CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State got the better of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in field goal shooting and rebounding on Thursday night. The third key category of the game went the other way however in a 68-52 win for the Islanders.
 
Spurts of what the Demons (9-15, 58) have shown time and time again throughout the season of effective and efficient offense paired with stout defense was marred by 28 turnovers on Thursday leading to 28 AMCC points.
 
The Demons outmanned the top rebounding team in the conference on the season 41-34 and converted on 40 percent of their shots from the field, while holding the Islanders to a 35 percent effort, the lowest in their past five games.
 
"I know they care," head coach Anna Nimz said. "I know they are trying, but we've got to get better with our poise and composure. We can't survive these high turnover nights. I believe in them and absolutely know they have it in them to be great. 
 
" We just have to fight to earn a spot in the tournament and make sure we are getting better at something every single game in preparation."
 
Sharna Ayres scored the first points of the game on NSU's first possession draining a 3-pointer from the corner. Corpus scored the next 10 points of the game and went on a 16-1 overall run over the next seven minutes fueled by six Demon turnovers through the first six minutes of the game. The nine points the Islanders scored off NSU turnovers proved to be one of the biggest differences in the game the rest of the way.
 
After falling behind 16-8 after the first 10 minutes of the game, the teams were only separated by eight points the rest of the game 52-44. The Islanders had single possession point differentials over NSU in the second and fourth quarters.
 
Corpus stretched their lead to its largest of the game of 19 with 4:31 left in the second quarter, helped along by six more turnovers. But between then and the end of the half, the Demons showed just what they can produce.
 
The defense shut the Islanders down and held them scoreless to finish the half while going 4-for-6 from the field to close the quarter on a 9-0 run. Sharna Ayres scored or assisted on seven of the points in the stretch to go into the break with a team-leading 11 points and her team down 33-23 at the break.
 
The Demons had 16 turnovers in the first half, 15 coming before that final four-and-a-half-minute stretch. The Islanders scored 17 points on those extra opportunities. 
 
NSU pulled to within single digit early in the third quarter on shots from Jermesha Frierson and a jumper from Ayres, extending the late second run to a 15-2 overall stretch. The Islanders scored on their first three possessions of the quarter keeping NSU from gaining any more momentum and eventually stretched their lead back to 15 by the mid-point of the period.
 
The Islanders outshot the Demons from the field in the fourth quarter but used a 6-for-6 effort from the line to secure the victory.
 
Thanks to the efforts of Jordan Todd throughout the game, and especially the second half, the Demons were able to extend the streak of outrebounding their opponents to eight with Todd leading the way.
 
She pulled in eight rebounds in the first half and added another seven in the second to match her career high of 15. Her 11 second half points, the final two of which coming with less than a minute to go in the game secured her first double-double of the year and her seventh as a Demon.
 
Ayres led NSU with 13 points, Carla Celaya added nine, Jenny Ntambwe pulled in eight rebounds and Nia Hardison had a career-high five assists.