LAKE CHARLES—Vernell Atamah dominated in the first half. Nya Valentine took over in the second.

Together, they combined for 39 points to lift Northwestern State (5-4, 2-0) to a massive 65-58 road victory over McNeese (7-4, 1-1) on Monday evening at Townsley Law Arena.

It is the first time the Demons have won their first two Southland Conference games in a season since 2015-16 and the first time they have won their first two conference road matches since 2014-15.

In a tight contest the entire way, Atamah scored 16 of her 19 points in the first half before Valentine recorded 11 of her career-high 19 points in the second half and scored or assisted on 11 of the 19 fourth quarter points to hold off the Cowgirls.

"I'm incredibly proud of our group," head coach Anna Nimz said. "They showed tremendous poise under intense defense. They never let up and earned a big road win.

"They are not only the preseason favorite, but they are the defending champions," she said referring to nine players brought over from reigning champion Southeastern Louisiana when Ayla Guzzardo was named the Cowgirls head coach.

It is the first time a Guzzardo team has lost at home since Feb. 2024 against Lamar, ending a 19-game winning streak.

With the game on the line and the Demons clinging to a 60-58 lead late, Valentine buried a triple from the right corner, her fifth of the night, with 19 seconds left to seal the victory.

While the offense did the work to give NSU the lead, the defense made sure it was kept, holding the Cowgirls to just three points in the final 4:45 and none in the final 2:55 to nail down the major win.

Nearly two minutes prior to Valentine's game-sealing triple, she recorded her fourth assist of the evening, driving baseline and drawing defenders before dumping it to Clarence Djuela for the layup to give the visitors a 60-58 advantage with 2:08 remaining, a lead the Demons never relinquished.

"Our girls were relentless with effort," Nimz said. "We made a handful of bad decisions BUT always took accountability and responded. So many big-time plays were made by so many players. I was proud of our bench effort as well. I am so happy for Nya. We knew she had this night in her without a doubt."

In a wild fourth period, the quarter started with 10 consecutive lead changes.

NSU was impressive from the free throw line all game long—the Demons went 20-for-25, but especially in the final quarter, going 10-of-12 in the fourth to keep them in the lead, weathering a five-minute field goal drought, which saw McNeese just manage to tie the score after NSU led by one prior to the drought.

To open the game, the Cowgirls made their first three shots to jump out to a 6-2 lead, but the Demons responded by holding McNeese without a field goal the remainder of the quarter.

In a sign of what was to come, NSU made three triples in the opening quarter of the nine it made overall, its most in a game against a Division I opponent this season.

Atamah connected on two of her three made 3-pointers in the second quarter, helping the Demons build a 32-25 lead, but the Cowgirls responded with seven straight points in the final 1:04 and the teams went into the locker room tied at 32-32.

In addition to Atamah and Valentine combining for 39 points, Carla Celaya had another productive outing, scoring eight points and hauling down nine rebounds, as NSU won the rebounding battle 37-29.

Three Cowgirls scored in double figures, led by Dakota Howard, who scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

The NSU defense held McNeese leading scorer Arianna Patton to just three points.

McNeese's tenacious defense forced 23 NSU turnovers, which led to 21 McNeese points, but just three in the fourth quarter. The 65 points the Cowgirls surrendered are the third-most given up this season.

It is a quick turnaround for NSU, as it travels to Austin on Wednesday to battle Texas in the final non-conference match of the season. The Demons return to Prather Coliseum for the first time in a month when NSU welcomes UIW on Sunday for their first SLC home game.