By Jonathon Zenk, Northwestern State Assistant Director of Communications; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES—There aren’t many more adjectives people can use to describe the play of Mya Blake.
For the second time in three games, Blake put down at least 30 points. This time, she poured in 31 points, as Northwestern State held on for a 73-66 victory over UTRGV on Thursday evening at Prather Coliseum.
The Demons (9-10, 6-4) led by as many as 19 points, but held on after UTRGV (10-12, 5-6) cut the deficit to four with 2:54 remaining.
Northwestern State went scoreless for 5:02, but the ol’ reliable defense would not let the Demons lose.
“There was a lot of grit,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “There was a lot of defensive grit and showed some resiliency down the stretch. The game got a little too close for comfort and then we locked down. Overall, we showed a lot of resiliency, but also a lot of fight today.
“It was good to get one after a couple close games we played, so I was excited to see us pull this one away.”
After UTRGV cut it to four, Northwestern State held the Vaqueros without a point on their next three trips.
Blake and Carla Celaya finished off the game making five of six free throws in the final 41 seconds to cement the Demons win, putting an end to a three-game losing streak.
“This win is very important to us,” Blake said. “We have a chance to go on a winning streak again and build that confidence back up. We showed a lot of togetherness today and that was very important, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Blake’s 31 points are the fourth straight game with at least 20 points and is the first Demons player to record multiple 30-point game in the same season since Kira Bonner in 2019-20.
The Demons led 66-51 early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 68-64. During the run, Kade Hackerott scored eight of her team-high 22 points, including two baskets where she was fouled.
Charlotte O’Keefe ended the run on a steal and layup, as the junior secured another double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Despite her 14 rebounds, Northwestern State won the battle of the boards against one of the better rebounding teams in the league, out-rebounding UTRGV 46-37, including grabbing 16 offensive boards.
While Blake was Batman, Sharna Ayres was Robin, sparking the Demons off to a fast start, burying three triples to begin the game.
Ayres scored 11 of her 20 points in the first quarter on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, to push Northwestern State out to an early 17-6 advantage before the Vaqueros ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to cut it to two.
Ayres made four triples overall, moving her into sixth place in Northwestern State history with 178 triples. She is now just five behind Beatrice Attura (183) for fifth.
The Demons opened up breathing room in the second quarter, thanks to Blake starting a period in which they outscored UTRGV 19-9 with five quick points to open up a seven-point lead.
Carla Celaya scored six of her season-high 11 points in the second quarter to help build the lead and push the Demons outscoring of the Vaqueros bench 11-5.
“There’s so much grit and second chance opportunities and I thought Carla has done phenomenal not just tonight but did phenomenal in her last game. She went in and guarded the five and created extra possessions. She had five rebounds at half tonight.
“She is playing incredibly well. I don’t think she was all that offensive driven tonight, I think all that came to her, and she was tremendous.”
In addition to her 11 points, she nearly posted her second career double-double, grabbing eight rebounds.
The Demons shot 40 percent for the game and made nine 3-pointers and held UTRGV to 35.8 from deep. The 3-point defense continues to shine for Northwesterm State, holding the visitors to just 21.4 percent from the field.
UTRGV had four in double figures, as Hackerott and O’Keefe were joined by Tierra Trotter and Gianna Angiolet, who each tallied 10.
The Demons finish the weekend with a trip to East Texas A&M on Saturday, the first of three road games for Northwestern State. The next time they are in front of the home crowd is Feb. 13 against Lamar.
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