HAMMOND, La. (WNTZ) —Step one is all complete for the Northwestern State women’s basketball team.

Due to results this past weekend, the Demons (12-12, 9-6) clinched a spot in the eight-team Southland Conference Tournament, and now turns its sights to seeding, aiming to earn a bye in the first round of the tournament.

Currently, the Demons sit in fifth place, a half-game behind UIW for the final bye spot. They aim to improve their seeding when they take to the floor Thursday on the road against league-leading Southeastern Louisiana (22-3, 16-0).

Tip-off at University Center is at 6 p.m. and is being streamed on ESPN+.

“We need to take different things we did successfully against SFA and Lamar,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “We out-rebounded SFA by 20 and matched Lamar in paint points, but the key will be taking care of the ball.

They are undefeated in conference for a reason, but we played them tight in Natchitoches this year and played them tight at Southeastern last year. It is just about correcting us.”

Thursday begins weekend the Demons play their final two road contests of the season.

Northwestern State is coming off back-to-back tough defeats to two of the best teams in the conference, including one last time out against rival Stephen F. Austin that came down to the final seconds.

In the previous meeting this season, the Demons cut an 18-point halftime deficit to just four points midway through the fourth quarter before SLU pulled away with an 11-3 spurt late to put the game away.

Mya Blake tallied 20 points in the first game between the two and is coming off a 22-point performance against SFA, two of her eight 20-point games this season.

In addition to her 22 points against the Ladyjacks, she also recorded eight rebounds, even assists and a career-high six steals.

Vernell Atamah posted 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds last time out. She poured in 21 in the first meeting with Southeastern.

The Lady Lions have rolled their way to an undefeated mark in league play thus far, winning 16 in a row overall and have won 17 consecutive conference games.

Of Southeastern Louisiana’s 22 wins, only seven have come by single digits and only three of those have come by two scores or fewer.

Northwestern State, on the other hand, is experienced in playing close contests, having played seven games decided by two scores or fewer.

This matchup pits the third-best field goal percentage team (SLU) against the top field goal percentage defense (NSU) during league games in the SLC.

While Southeastern doesn’t attempt many shots from behind the arc, the Lady Lions are the top 3-point shooting team during league games, making 35.7 percent from deep, while the Demons remain atop the nation in 3-point defense at 23.9 and even better than that in SLC play, limiting opponents to just 22.4 percent from deep.

Two players have made double digit 3-pointers for SLU during league play, both of whom—Alexius Horne (24) and Arianna Patton (22)—shoot at least 46 percent from deep.

Horne scores 14.4 points per game during SLC play, fifth in the conference. Scoring depth is the strength of the team, as seven players average at least five points per game.

The Demons wrap up the road portion of their schedule Saturday afternoon with a trip to Louisiana’s largest city to battle New Orleans before heading home to Prather Coliseum for the final three games of the season, starting with a large game against UIW on Feb. 27.