CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Nothing worth it ever comes easy, and that is the exact situation Northwestern State finds itself in with two games remaining in the regular season.
 
Following Thursday's loss at UIW, the Lady Demons (11-15, 7-9) sit in a tie with McNeese for the sixth-seed in the Southland Conference Tournament as one of the four teams that are battling for the final three spots in the eight-team bracket.
 
The path to clinching a spot in the postseason takes NSU to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (17-10, 12-4) on Saturday for a 12 p.m. start on ESPN+. Free streaming audio will also be available at www.nsudemons.com/watch.
 
As desperate as the Demons are for the late-season win to help secure its spot in the tournament, the Islanders are equally as motivated as they try to earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament and a regular season title. Corpus is currently tied with Southeastern atop to SLC standings.
 
The Islanders have won three straight games, after an 83-58 thumping of Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday behind Alecia Westbrook's 13^th double-double of the season. She is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double this year at 12.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.  
 
Westbrook and Makinna Serrata make up the offensive duo that carry the load for the Islanders as two of the top scorers in the league.
 
The challenge for the Demons is clear as they try and upset the Islanders on Homecoming afternoon, hoping to get another big performance from one of its high-output scorers for the third week in a row.
 
Senior Candice Parramore has set and matched her career high of 26 points in each of the past two Saturday games, part of her current career long 10-game double-digit scoring streak that has her atop the league scoring table at 16.4 points per game against conference opponents.
 
"She's been somebody that we can rely on," head coach Anna Nimz said. "We need some other people to step up and fill those other scoring spots though. Candice had two points going into the half of that UNO game and ended with 26. That's a lot of pressure to put on one person.
 
"Now she puts that on her shoulders and goes to work, but I think we can find some production from other members to spread the wealth. She's been special that past few weeks with what she's been able to do, and really her entire two years here, but we need to get more consistently for other people on the floor."
 
Parramore had nine of NSU's 18 first-quarter points, starting the game 4-for-5 from the field and finished as the game's top scorer with 18 in the game. NSU got a second straight double-digit scoring night from Joelle Johnson with Jiselle Woodson and Sharna Ayres putting in eight and nine respectively.
 
Parramore is averaging 15.0 points per game in two games against the Islanders in her career, both coming last season. She missed the earlier meeting this season due to injury where the Demons worked their way back to a seven-point game midway through the fourth quarter before the Islanders were able to pull away for the win.