Student Athlete Spotlight: Jordan Todd, finding a family in her team

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Chris Reich

Jordan Todd is no stranger to getting her hands dirty; she’s always ready to drive to the basket for her team when the moment calls for it.

If you’re looking for a student athlete who can play the game of basketball with aggression and passion, junior nursing major Jordan Todd from Northwestern State University’s Lady Demon basketball is your person.

Todd, the six-foot one-inch center from Eagle River, Alaska, is currently playing her first season with the Lady Demons after transferring to NSU from the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho. At CSI, Todd was named Second-Team All-Region 18 following her sophomore season and helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 2020-21 Region 18 championship.

Todd is no stranger to getting her hands dirty; she’s always ready to drive to the basket for her team when the moment calls for it. Todd scored 28 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes as NSU defeated McNeese State University, and earned her second Southland Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 14.

In her younger days, basketball wasn’t a hard choice for Todd.

“I started playing ball in 2nd grade just to hang out with my friends,” Todd said. “It really wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that I knew I wanted to go to college for basketball.

At Anchorage Christian High School, she was a four-year letterman three-time state champion under head coach Chadwick Dyson. Todd also helped lead her team to a combined 63-1 record in her final two seasons of high school, en route to their second and third straight state titles.

Todd was named first-team all-conference three times and first-team all-state following her junior and senior seasons while at ACHS. Natchitoches is now Todd’s home, and she embraces everything about NSU’s family atmosphere.

“It was really the recruiting process that got me here,” Todd said. “When the coaches told me that they were in my corner watching every one of my games, [that] really sold me on the family aspect of this team.”

That family atmosphere, led by head coach Anna Nimz, is the reason why the Lady Demons are comfortable with each other. NSU made history this season with 12 out of the 15 Lady Demons arriving at NSU and going from 1-19 last season to 10-12 this season.

While the family atmosphere is an important aspect of Lady Demons basketball, it’s a grind every time NSU touches the court. Todd is a tough woman, and her skills blend well with high-scoring Candace Parramore, fast-break queens Jiselle Woodson and Monette Bolden and the whole Lady Demon squad on her side.

“Knowing that someone can come and replace me motivates me to work harder to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Todd said.