Wednesday night’s McNeese State basketball Sneak Peek at Memorial Gym was a classic case in mutually beneficially relationships.

For fans, it was the first chance to see a pair of teams that are still tough to identify without a program handy. For players, it was the first chance to play in front of an audience that consisted of something other than nagging coaches.

Dave Simmons’ Cowboys have eight freshmen and sophomores on the roster, six of whom have yet to play a game for McNeese. Yet that’s nothing compared to Brooks Donald Williams’ Cowgirls squad, which has 12 underclassmen, eight of whom will be making their collegiate debuts this year.

“This causes excitement right before our season,” Donald Williams said. “We’ve got a packed house here. Not only for the community, but it gets our team excited. It gets people talking about the girls and the upcoming season.”

The atmosphere in the intimate gym was worlds different from that down the road at spacious Burton Coliseum. It was a packed house filled with students who took up every seat in the bleachers and stood shoulder to shoulder along the walls of both baselines.

That alone spoke volumes about why McNeese is moving forward with building a modern on-campus facility once the abandoned married dorm complex is demolished.

“We had a good turnout, which was good to see. Now when you’re walking across campus someone might recognize you instead of you just being a tall guy walking across campus,” Simmons said. “When we put that building close to campus, those kids will come, just like you saw tonight.”

Student attendance has long been an issue for the program in its off-campus venues, Burton Coliseum and the Lake Charles Civic Center.

Both McNeese squads were split in half for the event and played two separate 20-minute scrimmages.

Sophomore Amber Donnes led all Cowgirls with 10 points as her team prevailed 33-17.

A pair of freshmen, Mercedes Rogers (8 rebounds) and Frederica Haywood (7 rebounds) led the Cowgirls on the glass. Freshman guard Dede Sheppard showed versatility on both sides of the floor, turning a pair of steals into fast breaks and chipping in nine points.

The Cowboys’ scrimmage featured what Simmons jokingly referred to as “NBA All-Star Game defense.”

Desharick Guidry led his team to a 51-33 win behind his 18 points, while Austin Lewis added 12 with a quintuplet of dunks.

Senior starters Kevin Hardy and Craig McFerrin both sat out the scrimmage with injuries as the Cowboys try to get them back in time for next Friday’s season opener at Baylor.

The Cowgirls open with Louisiana College at Burton the same night.(Rick Hickman/American Press)