NATCHITOCHES –The final stretch for Northwestern State women's basketball begins on Saturday with three home games to finish the season. Three opportunities to put together a full 40 minutes game that first-year head coach Anna Nimz has been asking her team to do and potentially notch a coveted victory.
 
The first chance for the Lady Demons (0-17, 0-12) comes against a hot Southeastern Louisiana (12-6, 8-4) team that enters the day winners of five straight with eyes for a potential two seed in the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Prather Coliseum, the first game of an afternoon doubleheader with the NSU men. The Lady Demons can be heard locally on 92.3 FM with subscription video and free streaming audio available at www.nsudemons.com or on the NSU Athletics mobile app, a free download on either the Apple or Google stores.
 
The buzz word all season for the Lady Demons has been effort. There have plenty of spurts and plenty of moments, but not yet have they put it all together in one game.  It is clear though that through each game NSU has fought through to the end.
 
Evidence of that fight has manifested itself in the past two games by freshman Osha Cummings. One of the smallest players on the team in terms of height, Cummings has led the Lady Demons in rebounding matching a season high with eight against Nicholls and Stephen F. Austin. She is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game over the last three games.
 
"It doesn't always show in the stat line, so when it does I love it so much, but she has had so many plays that were just pure hustle, energy and effort," Nimz said of Cummings. "We ask her to do a lot and we're asking all of them to do a lot for that matter. 
 
"She has the heart of a lion and plays with so much heart and effort. She might be 5-foot-4 but she's a strong 5-foot-4. Her leading us in rebounding speaks to her more than anything else." 
 
Cummings has also been a big part of the defensive surge of late for the Lady Demons that has in some way allowed the offense to find more success. 
 
NSU has had its two highest scoring games of the season the past two games and shot almost 40 percent from the field in that time, including a season-best 44 percent at SFA behind a 50 percent second half performance.
 
Those trends will certainly have to continue across the next week as the season comes to a close beginning with SLU.
 
The Lady Lions have won five straight with a win on Saturday securing their spot in the Katy, Texas, and the SLC Tournament along with their first overall winning record since 2008-09.
 
With three games remaining, the process that Nimz began a handful of months ago when she arrived in Natchitoches, and been put to the test all season long, will have its final chances to pay off for this team in this season. The Lady Demons though will have to give the one thing they've been asked for the most – effort.
 
"Hard work pays off," Nimz said. "I want that to continue to be learned and understood and just respecting that entire process. I've said it all year and will continue to say it, it's a process, it's been a tough process this year but it's one worth doing. 
 
"It's one worth going through. We've lost a lot of games but there's a way to handle it and you can get better, even in losing you can get better. As long as we're getting better that's all I care about."