AUSTIN, Texas—Fresh off arguably its most impressive victory of the season, the Northwestern State women's basketball team has a quick turnaround, as it faces a massive test on the road against No. 2 Texas on Wednesday to conclude the non-conference schedule.

Tip-off is at 8 p.m. at the Moody Center and can be viewed on the SEC Network.

NSU (5-4) collected a major win on the road against McNeese last time out on Monday evening to go to 2-0 in Southland Conference for the first time in a decade.

This contest against Texas is the fourth game against a power conference team in the non-conference slate from four different conferences.

"It is an opportunity to play the best of the best, a top-2 team in the nation, and it is an opportunity to coach against incredible coaches," head coach Anna Nimz said. "Also, it is a great opportunity to play in that facility. I've heard it is very surreal. What an opportunity to play in that type of environment and be a part of it. This game for us will be about us finding ways to grow and get better."

For the Demons, Nya Valentine had perhaps her best game as a Demon in the win at McNeese with a career-high 19 points, making five 3-pointers after making 11 in the first eight contests combined. Her biggest triple came with 19 seconds left on a pass from Tiara Abron, as Valentine buried a shot from the right corner to put NSU in front by five and essentially ice the game.

In addition to her scoring output, she also chipped in with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Another day, another big-time performance from Vernell Atamah, as she poured in a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and a team-high three steals. It is her seventh game of at least 20 points this season and in one of the two contests she didn't, the sophomore scored 19.

In all games, Atamah leads the Southland in scoring (21.1 ppg) and her 29 made 3-pointers are second.

NSU continued its trend of strong rebounding, winning 37-29 on the glass against McNeese, and has out-rebounded its opponent in five of the last six contests.

The Demons lead the league in offensive rebounds (13.7) and second in rebounding margin (plus-6.0), only trailing UTRGV (plus-6.6).

Carla Celaya has recorded at least nine rebounds in the last three games and leads the team with seven rebounds per game. Clarence Djuela (6.2 rpg) and Atamah (6.1 rpg) also haul down at least six boards per contest.

Like  McNeese, Texas (12-0) has a knack for forcing turnovers with its pressure, ranking in the top 20 nationally in steals per game (13.4).

"Their defensive pressure is highly impressive," Nimz said. "(Texas) Coach (Vic) Schaefer is known for his defensive philosophy. We talked about poise against McNeese; it's going to have to go up even tenfold against Texas."

In the latest poll, the Longhorns received eight first place votes. Texas has dominated a difficult schedule this season so far, collecting 11 of the 12 victories by double digits, including against four top-25 opponents.

At the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving, Texas defeated then-No. 3 UCLA by 11 before taking down then-No. 2 South Carolina by two.

Seven Longhorns average in double figures in scoring and another averages 9.2 per contest.

Madison Booker leads the way, leading the team in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and steals (35), as well as second in assists (53).

Following the match, NSU plays its first game in front of the home crowd in a month when it dives back into SLC play, hosting Lamar on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tip.