LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State nearly made defensive history on Thursday night in a 60-44 win at McNeese to earn their first season sweep of the Cowgirls in five years.
 
The Demons (8-10, 4-3) were a minute away from setting a new record for the fewest points allowed in a conference game in program history behind one of the most comprehensive defensive performances of the season.
 
NSU held a 60-39 lead with less than two minutes to go in the game, one point fewer than the 40 it allowed to Southeastern in 1999 that as the lowest ever in a Southland Conference game. A McNeese jumper with 56 seconds left pushed them over the 40-point mark, leaving the record standing, but only slightly dampening an otherwise electric defensive performance from the Demons.
 
The Southland Conference's leading scorer, McNeese's Emilia Tenbrock who came in averaging 21.3 points per game in conference play, did not score a point until nine minutes into the game. Her made 3-pointer accounted for her only points of the game as the NSU defense kept her off the scoreboard the rest of the game and just two total attempts in the entire second half.
 
The Demons held McNeese to their lowest point total against a non-Power 5 school this year and the second straight game allowing 45 points or less to an opponent.
 
"Genuinely I think there were maybe on three or four possessions all night where we missed a scout read or played a kid wrong," head coach Anna Nimz said. "They did an outstanding job tonight. They were locked into who they were guarding, how they liked to attack and held a high-powered offensive team to 44 points. We're excited about that and anytime you get that kind of performance you put yourself in a position to win some games."
 
The Demons opened the game with a 10-2 run by executing on both ends of the floor. Quality ball movement led to multiple open looks in their 10-0 run featuring a pair of long balls from Sharna Ayres and Karmelah Dean.
 
Dean's triple capped the 10-point swing as the defense locked down the Cowgirl offense for the better part of the opening period. After their opening bucket 25 seconds into the game, McNeese did not score a single point for the next four straight minutes with no open looks at the basket along the way.
 
"I think we carried Saturday into Thursday and that was a big thing we were looking to do," Nimz said. "They showed some maturity and were excited to get on the court. They were locked in on what they needed to do, executed their sets and played through one another. It was good basketball."
 
The teams played even throughout the entirety of the second quarter, making four of their first nine shots in the period, all from inside the arc through the first seven minutes. Neither team made a 3-pointer in the second quarter and the Demon defense held McNeese scoreless for nearly the final four minutes of the half before an acrobatic layup fell at the buzzer to make it a 28-21 Demon lead at the break.
 
Jiselle Woodson stroked a pair of 3s within the first two minutes of the third quarter to give NSU a double-figure advantage as the defense continued to keep the Cowgirls in check. McNeese shot 3-for-12 from the field in the third quarter and did not make a field goal for the final four minutes of the third quarter.
 
The NSU offense hit a cold spell late in the period, scoring just five points during that same time frame, but it was enough to take a comfortable 44-30 lead into the final period.
 
The lock down stretch at the end of the third carried directly into the fourth quarter as McNeese was kept without a point for the first two minutes of the period. Nia Hardison put in four points during that time, rattling home the first of a pair of 3s in her 11-point final period to push NSU's lead to 48-30.
 
She served as the Demons' offensive closer on the night going 4-for-6 from the field, with a pair of deep shots, showing her ability from beyond the arc and off the bounce getting to the line seven times in the period. She finished with a career-high 18 points going 6-for-9 overall in the game.
 
A pair of two-minute shutout stretches by NSU kept the potential of the defensive record intact until the late stages creating the only drama for the final few minutes of the night.
 
The Demons had seven players score more than five points in the game and finished the night with a 46 percent effort from the field with assists on 58 percent of the their made field goals in the game.