Texas Southern (3-4) vs. Northwestern State (4-3)
ALEXANDRIA, La. – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University will put their two-game winning streak on the line Saturday when they face Northwestern State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rapides Parish Coliseum.
Texas Southern (3-4) hopes to continue its first multi-game winning streak of the season, having won at Sam Houston State, and at home over Wiley College during the team's last two games. The Lady Tigers have won three of their last four games.
An intriguing opponent awaits in Northwestern State, a team the Lady Tigers have not faced since the 1986-87 season. Northwestern State (4-3) is coming off a 70-48 at Louisiana–Monroe on Sunday, giving the Lady Demons their first win this season over an NCAA Division I opponent.
The Lady Tigers are led by junior Joyce Kennerson (Port Arthur, Texas), who leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference – and ranks second in the nation – in scoring with 25.3 points per game. The 5-foot-4 guard is shooting 55 percent (49 of 89) from the floor and drained 49 percent (19 of 39) of her 3-point tries.
Northwestern State is the second of three teams from the Southland Conference the Lady Tigers will face this season. TSU defeated Sam Houston 77-58 on Nov. 29, with Kennerson scoring 35 points and grabbing eight steals. The Lady Tigers will return to Louisiana in a week and a half for a Nov. 21 game at New Orleans.
The Lady Demons are back at full strength with the return of guard Nautica Grant and post Cheyenne Brown from injury. Brown led all 2017-18 returners in scoring with 14.9 points per game last season, and is back in the lineup after missing the team's first five games.
While Grant and Brown were sidelined, Libba Gilliam has led the Lady Demons 11.3 points per game. Brown has averaged 15.5 points per contest in her first two games back.
Trying to predict an outcome for Saturday's game based on Northwestern State's first seven contests might pose a challenge, as few of the team's opponents or results comes close to an expected statistical mean. The Lady Demons lost their first three games against Division I programs by an average of 25.7 points per game, but two of those games were 30-plus point losses at Power 5 programs Mississippi (SEC) and Oklahoma State (Big 12).
On the other side of the win-loss column, the Lady Demons have dominated in wins over NAIA programs LSU–Alexandria, LSU–Shreveport, and NCAA Division III program LeTourneau, winning those games by an average of 31.0 points per game. But they also looked just as powerful in their 22-point win at ULM.
Though officially a neutral-court game, Saturday's contest will mark the second time the Lady Demons have hosted a Division I team in a home environment, after having lost 71-59 to Southern Mississippi.
Saturday's game with TSU is part of the CenLa Showdown in Alexandria, located approximately 55 miles from the Northwestern State campus in Natchitoches, La. The event is part of an NSU women's and men's basketball doubleheader.
The upcoming contest bears a striking resemblance to the Lady Tigers' first neutral-court game, which was also less than 100 miles from their opponent's campus. The game in question was TSU's 66-50 win over New Mexico State in El Paso, Texas. TSU has won its past six games on a neutral court.
TSU guard Kaitlyn Palmer (Wichita, Kan.) ranks second on the Lady Tigers in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. Palmer missed Monday's game against Wiley College with an injury, and in her absence, junior guard Makenna Pouengue (Stone Mountain, Ga.) stepped up with 11 points (her most in a game since 2015) and a career-high seven assists.
The Lady Demons defeated TSU 87-60 in Natchitoches during the 1986-87 season. NSU also swept a home-and-home series from the Lady Tigers during the 1983-84 season.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
ALEXANDRIA, La. – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University will put their two-game winning streak on the line Saturday when they face Northwestern State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rapides Parish Coliseum.
Texas Southern (3-4) hopes to continue its first multi-game winning streak of the season, having won at Sam Houston State, and at home over Wiley College during the team's last two games. The Lady Tigers have won three of their last four games.
An intriguing opponent awaits in Northwestern State, a team the Lady Tigers have not faced since the 1986-87 season. Northwestern State (4-3) is coming off a 70-48 at Louisiana–Monroe on Sunday, giving the Lady Demons their first win this season over an NCAA Division I opponent.
The Lady Tigers are led by junior Joyce Kennerson (Port Arthur, Texas), who leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference – and ranks second in the nation – in scoring with 25.3 points per game. The 5-foot-4 guard is shooting 55 percent (49 of 89) from the floor and drained 49 percent (19 of 39) of her 3-point tries.
Northwestern State is the second of three teams from the Southland Conference the Lady Tigers will face this season. TSU defeated Sam Houston 77-58 on Nov. 29, with Kennerson scoring 35 points and grabbing eight steals. The Lady Tigers will return to Louisiana in a week and a half for a Nov. 21 game at New Orleans.
The Lady Demons are back at full strength with the return of guard Nautica Grant and post Cheyenne Brown from injury. Brown led all 2017-18 returners in scoring with 14.9 points per game last season, and is back in the lineup after missing the team's first five games.
While Grant and Brown were sidelined, Libba Gilliam has led the Lady Demons 11.3 points per game. Brown has averaged 15.5 points per contest in her first two games back.
Trying to predict an outcome for Saturday's game based on Northwestern State's first seven contests might pose a challenge, as few of the team's opponents or results comes close to an expected statistical mean. The Lady Demons lost their first three games against Division I programs by an average of 25.7 points per game, but two of those games were 30-plus point losses at Power 5 programs Mississippi (SEC) and Oklahoma State (Big 12).
On the other side of the win-loss column, the Lady Demons have dominated in wins over NAIA programs LSU–Alexandria, LSU–Shreveport, and NCAA Division III program LeTourneau, winning those games by an average of 31.0 points per game. But they also looked just as powerful in their 22-point win at ULM.
Though officially a neutral-court game, Saturday's contest will mark the second time the Lady Demons have hosted a Division I team in a home environment, after having lost 71-59 to Southern Mississippi.
Saturday's game with TSU is part of the CenLa Showdown in Alexandria, located approximately 55 miles from the Northwestern State campus in Natchitoches, La. The event is part of an NSU women's and men's basketball doubleheader.
The upcoming contest bears a striking resemblance to the Lady Tigers' first neutral-court game, which was also less than 100 miles from their opponent's campus. The game in question was TSU's 66-50 win over New Mexico State in El Paso, Texas. TSU has won its past six games on a neutral court.
TSU guard Kaitlyn Palmer (Wichita, Kan.) ranks second on the Lady Tigers in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. Palmer missed Monday's game against Wiley College with an injury, and in her absence, junior guard Makenna Pouengue (Stone Mountain, Ga.) stepped up with 11 points (her most in a game since 2015) and a career-high seven assists.
The Lady Demons defeated TSU 87-60 in Natchitoches during the 1986-87 season. NSU also swept a home-and-home series from the Lady Tigers during the 1983-84 season.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics