NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State closes the 2023 portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon with an exhibition contest against Champion Christian.
 
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from Prather Coliseum with live stats available on the NSU Athletics website. There will be no live video available for the game.
 
The Demons (4-7) host Champion Christian for the third consecutive year with Saturday's affair serving as a bridge between non-conference play and time off for Christmas and the beginning of Southland Conference play that starts next week.
 
In their last game, at Central Arkansas on Dec. 20, the Demons shot their second highest field goal percentage of the season of .471 but were held to 57 points in a 75-57 loss to the Sugar Bears. In a game with limited offensive chances on both ends, UCA went 27-for-50 from the field in the game for a .540 field goal percentage, the highest by an opponent this season.
 
"We want to focus on executing and finishing plays as we move into Saturday," head coach Anna Nimz said. "We have to continue to correct ourselves. After a couple days off we need to get back to the basics on defense and focus on bringing grit and communication."
 
In the game against Central Arkansas, the Demons saw more improvement on the offensive end from their group of post players, specifically from transfer Jenny Ntambwe.
 
Off the bench, Ntambwe scored a team-leading 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, that included a handful of mid-range jumpers in addition to her standard work around the rim. As the Demons continue to search for more scoring options with more consistency the development of the inside game stands to be a major plus heading into SLC play.
 
She also tied for the team lead in rebounding in the game and currently leads the Demons, and ranks fifth in the conference, in rebounds for the season at 6.1 per game, despite playing less than 20 minutes per game on average.
 
Ntambwe, along with NSU's other two post players Jasmin Dixon and Jordan Todd, will be tested by Champion Christian's top scorer the 6-foot-1 Kamryn Gentry who is scoring more than 20 points per game on the season, converting on 68 percent of her attempts.
 
The center had been in the middle of two NCCAA Division II National Championships won by Champion Christian over the past three seasons. The Tigers have also made four straight title game appearances.