STILLWATER, Okla.—Throughout the season, first-year head coach Alan Frey preaches progress.

From game to game and half to half, the Demons (1-1) aim to be better than they were beforehand.

After a tough loss in which they hung around for much of the game at Arkansas, NSU has another opportunity to improve when it travels to No. 22 Oklahoma State (2-0) for a Monday morning contest.

Tip-off is at 11 a.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

As of right now, OSU is the first of two ranked opponents the Demons face this season.

"I've known their coach Jacie (Hoyt) for some time now and she does a great job," Frey said. She has put together a roster that can compete for a national championship. Even the way her team competed in the NCAA Tournament last year, I was so impressed with the way she coached against UCLA, the team that won the national championship.

"I am so excited about going in there and playing them and seeing what we can do against a national level team like that in a hostile environment against a friend."

Last time out, junior KP Parr scored a career-high 20 points in the loss to Arkansas on 7-of-10 shooting from the field along with grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists.

In her two games, she has begun her Demons career nicely, shooting 9-of-14 from the field and averaging 7.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.

"As a shooter, it is amazing having point guards like KP and Karma Wynn," freshman guard Stella Allison said. "I love playing with them and I am very confident that if I am running open down the court, they are going to find me and pass it to me no matter where I am on the court. I think I speak for all the other wings and other players on the court that if you are open, they are going to find you."

Stephie Salumu had a strong day as well, as she tied a career high with 12 points to go along with a career-high six steals.

Salumu, a native of Belgium, made just a single 3-point shot last season, and has already made three this year, including two in the last game at Arkansas.

The strong NSU defense has been suffocating in terms of forcing missed shots, as the Demons are holding opponents to just 29.1 percent shooting from the floor through two games and just 24.1 percent from 3-point range.

Offensively from deep, NSU has made 23 3-pointers in two games, led by Chloe Donnell's 14 she made in game one against Ecclesia.

Against the Razorbacks, they made three triples in the second half, the first 3-pointers made against Arkansas this season. Those shots from deep in the third quarter helped NSU cut the deficit to 10 midway through the period.

In the record-breaking 3-point season last year, the Demons had 12 made 3-pointers through their first two games.

The Cowgirls are coming off a pair of convincing victories, including a 92-38 win this past Friday against Morgan State.

OSU is led by All-American Audi Crooks, who averages 18 points and nine rebounds per game. The transfer from Iowa State scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the season-opening win over Southern.

Nene Ndiaye (16 ppg) and Liv McGill (15.5) also average double figures for the Cowgirls.

Following the game, the Demons wrap up a three-game road trip with a visit to in-state foe Louisiana Tech on Thursday before coming back home for a matchup with LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 16.