CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—It was a banner day for the Northwestern State defense, as it held Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a program-record-low 35 points during Southland Conference play in a dominant 63-35 win on Saturday afternoon at Hilliard Center.

NSU (16-13, 13-8) held AMCC (5-23, 4-17) to just 27.8 percent from the field and 4-for-21 from deep in the win, its second game in the last five where it held its opponent to 28 percent shooting or worse.

By virtue of UIW falling to Lamar and UTRGV defeating East Texas A&M, the Demons are locked into the No. 5 seed in the SLC Tournament.

The Demons came out hot in the second half, turning a close game at halftime into a one-sided affair. After a bucket to begin the second half from AMCC's Samora Watson to cut the Demons lead to 21-18 on the first possession of the third quarter, NSU embarked on a 15-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Nya Valentine and Tiara Abron.

"I'm super proud of the way the group responded after being challenged at half," head coach Anna Nimz said. "Defensively, they really dug in and showed a lot of toughness."

Valentine and Vernell Atamah each made five triples, part of an afternoon in which NSU made 13 3-pointers, their fourth game at least that many made triples this season.

Atamah's five put her on the brink of a school record, as she vaulted into second place for made 3-pointers in a season with 85, just three behind Beatrice Attura's 88 set in the 2016-17 season.

Atamah continued a strong season with another 20-point game. The sophomore posted her sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Expanding the lead to 17 after three quarters, NSU held AMCC to just six points in the final period to slam the door on an emphatic road win, improving its record in true road contests to 8-7.

While the Demons shot a blistering 53.6 percent in the second half, the first half was a defensive struggle with neither team shooting better than 30 percent.

Valentine and Atamah combined for four made 3-pointers in the first quarter to put NSU in front up 14-9 before each team scored seven in the second quarter.

Carla Celaya tied a career high with 13 rebounds to go along with seven points. Both Celaya and Atamah secured four offensive rebounds as NSU had 15 offensive boards, the fourth consecutive game in which the Demons had that many.

NSU used its second opportunities to post 22 second chance points. The Demons won the battle of the boards 41-31, their seventh straight game out-rebounding their opponent.

Despite each team having 15 turnovers, the Demons capitalized on AMCC's turnovers more than the other way around, winning the points off turnovers battle 19-7.

Now the Demons head back to Natchitoches for the final regular season game of the season, a home game against New Orleans on Tuesday, before heading to the conference tournament in Lake Charles.

"It was a great team win," Nimz said. "We have a long trip home, rest and prepare for one final home game at Prather.

"Natchitoches, we need you in Prather. Students, we need you in the stands. Let's show up and show out one final time this season at home."