LAKE CHARLES – There will be a fair amount of déjà vu for Northwestern State when it takes the court to open the women's bracket of the Southland Conference Tournament on Monday morning.
 
Not only will the Demons (11-18, 7-11) be facing the same Texas A&M-Commerce (13-15, 8-10) it saw just five days prior, it is the same Lion team they saw in this matchup and time a year ago in the 2023 edition of the SLC tournament.
 
The Demons lost both of those games to Commerce and look to rectify both losses on Monday to pick up head coach Anna Nimz's first win in the postseason.
 
"To me it's you show up to the tournament ready to go no matter who you're playing," she said. "That should be motivation enough. It's a new season. It's a new start and we've got a lot of things that we're ready to capitalize on."
 
With such a recent meeting between the two teams entering the tournament, the few days between games have allowed both the Demons and the Lions to fine tune their offensive and defensive game plans.
 
The Lions got an unexpected shooting performance from Jada Hood, who scored more points (22) on 6-of-9 from beyond the arc than she had minutes played (16) on the season prior to Wednesday's game. While Commerce is among the top 3-point shooting teams in the conference, as are the Demons, the plan to limit the open looks that Hood or any of the Lions' deep threats remains the same.
 
"Obviously it's a quick scout and not a lot has changed on it," Nimz said. "We just have to focus in more on it and lock into a few things, come out and be the better team. That's really what it comes down to."
 
The Demons held the league's top scorer, Mia Deck, to just nine points in the game, won the rebounding battle and had and exceeded their goal in the turnover department. During two different stretches of the game, at the end of both halves, the Demons held Commerce to just one total made field goal.
 
Sharna Ayres led the scoring effort with 16 points with Jenny Ntambwe using her athleticism to score 10 around the basket. Both players also grabbed seven rebounds in the game.
 
"I thought Sharna played well and Jenny was able to capitalize on some things insides," Nimz said. "And we did a lot of good things in that game but it's about putting a full 40 minutes together, 38 minutes isn't going to cut and for sure 30 won't cut it. It's March and we have to step up."
 
Ayres is one of a handful of players that will play their third games in the conference tournament, along with Jiselle Woodson, Jordan Todd and Jasmin Dixon. It will be Karmelah Dean's second game in the tournament setting after missing the meeting with New Orleans her first year at NSU.
 
The third time will hopefully be the charm for Nimz and the Demons as they look to rely on that experience on the big stage to help NSU get its first tournament win since the 2015 championship game when it beat then HBU 58-50 to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"You've proven you deserve to be in the tournament and now it's time to walk in with some confidence and understanding of how it all works," Nimz said. "Have a business trip mentality. Be in the moment and not think past that first game. Don't think about the what ifs or it could be your last or the next or any of that. Stay present in the moment and focus on what we need to do to win."