NATCHITOCHES—Northwestern State women's basketball coach Anna Nimz focused on veterans for the 2025-26 season, eight transfers of the nine new faces brought in.

The sixth-year coach has a solid mix of post players and guards entering the program, as she announced the additions of five guards and four post players.

All five of the guards brought in are upperclassmen, as seniors Nya Valentine, Tiara Abron and Alexis Calderon are joined by juniors Jay Scott and Mika Jarrett.

Down in the post, Nimz brought in a mix of young players and veterans, led by seniors Dasia Turner and Noelle Lavery. In addition to the veterans, she also brought in youth in the post as well with the additions of sophomore Stephie Salumu and the lone freshman in the class, Cimiya Rideaux.

Valentine and Calderon are no strangers to the state of Louisiana. Valentine comes over as transfer from UL Monroe, where she played in all 30 games, starting nine, averaging 6.1 points and was second on the Warhawks with 75 total assists. She scored 15 points on two occasions, doing so against Old Dominion and James Madison.

At Shelton State Community College, where she played prior to ULM, Valentine was named First-team NJCAA All-American and Alabama Community College Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year in 2023, where she averaged 16 points and 5.9 points per game. She was named Second Team NJCAA All-America when she averaged 14.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.

Not only is Calderon no stranger to Louisiana, she also is no stranger to the Southland Conference, where she played at New Orleans the past two seasons.

Calderon was the quarterback of the UNO attack, distributing 111 assists, which was third in the Southland. She dished out nine assists twice, including against TCU. In 2023-24, she averaged 9.0 points per game. Calderon led the Southland in steals per game at 2.4, which helped earn her a Southland All-Defensive selection.

The trio of senior guards also included Abron, who led Mississippi College in points (12.6), total assists (57) and steals (50) this past season. She started 27 games and played in all 28, scoring double figures in 23 of them.

She also played at Coahoma Community College as well, where she averaged 10.2 points in her two seasons, including being named All-Gulf South Conference.

After having so much success from the state of California this past season with Mya Blake, NSU went back to the Golden State for Jarrett.

A combo guard, Jarrett earned Western State Conference North Player of the Year honors in addition to being First Team All-Conference for Moorpark College. She averaged 13.4 points and 3.9 assists per game and during conference play, she shot 45.9 percent from behind the 3-point line.

The final guard is Scott, a transfer from Moberly Area CC in Missouri. Another playmaker, she averaged 19 points per game and shot 40 percent from deep for the Greyhounds, as she was named NJCAA Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference.

Scott dropped at least 30 points on four occasions, including in back-to-back games against Three Rivers CC and Crowder College in January. She also showed her clutch ability with a floating jump shot in the final moments of regulation to force overtime in the second game against Crowder in February, where the Greyhounds went on to win.

Scott also spent a season at time at Berry and Indian River CC, where she averaged 5.3 points and 8.4 points per game, respectively.

A pair of seniors lead the way out of the post player recruits, as Turner comes from Philander Smith, where she scored 1,000 points during her time there and led her team to the national tournament in 2023 and 2025.

Turner was a three-time all-conference selection during her four seasons, including first team in 2022-23. Turner also earned an All-HBCUAC First Team (24-25) selection. She was named to the all-defensive team in 2021-22.

This past season, she led her team in points (14.6) and blocks (1.6) per game and second in rebounds (8.1) and steals (2.1) per game in 2024-25.

Turner holds program records in most blocks in a game (8), most blocks in a season (62) and most rebounds in a single season (243).

Lavery scored 17.1 points per game at NAIA Reinhardt. In addition to being in the post, she can stretch defenses with her ability to make shots from beyond the arc, shooting it at a 36.4 percent clip from deep in 2024-25.

She recorded four double-doubles and scored in double figures in 27 of her 30 games last season.

Lavery also spent time at Mount Vernon Nazarene (9.2 points ppg), Hillsdale and Colorado Mesa.

In her one season at South Georgia Technical College, Salumu made huge impact, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference as freshman in addition to earning First Team All-Conference.

Salumu nearly averaged a double-double with 11.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game on 56.7 percent shooting.

She posted a monster 19-point, 20-rebound effort in just 25 minutes in a 113-33 win over Central Georgia Technical College and made all 13 of her field goal attempts in a 27-point showing in a win at Palm Beach State College.

Rideaux, the lone freshman of the class, helped lead Zachary High to a 34-6 record and winning the 5A Division I state championship.