NATCHITOCHES – On opening night of any new season there is never a lack of excitement. Northwestern State matched that excitement with plenty of energy in an 84-33 win over Champion Christian.
 
The Demons jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game, exploded for 33 points in the second quarter and rode the energy wave through the rest of the game as returners and newcomers alike made easy work of the Tigers.
 
"I think the girl's energy was really good and they came out better tonight than we have in the past few seasons," fifth-year head coach Anna Nimz said. "Champion Christian has always been a tough game for us and I thought they came out with great court energy, great bench energy and it carried ourselves through the first half. We dipped a little bit in the second but across the board we saw a lot of good production."
 
Ten newcomers made their Northwestern debuts on Tuesday night with the first five points of the game coming from a pair of exciting ones to watch.
 
Freshman Vernell Atamah scored her first career points on her first shot attempt of the year, a jumper from just inside the arc on the left wing, on NSU's opening possession. Mya Blake, a senior transfer, ripped the first 3-pointer of the season two trips later and the Demons were off and running.
 
Clarence Djuela and Payton Miller also scored their first career points in the opening quarter on feeds from a pair of Demon returners Nia Hardison and Carla Celaya.
 
The Demons converted 8-of-18 from the field in the first quarter with only their shots from deep missing the mark at 1-of-8. Another sharpshooting newcomer flipped the script from deep in the second.
 
Zhane Thompson ripped the net from deep on the opening possession of the second quarter, the first of her four made triples over the first four minutes of the period. The Demons went 7-for-10 from beyond the arc in the second period with five of their first six made field goals coming from beyond the arc.
 
"We've got an opportunity to really let that thing fly this year," Nimz said. "We don't have just one or two shooters but we have the opportunity to have five shooters on the court at once. Last year we were running sets for one or two but in that starting lineup we've got kids shooting the same percentage as Sharna (Ayres). That's going to make us tougher to guard and allow us to really play inside out."
 
Thompson finished the night 6-for-13 from beyond the arc with a career-high 20 points in her Northwestern debut. She was one of three Demons to reach double digits on the night and one of five to knock down a deep shot.
 
"I was pretty nervous coming off an injury and just getting back into the groove of the game and stuff," Thompson said. "So I was happy with myself and thankful for my teammates getting me the open shots and being able to knock them down."
 
The blistering start to the second quarter led to a 33-point outburst, a 72 percent shooting effort from the field and a 52-11 lead at the half.
 
The Demons put together another long scoring run in the third quarter, scoring 14 straight points, that was capped by the first Demon bucket for sophomore transfer Chelsy Singleton. Her jumper with 4:44 left in the third gave NSU a 66-13 lead in the game.
 
Twelve different players scored in the game for the Demons with 10 different players dishing out at least one of the 23 assists on the 33 made field goals in the game.
 
"We had 10 new players that all saw minutes and all contributed in some way," Nimz said. "It made Coach Ailshie's job of subbing tremendously hard. Throughout non-conference its about building confidence among the entire team and finding roles. Not everybody is going to be a scorer but there are a lot of roles to be filled."