THIBODAUX – The Northwestern State women have seen their fair share of adversity this season and more often than not responded to the challenge. They are looking for that same kind of response this week to erase an uncharacteristic loss that opened conference play.
 
The Lady Demons (7-5, 0-1) are looking to turn the page immediately when they take on Nicholls (3-9, 1-0) at 5 p.m. on Thursday night at Stopher Gym.
 
The game can be heard in the Natchitoches area on 95.9 FM Kix Country with free live streaming audio available at www.nsudemons.com or on the NSU Athletics mobile app, a free download via either the Apple or Google stores. Live video links will also be available on the NSU website.
 
"We didn't play a great game overall, but it was that second quarter that really got us the most," head coach Anna Nimz said about Saturday's 90-56 loss at Southeastern. "It was really uncharacteristic of how we've played, and the energy overall wasn't that good.
 
"But when you go back and watch the film it's never as bad as you think and it's never as good as you think. They were able to break it down in film and watch it and ideally, we're able to see where we made those mistakes and we're able to take those coaching points and move on."
 
The Lady Demons had their second highest turnover total of the season in the game with 20, just the second time this year they've reached that number in a game, leading directly to 25 point but even more damaging the 62 paint points scored by the Lady Lions.
 
Outside of a forgettable second quarter, there were plenty of shades of what the Lady Demons have produced all season with a 12-3 run to close the third and solid transition play that led to plenty of quality looks at the basket. Those forgettable moments however are the ones that also serve as coachable moments.
 
"I think that was the worst game we have played this season," junior transfer Jordan Todd said. "We got in our heads, as a team we weren't playing together, we stopped talking on defense, stopped looking for the extra man. Going forward I think we need to make sure we come together and stay together as a team and look for those extra passes more consistently."
 
The opportunity is there for the Lady Demons for their own rectification on Thursday as they take on a Nicholls team that, before a last-second win at New Orleans, had lost their last seven straight games.
 
A thrilling win and a disappointing performance to open conference play are fueling both teams as they enter the first two-game Southland weekend.
 
"Both Coach DoBee (Plaisance) and I have motivating factors," Nimz said. "Both teams, based off their last games, can come in and absolutely use that as a catalyst. We both have good motivation to come in and play our best on Thursday."
The best for NSU centers around the guard play of Monette Bolden, Candice Parramore, and Jiselle Woodson, while it is current SLC Player of the Week and the conference's second-leading scorer Chelsea Cain that draws the focus for the Colonels.
 
The 6-foot junior, who also picked up Louisiana Sport's Writers Player of the Week honors for her effort, made the game-winning shot with six seconds remaining in the 69-68 win at New Orleans. She finished the game with 29 points to bump her average to 16.1 for the season. 
 
"It'll be a big defensive assignment," Nimz said. "I think she's an incredibly dynamic player with a great build and the ability to do quite a few different things. It's going to take a kid with a lot of grit and heart and take that assignment seriously, whether they do one more thing the rest of the game, they take that job seriously and make it their own."
 
Cain scored 50 points in the two games against NSU a season ago.
 
Parramore has shown a hot hand offensively of late for the Lady Demons with 20 points in each of her last two games, she leads the team with four 20-point games this year. Neither Woodson nor Bolden reached double figures against Southeastern and only managed three total assists in the game after 13 combined against Champion Christian.
 
"We have some really talented players that are able to do some one-on-one stuff, and we a little bit live and die by that," Nimz said. "We have to start acknowledging that maybe when you've done your job and created the opportunity it's time to play out a little more.
 
"The more people that touch the ball the more people are going to work hard, and the more people are going to continue to have fun in what we're trying to do. Just going over it in practice and seeing different things on film, they're going to be able to understand the importance of turning it side-to-side and getting lots of touches."