LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State closes the first run through the Southland Conference schedule on Saturday in what could turn into an impressive shooting display.

The two teams that shoot the most 3-point shots per game in the conference will square off on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. as the Lady Demons (9-8, 2-4) take on McNeese (8-11, 3-3) in the renewed Legacy Center. The game can be heard on 95.9 FM in Natchitoches with live streaming audio available at www.nsudemons.com/watch or on the NSU Athletics mobile app, a free download in either the Apple or Google stores.

The Lady Demons have shown on various occasions this season the ability to get hot from behind the arc, including a stretch of road three straight road games where they made nearly 10 shots from distance each time out.

Lately however, the offense as a whole has lost some of the momentum it had in the early part of the season when the shots were falling, and the 3-pointer is one of the biggest differences between then and now.

Against Houston Baptist on Thursday night the Lady Demons shot 42 percent from the field, despite a 10-minute scoreless stretch that proved to be a catalyst for the outcome of the game. It was the second straight game NSU shot at a 40 percent clip from the field, but still the result went to the other team.

One other time the season, the Lady Demons have shot that well in consecutive games, the three-game winning streak at Arkansas State, Mississippi Valley State and ULM. The team made a combined 27 from beyond the arc in those three wins, with a total of five connections in the most recent two games.

The deep shots weren't the only indicator of a difference, but the sheer number of attempts from the field. NSU attempted 45 shots in both games against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and HBU with 57 or more shots in each of the three wins in early December.

Turnovers have been a factor in the dip in attempts with more than 20 in each of the past two games, the third and fourth times this season NSU has exceeded that number.

With the amount of shots NSU puts up in practice gives is the chance on any given night to light the nets up, boasting the top two 3-point shooters, percentage wise, in the conference. Josie Fleischmann and Jiselle Woodson lead the league, with the next four spots claimed by McNeese shooters.

While the game will almost certainly be decided by who shoots better from beyond the arc, the game within the game lies in the execution of both offenses.

"Their offense is almost hard to scout because they're just simply playing basketball," head coach Anna Nimz said. "They make solid pass fakes, have great passers, they read the gaps and they're heady basketball players that can really shoot the ball.

"If we do something silly, they will know how to capitalize on it. It's just going to come down to being more fundamental and staying locked in. But our girls are so scrapy we could create a lot of havoc for them as well. We just have to play basketball the right way and sometimes that gets away from us."