NATCHITOCHES—On a day for the seniors, all four of the playing seniors and Vernell Atamah wouldn't let anybody spoil the day.

Atamah poured in 21 and the four seniors combined for 36 points to dig deep and lead Northwestern State (14-13, 11-8) to a 70-64 comeback win over Houston Christian (8-18, 6-13) on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Prather Coliseum.

The victory over HCU clinches a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament and one win from matching last season's SLC win total.

"I challenged them pretty good at halftime," head coach Anna Nimz said. "I gave them two options, and it was very clear which option they chose. They absolutely dug in and fought and were resilient. It wasn't an easy second half. It wasn't that everything just went well for us, we fought through adversity in the final 20 minutes. It made me proud."

Dasia Turner, who had scored 19 points in Southland play before Saturday, had a career day with 15 points and 13 rebounds off the bench for the Demons. Fellow seniors Tiara Abron (11) and Nya Valentine (10) each scored in double figures as well.

"I was just ready when my name was called," Turner said. "I knew that we needed a lot of energy and with it being Senior Day, you never want to lose on Senior Day. Whatever it takes, defending and rebounding for sure, making sure my team got riled up."

While she didn't crack the scoreboard, Carla Celaya did what she does, as she cemented the win with the last defensive rebound of the game, a fitting way for the contest to finish.

The seniors for the Demons made a giant impact throughout the game, but it was the ol' reliable Atamah who came up with the biggest shot of the game.

In her chase to make the most 3-pointers in a single season in program history, the sophomore only made one triple on the afternoon, but she made it count.

Down one late, Atamah received a pass from Abron in the corner, and her 3-pointer gave the Demons a late 64-62 advantage with less than two minutes to play.

It is the 77^th made triple of the season for the native of Mesquite, Texas, in fourth place in program history.

Atamah followed that up with two free throws after a bucket by Grace Booth, who finished with a game-high 22 points. For the game, Atamah went 10-of-11 from the free throw line.

While Atamah and Turner did a lot of their work to put NSU on top, Valentine made sure her team would not lose, as she drew a charge on the next possession and buried four late free throws to seal the win.

For the game, the Demons shot 22-of-26 from the free throw line, including 17-of-18 in the second half.

While the finish of the game went well for NSU, the start of the game did not.

The Huskies started the game 4-of-6 from the field, as HCU led 11-4 four minutes into the game.

NSU fought back, but HCU still shot 50 percent from the field in the first half to take a 38-30 lead at halftime.

Whenever the Demons made a run to fight back, the Huskies responded in a big way.

A pair of free throws from Payton Miller cut NSU's deficit to 29-27 in the second quarter before an HCU 9-3 run finished the half, ending with a pair of Jo Oly layups.

The third quarter was the deciding factor, as NSU outscored HCU 23-11 in the third to take a lead after three.

Turner scored six of her 15 in the third and had a highlight reel basket and one to put the Demons in front 46-44 and pumped up the crowd, and her team, putting the Demons in front for the first time since the first quarter.

Her energy helped bring NSU back in the third quarter, as she came in a little more than a minute into the second half and did not sub out the remainder of the game.

"There is a difference between coming in and giving minutes and coming in and taking those minutes," Nimz said. "Dasia came in and dominated those minutes. She forced me to play her. There was no question in my mind that she should be in for 20 minutes.

"She was phenomenal. She rebounded, she defended, she showed help. A double-double for Dasia, she just took it and she owned it and without Dasia, we don't win this game. I am proud of her."

Six of her 13 rebounds were offensive, as NSU dominated on the offensive glass again, recording 16 offensive boards after hauling down 27 last time out against UIW.

NSU scored 19 second chance points off those 16 offensive rebounds.

The Demons scored 23 points off the bench, led by Turner's 15. Mika Jarrett scored four big points and Momina Kassim had a big put back layup late in the third quarter.

The Demons head back on the road for two, against UTRGV on Thursday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 28, before wrapping up the regular season back at home against New Orleans on March 3.