LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State did a lot of things right in its most recent road game. When it closes this three-game road swing on Thursday night it looks to take the next step in the process.
 
When the Demons (7-10, 3-3) take on McNeese (4-15, 0-6) for the second time this season they do so with a primary objective of carrying a good performance in one game immediately over into a good performance in the next.
 
In the win at New Orleans this past Saturday NSU turned in their largest margin of victory in a league game in 10 years, shot better than 40 percent from both the field and beyond the 3-point line for the third time this year and held the Privateers to less than 50 points with their lowest field goal percentage and rebound total in conference play this year.
 
"It's focusing on capitalizing on the things that we did well against New Orleans," head coach Anna Nimz said. "The toughness. The grit. The composure. The poise. The maturity. All of those things that they showed. And then correcting the things that we did wrong. It's that growth mindset and something we talk about all the time."
 
Late scoring runs in both the second and third quarters helped push the Demons to the big victory. Something they will look to recreate again on Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ in the second meeting with McNeese this year.
 
Three weeks ago when the two teams faced off in the conference opening game in Natchitoches, the Demons had similar stretches of multi-point runs at the end of quarters to secure a convincing 78-54 victory.
 
Behind Sharna Ayres' team-leading 16 points and four other players joining her in double digits, the Demond outpaced McNeese 25-5 in the final two minutes of each of the four quarters of the game. They also shot better than 40 percent from the field and beyond the arc in the win, just like they did on Saturday in New Orleans.
 
"We have to go down there with the mindset that the game is ours," Nimz said. "Go in with some confidence but also a lot of fight because it's going to take 40 minutes to beat that team again."
 
Even with a still winless conference record, the Cowgirls have the firepower to light the scoreboard and are always a tough out on their home court. In their last home game they jumped out to a 25-7 lead on then-and-still unbeaten Southeastern and held an 11-point edge with just over five minutes to go before the Lions forced overtime and won the game.
 
The conference's leading scorer both overall and in league games, Emilia Tenbrock, is putting in 21.3 per game against Southland opponents including a 40-point affair at Texas A&M-Commerce two days after facing the Demons. She has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games and reach double figures in 11 of the past 12 overall.
 
The one game where she did not reach 10 points or more, came against NSU who held her to five points, and second leading scorer Mereia Yesps to just two points. The seven combined was the lowest total in a game by the duo all season.
 
"Some of the players that we feel like we did a really nice job of guarding have had some really big nights since that first game," Nimz said. "They may be 0-6 in conference, but I think this year the Southland Conference women's side is the strongest from top to bottom that is has been in the four years that we've been here. Any team can be beaten on any night, so we have to focus on all the things they bring to the table. The outside shooting, their length, defensive scheming and knowing how much of a challenge it is to win on the road."
 
NSU has created some steady firepower of their own since that first meeting three weeks ago. The Demons have been held below a 35 percent field goal effort just once during conference play and have amassed the second-best team shooting percentage at .411, one of two teams shooting better than 40 percent from the field through six games.
 
Ayres, Karmelah Dean and Jiselle Woodson all are averaging 10 points or more in Southland action while Nia Hardison and Jenny Ntambwe are putting in a solid 7.5 or more per game. The trio of Ayres, Dean and Woodson have combined to produce 12 double-digit scoring efforts so far in the Southland.