2023–24 Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball team

2023–24 Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball
2023–24 Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	11–19 (7–11 Southland)
Head coach	Anna Nimz (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Leasa Ailshie; Mike Brown; Addae Houston;
Home arena	Prather Coliseum; (Capacity: 3,900)
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball team represented Northwestern State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Demons, led by fourth year head coach Anna Nimz played their home games at Prather Coliseum located in Natchitoches, Louisiana and are members of the Southland Conference. They compiled an 11–19 overall record and a 7–11 record in conference play. Their season ended with a 57–65 loss to Texas A&M–Commerce in the first round of the SLC tournament.

2023–24 Southland Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Lamar	17	–	1	.944	24	–	7	.774
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi †	14	–	4	.778	23	–	9	.719
Southeastern Louisiana	14	–	4	.778	19	–	12	.613
Incarnate Word	12	–	6	.667	19	–	11	.633
Texas A&M–Commerce*	8	–	10	.444	15	–	16	.484
New Orleans	8	–	10	.444	11	–	19	.367
Nicholls	7	–	11	.389	14	–	18	.438
Northwestern State	7	–	11	.389	11	–	19	.367
McNeese	2	–	16	.111	6	–	25	.194
Houston Christian	1	–	17	.056	6	–	23	.207
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II.

† 2024 Southland tournament winner

Media

Home games are broadcast on ESPN+.

Preseason polls

Southland Conference Poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 10, 2023. Receiving 65 overall votes, the Lady Demons were picked to finish seventh in the conference.^[1] 2

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southeastern Louisiana	159 (15)
2	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	140 (3)
3	Lamar	132 (2)
4	Incarnate Word	97
T5	Houston Christian	74
T5	McNeese	74
7	Northwestern State	65
8	Texas A&M–Commerce	58
9	New Orleans	56
10	Nicholls	39

Preseason All Conference

No Lady Demons were selected to a Preseason All Conference team.^[1]

Roster

2023–24 Northwestern State Demons women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

0

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Hometown
G	1	Jermesha Frierson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	Shreveport, LA
G	3	Jiselle Woodson	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Sr	Corner, AL
G	4	Karmelah Dean	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Seattle, WA
F	5	Jenny Ntambwe	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So	Coon Rapids, MN
G	10	Ivona Miljanic	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Belgrade, Serbia
F	11	Jasmin Dixon	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr	Spring, TX
G	15	Carla Celaya	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Montbau, Spain
G	20	Jordan McLemore	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Shreveport, LA
G	21	Mykaila Pickard	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Anchorage, AK
G	22	Jordan Brown	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS So	Plainsboro, NJ
C	24	Jordan Todd	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr	Eagle River, AK
G	25	Nia Hardison	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Jr	Natchitoches, LA
C	31	Ane Astarloa	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Berriz, Spain
C	32	Madison Moles	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	So	Fresno, CA
G	33	Niaisya Ervin	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Newark, NJ
G	35	Sharna Ayres	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	Melbourne Australia

Head coach

Anna Nimz (Pittsburg State)

Assistant coach(es)

Leasa Ailshie (Sam Houston State)
Mike Brown (Drake)
Addae Houston (Northwest Missouri State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 26, 2023

Schedule

Sources:^[2]^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2023* 12:00 pm, B1G+		at Nebraska	L 42–90	0–1	13 – K. Dean	7 – S. Ayres	2 – K. Dean	Pinnacle Bank Arena (7,065) Lincoln, Nebraska
Nov 8, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Kansas	L 46–88	0–2	10 – N. Ervin	4 – J. Dixon	1 – N. Ervin	Allen Fieldhouse (2,954) Manhattan, Kansas
Nov 12, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tulsa	L 53–65	0–3	15 – S. Ayres	6 – N. Hardison	2 – J. Woodson	Reynolds Center (1,003) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Nov 22, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Grambling	L 59–64	0–4	17 – S. Ayres	8 – J. Ntambwe	5 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (387) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Nov 25, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Arkansas Baptist	W 82–41	1–4	16 – J. Ntambwe;	8 – J. Ntambwe	5 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (101) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Nov 28, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		SUNO	W 105–38	2–4	18 – C. Celaya	12 – C. Celaya	9 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (379) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Dec 3, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Southern	W 46–35	3–4	17 – J. Woodson	8 – C. Celaya	4 – C. Celaya	F. G. Clark Center (551) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 6, 2023* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Tarleton State Rescheduled from November 16	W 59–51	4–4	11 – T. Da Silva	6 – E. Turrubiates	2 – N. Sanders	Prather Coliseum (135) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Dec 12, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana–Monroe	L 60–76	4–5	22 – S. Ayers	9 – J. Ntambwe	5 – K. Dean	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (247) Monroe, Louisiana
Dec 17, 2023* 2:00 pm, SECN+		at No. 7 LSU	L 36–81	4–6	10 – S. Ayres	5 – S. Ayres	3 – J. Woodson	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (11,432) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 20, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Central Arkansas Rescheduled from November 18	L 57–75	4–7	16 – J. Ntambwe	4 – 3 Tied	2 – K. Dean	Farris Center (389) Conway, Arkansas
Exhibition
Dec 30, 2023* 1:00 pm		Champion Christian	W 75–39	–	27 – K. Dean	6 – J. Dixon	6 – N. Hardison	Prather Coliseum (97) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Southland Conference regular season
Jan 4, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		McNeese	W 78–54	5–7 (1–0)	16 – S. Ayres	8 – K. Dean	5 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (494) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Jan 6, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Lamar	L 56–73	5–8 (1–1)	16 – K. Dean	7 – J. Todd	6 – J. Woodson	Neches Arena (1,367) Beaumont, Texas
Jan 11, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 63–61	6–8 (2–1)	19 – J. Ntambwe	7 – J. Dixon	5 – K. Dean	Prather Coliseum (824) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Jan 13, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Incarnate Word	L 57–63	6–9 (2–2)	12 – K. Dean	6 – J. Woodson	4 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (411) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Jan 18, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 48–55	6–10 (2–3)	17 – K. Dean	6 – K. Dean	3 – J. Woodson	Pride Roofing University Center (1,012) Hammond, Louisiana
Jan 20, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Orleans	W 72–43	7–10 (3–3)	19 – J. Woodson	10 – S. Ayres	8 – K. Dean	Lakefront Arena (488) New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 25, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at McNeese	W 60–44	8–10 (4–3)	18 – N. Hardison	6 – J. Woodson	6 – J. Woodson	The Legacy Center (1,774) Lake Charles, Louisiana
Jan 27, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 45–50	8–11 (4–4)	14 – J. Woodson	12 – S. Ayres	3 – K. Dean	Prather Coliseum Natchitoches, Louisiana
Feb 1, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Nicholls	L 57–60	8–12 (4–5)	14 – J. Todd	7 – J. Todd	4 – K. Dean	Stopher Gymnasium (412) Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 3, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas A&M–Commerce	W 69–66	9–12 (5–5)	16 – J. Ntambwe	13 – S. Ayres	4 – K. Dean	Prather Coliseum (937) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Feb 8, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		New Orleans	L 57–80	9–13 (5–6)	22 – K. Dean	8 – J. Ntambwe	3 – K. Dean	Prather Coliseum (784) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Feb 10, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	L 51–59	9–14 (5–7)	– S. Ayres	– S. Ayres	– K. Dean	Prather Coliseum (803) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Feb 15, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christ	L 52–68	9–15 (5–8)	13 – S. Ayres	15 – J. Todd	5 – N. Hardison	American Bank Center (702) Corpus Christi, Texas
Feb 17, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	L 45–53	9–16 (5–9)	20 – N. De Leon Negron	8 – N. De Leon Negron	4 – N. De Leon Negron	McDermott Center (110) San Antonio, Texas
Feb 24, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Houston Christian	W 64–55	10–16 (6–9)	24 – S. Ayres	5 – J. Ntambwe	3 – K. Dean	Sharp Gymnasium (245) Houston, Texas
Feb 29, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Nicholls	W 55–47	11–16 (7–9)	15 – J. Woodson	10 – J. Woodson	2 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (703) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Mar 2, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Lamar	L 64–80	11–17 (7–10)	19 – K. Dean	6 – J. Woodson	5 – J. Woodson	Prather Coliseum (840) Natchitoches, Louisiana
Mar 6, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Commerce	L 58–69	11–18 (7–11)	16 – S. Ayres	7 – S. Ayres	5 – J. Woodson	The Field House (489) Commerce, Texas
2024 Jersey Mike's Subs Southland Conference Tournament
Mar 11, 2024 11:30 am, ESPN+	(8)	vs. (5) Texas A&M–Commerce First round	L 57–65	11–19	17 – J. Woodson	12 – S. Ayres	4 – J. Woodson	The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time..

References

^ ^a ^b "Southeastern Chosen as Preseason Women's Basketball Favorite; Preseason All-Conference Announced". Southland Conference. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Lady Demon Basketball Schedule". Lady Demon Basketball. Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
^ "Northwestern State Lady Demons Schedule - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

[PrePolls-1] "Southeastern Chosen as Preseason Women's Basketball Favorite; Preseason All-Conference Announced". Southland Conference. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

[2] "2023-24 Lady Demon Basketball Schedule". Lady Demon Basketball. Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

[3] "Northwestern State Lady Demons Schedule - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

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