The McNeese Cowgirls haven’t hit the panic button, but they are hitting the fired-up button after Monday’s 78-61 home loss to Nicholls State.

“We were all disappointed on Monday night just like we were (last) Thursday at Northwestern,” said coach Brooks Donald Williams. “We know we didn’t play our basketball. I hate seeing that look in their eyes. We all knew it. It wasn’t anything we had to talk about a whole lot other than we have to go back to work.”

That process begins with tonight’s 5:30 p.m. tip against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-12, 0-2 Southland).

McNeese (6-8, 1-2) showed itself to be an effective bounce-back team when it throttled Stephen F. Austin 74-57 after dropping the conference opener at Northwestern State.

But Donald Williams said the emphasis needs to be on continually moving forward, not just bouncing back.

“We know it’s early. There’s a lot left to be done, but there’s a lot of time to do it,” she said. “There’s also an urgency just to get better. We want to have consistency with that. We all know it.”

Donald Williams said no one in the program is doubting the team can be playing at a championship level by the end of the season.

“It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks outside our program. We know what we’re capable of,” Donald Williams said. “We’re not going to let two losses get us down. We played it tough in nonconference, the kids wanted it, so we could be better near the end. And we’re not near the end yet.”

McNeese State women’s basketball coach Brooks Donald Williams. (American Press Archives)