With a little over a month left to go in their seasons before championships, the Northwestern State University of Louisiana men’s and women’s basketball teams push through the new year expectations.
The Demons hold an overall record of 9-11 and a conference record of 6-4, ranking seventh out of 12 teams in the Southland Conference (SLC) men’s basketball standings. The Lady Demons hold an overall record of 9-10 and a conference record of 6-4, ranking sixth out of 12 teams in the SLC women’s basketball standings.
Rick Cabrera, men’s head basketball coach, believes there is room for improvement on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“We just have to establish more consistency. Defensively, I think we’ve been solid, but not the way that we have to be to win a championship. But we got time, you know. I’ll be honest, not much time, but we just have to be a little bit more consistent on both ends of the floor,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera explained that the team’s biggest challenge so far this year is playing two good halves of a game.
“You know, like we get caught up in having a bad half and then playing catch up in the second half. Sometimes it has worked in our favor, sometimes it hasn’t,” Cabrera said. “But it doesn’t have to be two perfect halves, right? Because that’s hard to do with any team, any good team. But we have to put two good halves together to give ourselves a chance to win.”
He praised the team’s chemistry this year on the court. He explained, “we have no issues externally, internally, and that’s one good thing about our team having success so far.”
JT Warren, senior business major and forward for the men’s team, shared how the team has been feeling since the start of the season until now.
“Early on, I think coming into this summer, everybody was excited. It was a learning experience. We had to get to learn from each other,” Warren said. “From then until now, everybody’s together. I think everybody’s bought in. We’re excited to win a championship.”
Warren explained that there hasn’t been a standout game for him this season. He believes that the most memorable was going up against the higher level teams.
“We had a tough, tough schedule. Playing on that level is amazing to me. That’s a good memory to me,” Warren said.
Anna Nimz, women’s head basketball coach, believes the team of 11 new players are growing and learning together on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively.
“Our group is top in the nation defensively and within our conference. They have great team defense and work hard to execute the defensive philosophy of the program,” Nimz said.
For Nimz, every game is a memorable one. She explained that discovering something new about one another each game is leading them to success. This group is fun, quirky and shows tremendous love for one another,” Nimz said.
Sharna Ayres, graduate assistant studying health and human performance and shoot guard for the women’s team, shared that the team’s mindset has changed since the beginning of the season.
“The team has been focused and determined. Our mindset has been to work hard in practice, emphasizing teamwork, and maintaining a positive attitude. Our mindset revolves around continuous improvement, resilience and staying motivated and together through both wins and losses,” Ayres said. “The understanding of being the league’s underdogs has made our dedication to our team goals and helped build strong chemistry.”
Ayres has high hopes that this will be the team’s ring season. “I’m speaking that into existence early, because I truly believe it. This has been one of the tightest, hard working groups we have had. And together I know our determination can take us all the way, no matter who is against us,” she said.
The Lady Demons will compete against the East Texas A&M University Lady Lions on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 12 p.m. in Texas. Following their game the Demons will take on the Lions at 2:15 p.m. in Texas.
Correction 2/1/25 This article has been updated to reflect a name change. Texas A&M University-Commerce changed its institution name to East Texas A&M University.
