NATCHITOCHES – Even on a night when it didn't play its best or cleanest basketball, Northwestern State had multiple chances to pull out a victory on Thursday night.
 
After cutting the lead down to one on a Candice Parramore 3-pointer with 5:35 remaining the game, the Lady Demons (1-2) had four opportunities to tie the game or take the lead. The thing that cost the Demons all night – turnovers – prevented a thrilling finish and allowed Southern (1-3) to escape with a 56-52 win.
 
"We didn't give up that's for sure," head coach Anna Nimz said. "I just think we started really playing too late. We kind of let the game happen to us instead of coming out and taking control of it. We had three timeouts there at the end with good looks at the basket, our execution just wasn't spot on like it should have been. That's on me to make sure we practice those things at a higher rate, but I would have liked to see us start playing much earlier in the game."
 
Parramore's 3 all but erased the 12-point deficit the Lady Demons faced midway through the third quarter. NSU outscored Southern 20-10 from the six-minute mark of the third until the corner 3 that made it a one-point game.
 
The run was fueled, and sparked, by the stingy NSU defense.
 
A Karmelah Dean steal and coast-to-coast layup brought the Jaguar lead back into single digits at 39-30. Dean was fouled on the shot, but the other Demon curse of the night, missed free throws, kept it a nine-point game. 
 
NSU missed nine free throws in the game, and before a four-for-four stretch in the fourth quarter were7-for-16 from the line in the game. Even the wildly reliable Parramore missed two free throws on one trip in the first half.
 
Two buckets to start the fourth quarter cut the lead down to just two possessions and gave NSU a chance to fully take control of the game. Two turnovers on their next two turns with the ball left the score the same. A Jasmin Dixon block after a good defensive series gave NSU a third chance to cut into the lead, but a third turnover and Jaguar layup on the other end stretched the lead back to six.
 
"It was a lot of just bobbled basketballs and not so much forced turnovers by Southern," Nimz said. "We've got to tighten up our handles, get in the gym and get better as a team more so than as individuals. We play a high speed of basketball but not a chaotic speed and we're still figuring that out. And like I told them after the game, our season is long, so we've got time to learn from this and get better."

NSU turned the ball over 27 times in the game, compared to 18 for the Jaguars.
 
The teams combined to make just one field goal after the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer from Southern's Amani McWain with 3:08 left that answered Parramore's from earlier.
 
The Lady Demons got a stop with 46 second to go on a missed shot from the right corner, but could not control the rebound, something they had done most of the night. NSU outworked Southern on the glass 43-35.
 
Two free throws from Aleighyah Fontenot with 18 second left sealed the game for the Jaguars.
 
NSU had four players score in double digits in the game led by Dean's 11. Sharna Ayres, Bengisu Alper and Parramore each finished with 10 points on the night. Ayres, Dixon and Alecia Whyte each pulled in a team-best seven rebounds.