half-court offense."
 
NSU scored 76 points against New Orleans, the second highest total of the season and most in a Southland game but average 57.6 per night, second lowest in the conference. UCA scores 56.3 per night.
 
"We had some small victories against New Orleans," Swinson said. "We ended up with a loss, but I want them to have fun but play hard and give it everything they have. I want them to carry over the aggressive play we had on Wednesday into this weekend.
 
"This isn't going to be an easy game at all. They're going to slow it down and play great defense. They're going to get after it, and they feed off their coach. I want us to be the same way. They know how my energy is on the sideline, night in and night out."
 
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