NATCHITOCHES—Northwestern State aims for some revenge as the regular season schedule begins the home stretch as the teams jockey for positioning for the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament.

NSU (12-12, 9-7) aims to build on the win over Southeastern Louisiana last time out, as the Demons play East Texas A&M (12-11, 8-8) on Monday in the rescheduled game from when the freezing weather postponed the originally scheduled game last month.

Tip-off is at 4 p.m. at Prather Coliseum, the first of a doubleheader with the men.

"We're excited to get back to this game after our last outing in Commerce," head coach Anna Nimz said. This game will be a different level of intensity. We need to get re-focused and ready to go."
In the last game against SLU, Vernell Atamah painted a masterpiece, scoring 23 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds in a 62-47 win, one that snapped a three-game losing streak.

Among her 23 points were five made 3-pointers, which gives her 69 on the season, moving her into 10^th in the program's single-season made 3-pointers list. Beatrice Attura has the school record with 88 in 2016-17.

Nya Valentine is not too far behind in the made 3-pointer total, having made 53 on the season, as she also has a chance to crack the top 10 for single season triples made.

Another trend the Demons hope continues is the strong play of the bench. NSU's 18 points from the reserves are the most since recording 19 in the dominant win at New Orleans on Jan. 31.

NSU had one of its most dominant rebounding efforts in school history, winning the battle of the boards a whopping 47-19 in the win over SLU.

 They aim to do more of the same, as the Demons are second in the league in rebounding margin at plus-6.1, while East Texas A&M is ninth with a margin of minus-2.7.

The matchup is a big one for both teams, as fifth place NSU and eighth place Nicholls are separated by just a game and a half in the conference standings.

The Lions are in seventh place, a game behind the Demons, and are aiming for the season sweep after winning the first meeting 61-52 in Commerce.

In the first matchup, Nya Valentine led the Demons with a game-high 19 points, including draining five 3-pointers, her third game with at least five triples this year.

East Texas A&M saw its five-game winning streak snapped last time out against league-leading McNeese, a contest that the Lions led by nine at halftime.

Tiani Ellison is one of the best players in the league, ranking third in both scoring and rebounding during conference play at 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest.

It can be viewed on ESPN+ or fans can listen to it on KZBL 100.7 FM.

NSU wraps up its longest home stand in nearly a decade with visits from UIW on Thursday before rounding out the stretch at Prather Coliseum against Houston Christian on Saturday before heading back on the road.