By Jonathon Zenk, Northwestern State Assistant Director of Communications; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
ABILENE, Texas—It’s been a wild ride so far and no one is ready for it to end.
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, it is postseason time for the Northwestern State women’s basketball team.
The Demons (16-15) travel to Abilene Christian for a battle with the Wildcats on Thursday in the first round of the women’s WNIT.
Tip-off is at 6 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.
“It’s a little surreal,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “When you’re growing up and you’re a hooper and love basketball, you always aspire to do this as a player to play in the postseason and as a coach, this is your goal your entire career. When we got that call that we’d been selected, it was a little surreal. To get to keep playing is such a blessing.”
ACU holds the all-time series lead 6-2 and has won six in a row, including a 4-0 mark in Abilene.
“(ACU) is a very successful team in the WAC,” Nimz said. “(ACU head) coach (Julie) Goodenough does an incredible job with her program. They are incredibly disciplined and tremendous 3-point shooters and 50-50 kids.
“There are a few teams in our conference they play similarly to in the realm of shooting and capability from the 3-point line and they run a lot of action that we’ve seen. We just have to come out and compete.”
This is fifth trip all-time to the WNIT for Northwestern State and first since 1999, a 78-60 loss at Arkansas to cap off a 22-7 season.
However, the Demons have had plenty of success in the tournament before.
Northwestern State reached the 1986 and 1995 WNIT championships in what used to be an eight-team field.
Nimz has led the team from one win in her first season at Northwestern State to 16 wins and counting this season.
Ayres and Dixon joined Nimz the season following her first season and have been instrumental in the Demons’ rise. Both players rank in the top five in program history in major categories.
Ayres (202) is fourth in program history in 3-pointers made, while Dixon (147) is fifth in school history for career blocks.
“I was pretty shocked when I got the call that we were going to the postseason,” Ayres said. “I was ready to hang the cleats up, but when I got that call, it felt like a second chance for us. We didn’t end it the way we wanted to, so I feel like this was the best option for us.”
The Demons are one of five teams—Stephen F. Austin (NCAA), Southeastern Louisiana (WBIT), Lamar (WNIT) and UIW (WNIT)—playing in the postseason from the Southland.
The season 2015-16 isn’t just noteworthy for it being the last time Northwestern State had made the postseason until this year, though.
Prior to this season, it was the last time the Demons had a winning regular season, going 19-12 overall in the season and 13-5 during conference play.
In the quarterfinals loss to UIW, the Demons buried six 3-pointers, which put them up to 215 made triples during the season, to break the secure the program record for made triples. That mark broke the previous school record of 212.
The Demons have two players—Ayres and Mya Blake—who have made at least 65 3-point shots, the first pair of Northwestern State women’s teammates who have each made at least that many in a season.
The long ball will be a major deciding factor in the game, as both teams want to put it up from deep. ACU has made 249 from deep and attempted 813. Five Wildcats players have put up at least 100 3-point attempts.
Bella Earle leads the Wildcats in long ball attempts, shooting 158 times from deep at a 29.7 percent clip. Emma Troxell has attempted 148 long balls at a 34.5 percent clip.
Payton Hull leads the offensive charge for ACU, scoring 18.4 points per game. Like her teammates, she also launches from deep, having made 43-of-126 3-point attempts.
The winner of the game takes on Central Arkansas either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday in the second round. Northwestern State lost this season against UCA during non-conference play, as the Sugar Bears used a strong fourth quarter to pull away from the Demons for a 62-52 victory in Natchitoches.
“One of the last things I told our seniors when I thought we were done is what a big thing it is to always leave the place better than you found it,” Nimz said. “If it is a locker room, we leave it better than we found it. If we’re going to eat, we push in our chairs and we leave it better than we found it.
“What a remarkable job this group of seniors has done. For those seniors, they are absolutely leaving it better than they found it.”