NATCHITOCHES—The Northwestern State raced out to a 27-1 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a historic victory, cruising to a 98-27 win over Arkansas Baptist on Tuesday evening at Prather Coliseum.

The 71-point victory is the widest margin of victory in program history, eclipsing the 67-point win last season in a 105-38 win against Southern-New Orleans.

The 27 points allowed by the Demons (2-1) are the second-fewest number of points given up in school history, only trailing the 22 points allowed in 2017 in an 87-22 win over Central Baptist.

"I thought the girls came out strong," head coach Anna Nimz said. "We really came out shooting well, making our first two shots of the game from 3. The energy was right there at the beginning and we came away with a good win."

With the Demons allowing just 33 in the season-opening victory against Champion Christian, this marks two of the four lowest scoring outings allowed by Northwestern State have happened this season.

Northwestern State held ABC (0-1) without a made field goal for the first 10:15 (0-for-11), while it made 11-of-17 shots. Including 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Carla Celaya scored all nine of her points in the first 10 minutes, leading the Demons to the fast start.

The first two shots of the game were made 3-pointers by Sharna Ayres and Blake, which gave the Demons a great start.

"Obviously, when you knock down the first couple shots, it will give the team a lot of energy and instill some confidence," Nimz said. "Right or wrong, knocking down the first couple of shots tends to drive a little extra passion on the defensive end."

Overall, the Demons held the Lady Buffaloes to six made field goals and not a single make from behind the 3-point line.

The stifling defense only surrendered 12 points from the field, as ABC recorded more than half of its points (15) from the free throw line.

While Celaya did her damage in the first quarter, Mya Blake made her mark throughout the game, pouring in a season-high 22 points after scoring 17 in the first two games combined.

All of her 22 points came in the first three quarters, making 8-of-9 shot attempts. After making two of her 10 3-point attempts coming in, she buried five of her six triple tries.

"I was feeling it today," Blake said. "I felt like my shot was smooth. My teammates were also hitting shots, whether it was in my hand or not, so that's always good as it gave us momentum on the defensive side as well."

For the second time in three games, Northwestern State buried 12 3-pointers.

Blake was everywhere for the Demons. In addition to her game-high 22 points, she also dished out four assists, grabbed four rebounds and recorded five steals.

She contributed to her team turning ABC over 32 times and scoring 48 points off those turnovers.

Northwestern State's 23 steals are the most since recording 25 steals in a win against LSU-Shreveport in 2019.

Eleven players recorded at least one steal, with four having at least three.

The Demons never let their foot off the gas, scoring 80 in the first three quarters and never let the lead slip below 26 after that first quarter.

While the field goal percentage for the game was 51.4 percent, it shot 58.2 percent in the first three quarters to build an 80-21 advantage.

The game was never in doubt, as the Demons out-scored the Lady Buffaloes 27-9 in the third quarter, as the lead kept building.

Ayres was the other Demon in double figures, scoring 20 points, drilled three triples and nearly posting her first double-double of the season, hauling down eight rebounds.

Clarence Djuela, a freshman from Germany, recorded eight points and seven rebounds, six of which were offensive.

That was a theme for the home team, as it shot 38-for-74 from the field. Of the 36 it missed, Northwestern State grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, the most since it recorded 25 offensive boards last season, also against ABC.

Eight players scored at least six points for the Demons with six recording between six and nine points. Twelve players overall found the scoring column.

The Demons head back on the road for three straight contests in the state of Texas, beginning with a trip to Tarleton State on Saturday.