NATCHITOCHES—It took a bit to get going, but a late first quarter run ignited a dominant 75-39 exhibition victory against Champion Christian to wrap up 2023 on Saturday at Prather Coliseum.

"I think we accomplished a handful of things we wanted to," head coach Anna Nimz said. "Coming off Christmas break, getting their legs underneath them, we wanted them to build confidence as we head into Southland Conference play. I think this game gave us a step in the right direction."

With Northwestern State clinging to an 8-7 lead midway through the first quarter, birthday girl Karmelah Dean sprang to life, scoring eight of her game-high 27 points during a 15-0 run to end the quarter and break open a close game.

Two of her made baskets in that stretch came from beyond the arc, two of her seven triples in nine attempts.

"It took me awhile for me to get the confidence in my shot for the basket to look big," Dean said. "I've been working on it outside of practice with one of our coaches and also my teammates found me in those open spots helped me get those shots off."

In the opening quarter, Nia Hardison dished out three of her game-high six assists in the game, without turning the ball over.

The game was never in doubt, as the run extended to 19-0 early in the second quarter and NSU coasted from there.

CCC tried to fight back, cutting the deficit to 13 at 32-19, following a layup from Makayla Williams, but back-to-back 3-pointers off the hand of the hot-handed Dean to end the half pushed the lead to 19 at halftime.

"We've been waiting for Karmelah to have that "a ha" moment," Nimz said. "She's gone through some tough injuries. She's always been an outstanding player on the defensive end for us and I am really excited to see her have the game she had."

That run continued into the second half, as the Demons held CCC off the scoreboard for the first 3:23 of the third quarter, as NSU embarked on a 10-0 run to begin the half and turn the game into a runaway, led by two triples from Sharna Ayres for her only two baskets of the contest.

NSU's defense finished off the victory in grand style, holding CCC off the scoreboard for the first four minutes of the frame, as the Demons pushed the advantage to 69-32. The lead ballooned to as many as 38 in the final two minutes.

While the Demons shot just 37.5 percent from the field, they held CCC to just 27.7 percent from the field overall and 19 percent from deep. They also dominated the glass, out-rebounding CCC 50-31, including grabbing 19 offensive boards.

Seven players hauled in at least four rebounds for NSU, led by Jasmin Dixon's six. Dixon also dropped in 10 points, the second most on the team, as well as leading the team with three blocks.

Outside of Dean, the scoring was spread out for the Demons, as 10 players found the scoreboard.

NSU forced a whopping 29 turnovers and turned them into 26 points.

"We just kept our heads in the game," Hardison said. "Coach will call a timeout and tell us we need to get it together if we were letting up too much on defense. When we make little mistakes, we're really doing it to ourselves."

Jiselle Woodson chipped in with six points and five assists, while Jordan McLemore added eight.

Alysia Pickett led CCC with 13 points, the only one in double figures for the visitors. Williams finished with eight points.

NSU leaps into conference play next time out when it hosts McNeese on Thursday at Prather Coliseum.