DESTIN, Fla.—The presences in the post for Virginia overwhelmed Northwestern State, as the Demons dropped the opener of the Emerald Coast Classic 69-48 on Monday evening at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State.

NSU (3-3) allowed UVA (5-1) to score 40 points in the paint and six more at the free throw lane, as the Cavaliers used their height advantage to dominate inside.

However, even though the Cavaliers are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation and hauled down 17 of them in the game, the Demons did not let those crush them, as UVA only had nine second chance points, as NSU nearly played that category to a wash.

In addition to the inside game, UVA forced 19 NSU turnovers and converted them into 23 Cavaliers points, including 21 in the first three quarters.

"I thought our girls played their tails off," head coach Anna Nimz said. "We absolutely had grit and toughness for 40 minutes. The bench energy was also fantastic. We held the third best offensive rebounding team in the nation to just nine second chance points.

"However, we absolutely did not take care of the ball and gave up 20+ points off turnovers."

With the loss, NSU faces Purdue Fort Wayne (3-3) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Mastadons fell against Nebraska earlier in the day Monday.

UVA plays Nebraska in the late game Tuesday to wrap up the tournament, playing at 7:30.

The Demons played right with the Cavaliers in the first quarter and led 9-8 following a layup from Tiara Abron before UVA responded by finishing the quarter with 9-4 spurt, as Kymora Johnson buried a 3-pointer to end the quarter and give the ACC foe a 17-13 advantage after 10 minutes.

The deficit was only five six minutes into the second quarter, but the Demons suffered through a near-five-minute scoring drought and the Cavaliers took a 30-20 lead into the locker room.

Demons leading scorer Vernell Atamah was held scoreless in the first half but recorded all seven of her points in the third quarter to help NSU score 17 in the period.

Carla Celaya buried two triples in the third, including one to cut the deficit to seven early in the period. Those triples were part of a team-high eight points.

That was the good news. The bad news? The Cavaliers did even better, scoring 22 points, making 9-of-12 shots, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc.

Jillian Brown led the UVA charge in the period, scoring seven of her 10 points in the quarter.

Overall, the Demons did well covering up the Cavaliers from deep, as UVA made just 7-of-26 from deep.

NSU's 20 bench points mark its third straight game that the reserves have hit the 20-point plateau. Mika Jarrett led the way for the bench crew with six points. Stephie Salumu recorded five points and Cimiya Rideaux tallied a career-best four.

The Cavaliers had three players in double figures in scoring, led by Gabby White's 13, six of which she scored in the fourth quarter.