Box Score NATCHITOCHES—There is something about seeing Southeastern Louisiana for Vernell Atamah.

After posting a double-double in the first quarter in the win at SLU in December, it took her only a bit longer to do so this time around, as she posted 13 points and 12 rebounds in the first half en route to a 23-point, 17-rebound double-double in NSU's 62-47 victory over SLU on Saturday afternoon at Prather Coliseum.

"I told the girls I'll take an ugly win over a loss any day," head coach Anna Nimz said. "It wasn't pretty—we had 27 turnovers, but they did a lot of really good things. They won the rebounding war by a substantial amount. We collectively saw a really good outing in the sense that we were able to play quite a few players and that will benefit us since we have another game on Monday before our regular Thursday and Saturday games."

NSU (12-12, 9-7) overcame a bit of a sluggish start to dispatch SLU (4-20, 3-14) and snap its three-game losing streak with the help of the 3-pointer.

After having a few games where the shot wasn't falling, Atamah scored her 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 from deep.

"Coach has been pretty hard on me about crashing the glass," Atamah said. "Today was the day I needed to start focusing on that area.

"Nothing against them, I just have been playing better against them and I have been more focused and I hope I can continue to put up nights like these."

Her 69 made 3-pointers this season rank 10^th in program history, 19 behind Beatrice Attura's school record of 88.

The Demons shot 4-of-10 from 3-point territory in the first quarter, as NSU made 10 of 30 overall, the fourth time this season making double digit triples.

While the offense received attention with Atamah's double-double, it was the defense that cemented the Demons' ninth conference win, holding the Lady Lions to just 15.4 percent in the first quarter and 33.3 percent for the game.

The defense held the Lady Lions to just 16 points in the first half, the fewest since allowing just 11 against Houston Christian last season.

While SLU's leading scorer Aliyah Collins scored 14 points, the defense held her down and did not let her start rolling offensively.

"Both Tiara and Carla (Celaya) guard the toughest matchup every night," Nimz said. "Aaliyah is a phenomenal player who can both get to the rim and shoot from the perimeter. The girls clogged stuff up in the middle and didn't allow straight-line drives.

Much like the first game, Collins was the lone SLU player in double figures. The players outside of the SLU dynamic scorer went just 11-for-40.

Also like in the first game, the Demons dominated the glass. In December's first meeting, NSU won the battle of the boards 47-26, and they won this one in an even bigger way, flexing its muscle with a 47-19 advantage on the glass.

The last time the Demons had at least a plus-28 advantage on the glass was the season opener in 2021-22 against Centenary when it won the battle of the boards 63-33.

To start the game, NSU started 1-for-6 with six turnovers, as the Demons led just 4-3 with four minutes to play in the quarter. NSU broke the game open with a 3-pointer from Tiara Abron, 3-point play from Abron and 3-pointer from Atamah before a pair of Payton Miller free throws ended the quarter with a Demons 18-6 lead.

Late in the second quarter, NSU led 23-16 with 4:50 remaining and kept the Lady Lions off the scoreboard the rest of the half, as Atamah buried a 3-pointer to put the Demons up by 10, and NSU's lead never hit single digits for the remainder of the game.

The bench had a nice day for NSU, scoring 18 points, led by Miller and Mika Jarrett, who each scored seven points.

While she was 3-for-11 from the field, Abron still scored 11 points to go along with five points and four rebounds.

"I have been doing a lot of work throughout the season," Abron said. "I've been doing different things and I have become more confident in what I have been doing and settling into my role more."

Carla Celaya scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Demons continue their home stand with a visit from East Texas A&M on Monday in a rescheduled game. They wrap up the string of five consecutive home games with UIW on Thursday and Houston Christian on Feb. 21.