SAN ANTONIO—With just five games left, Northwestern State is jockeying for positioning in the Southland Conference standings when it travels for a contest at UIW.

Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the McDermott Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.

While NSU (9-15, 5-8) is on the brink of clinching a spot in March's SLC Tournament, it finds itself in the middle of a cluster of teams fighting for the coveted final bye, which goes to the teams that finish the regular season in the top four.

The Demons sit 2.5 games behind UIW (14-9, 7-5) in the conference standings, needing a win to keep themselves alive for the bye in the tournament.

Five teams are within 2.5 games of each other in the conference standings, and NSU plays three of the other four in its final five games.

"UIW is an incredibly good, high-scoring, basketball team," fourth-year head coach Anna Nimz said. "They are just a gritty, tough, team. They are smart kids and playing really good basketball right now. We have just have to find a way to be the better team on Saturday."

NSU aims to take better care of the ball, as it has coughed up the basketball 72 times during its three-game losing streak, including a conference season-high 28 times in the loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last time out.

The Demons were successful at taking care of the ball in the first meeting with the Cardinals, turning the ball over just 10 times, which tied a season low.

In that game, NSU led 57-56 at home with 3:07 left before missing its final four shots, leading to a 7-0 run to end the game by UIW to come away with a 63-57 victory.

UIW is another strong defensive team, placing third in the SLC in points per game allowed (57.6) and fourth in opponent's field goal percentage (38.0 percent).

NSU is third in the conference in opponents' field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot just 37.7 percent against it.

Another strength of the Cardinals is their rebounding prowess.

In the first matchup, UIW dominated the boards, 40-24, including 10 on the offensive glass.

After that game, NSU was out-rebounded by Southeastern Louisiana, but has responded by hauling down more boards than its opponent in eight consecutive contests.

Even in defeat, the Demons out-rebounded AMCC 41-34. For the second straight game, a first quarter deficit was too much to overcome, as it played right with the Lions and Islanders the remainder of the games.

UIW has won five of its last seven, but the two losses have been a four-point loss to league-leading Lamar and a three-overtime setback at second-place Southeastern Louisiana.

UIW has made 138 3-pointers on the season, which is third in the SLC, but the Demons have allowed teams to just shoot 27.9 percent against them from deep, which also ranks third in the league.

Offensively, the Cardinals average a shade over 64 points per contest, led by Aliyah Collins' 13 points per game. She is one of two Cardinals to average double figures in points, being joined by Nina De Leon Negron's 10.5.

Despite being a guard, De Leon Negron averages 6.8 rebounds per game, which is second only to Destiny Terrell's 6.9 on the team. Both players rank inside the top five in rebounding in the conference, the only team that can say that in the SLC.

De Leon Negron also leads the SLC in assists, dishing out 3.4 per game. Her 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is also tops in the league.

Following the game, the Demons conclude their stretch of three consecutive contests on the road with a trip to Houston Christian on Feb. 24.