NEW ORLEANS—An early 17-0 run, fueled by the 3-point shot, helped Northwestern State coast to a 78-61 road victory over New Orleans on Saturday afternoon at Lakefront Arena.

NSU (11-9, 8-4) broke open a 3-2 lead with a 17-point run to jump out to a 20-2 advantage, as the Demons cruised to their 17-point road victory of the season.

The Demons used a barrage from 3-point range, going 6-of-8 in the first quarter, to race NSU out to a 24-7 advantage after one, and UNO (1-20, 1-12) could not fight back to within single digits the remainder of the game.

"I was proud of how they came out ready to compete in the first quarter," head coach Anna Nimz said. "The defense was incredible, offensive execution was elite, and the 3-point shooting percentage was phenomenal.

"We have to keep growing in our decision making and getting better with our turnovers, but road wins are hard, and the girls are leaving with a W."

Atamah started the scoring with one of her six made triples in the game, as the sophomore scored 19 of her game-high 24 points in the first half. She had three of the six makes from deep in the first quarter.

She continued her domination of the Privateers. In her three career contests against them, she has averaged 26.3 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting from the field, 50 percent from deep and 76.9 percent from the free throw line. She also has added 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Nya Valentine added two made 3-pointers in the first quarter, as she produced the finest day of her career, tying a career high with 22 points as well as dishing out a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double.

Overall, NSU went 13-of-24 from deep for the game, its most made 3-pointers against a Division I opponent since pouring in 14 made triples at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 25, 2016.

The points (78) and shooting percentage (55.1) are the best against a Division I team this season and the 54.2 percent from deep is the best this season regardless of opponent.

As a team, the NSU offense has enjoyed coming to Lakefront Arena, as the Demons are 3-0 and averaging 75.3 points per game in their last three at UNO.

The 3-point line was a monster factor when the Privateers started to make a comeback as well.

NSU led by as many as 21 in the third quarter, but a 9-1 run from UNO cut the Demons lead to 49-36 with 5:30 to go in the quarter.

But NSU was strong from deep all game long, as Payton Miller stemmed the tide with a monster triple to push the lead back to 16 and it kickstarted an eight-point run, as Valentine scored the next four and Carla Celaya added a free throw.

From there, UNO never climbed to within 15 the rest of the way.

Led by six each from Miller and Stephie Salumu, the Demons' 19 bench points are NSU's most since posting 20 points from the reserves in November against Virginia.

Two Privateers scored in double figures, led by Shanihya Brown's 16. Mariah Hart added 10 off the bench for UNO.

Hailee Brennen nearly posted a double-double with eight points and 11 boards.

The Demons head back on the road for two more, starting with a big trip to Lamar on Thursday before visiting East Texas A&M on Feb. 7 for the first meeting this season. NSU begins a five-game homestand on Feb. 12 when it welcomes rival McNeese to Prather Coliseum.