NSU Women’s Basketball Seeks defensive Betterment at Emerald Coast classic
PENSACOLA, Fla. – the Northwestern State university women’s basketball team heads too the Emerald Coast Classic seeking to build on recent offensive success while sharpening its defensive focus. Coming off back-to-back 100-point performances – a feat not achieved since 1993 – NSU aims to limit opponents’ opportunities at the free-throw line and improve overall defensive discipline.
“It’s not going to be perfect right now, but we should be finding better possessions in our defensive discipline,” said NSU head Coach Anna Nimz. “We’ve got to grow and learn.The fouls the officials called us for last game were fouls. We’ve got to wall up and stay disciplined and stay down. Arkansas Baptist got to the line and had the opportunity to shoot 30 free throws.”
The Demons (4-1) recently overcame a slow start to defeat Arkansas Baptist 103-52, following a 100-67 win over ecclesia. During those two games, NSU connected on a program-record 32 three-pointers.
Vernell Atamah currently leads the team and ranks second nationally with 23 made 3-pointers, averaging 4.6 per game. The team’s bench has also emerged as a notable contributor,scoring 106 points in the last two contests after totaling just 26 in the frist three games. Payton Miller has added 19 points in 44 minutes off the bench, while joceline Geara contributed 10 points and 6 assists against Arkansas Baptist.
“We talk about it every year about how we’ve got to get deeper,” Nimz said.”I’ve talked about the firepower, but now it is about building that reliability…Payton has been a spark plug for us. She dose a grate job,she’s a great sixth man for us. She has a knack for that, giving us energy and is a great communicator on the court and is willing to do whatever it takes.”
NSU’s offense is also demonstrating strong ball movement, recording 31 assists against Ecclesia and 25 against Arkansas Baptist - the first time in at least two decades the demons have achieved at least 25 assists in consecutive games. Point guard Nya Valentine leads the team with 16 assists, but seven players average at least one assist per game.
NSU will first face the Cavaliers, who boast three double-figure scorers: Kymora Johnson (16.6 ppg), Tabitha Amanze (10.8 ppg), and Paris Clark (10.2 ppg). The Cavaliers average nearly 80 points per game and outscore opponents by over 33 points.
Following the game against the cavaliers, NSU will play either Nebraska or purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday. The Demons previously faced Nebraska in their season opener in Lincoln, Neb.
