McNeese State’s basketball teams return
home for the season’s first doubleheader following a tough road trip,
with the Cowgirls
tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the Cowboys 30 minutes following the
conclusion of that game. Both will be facing their counterparts
from Centenary.
Between the games there will be a
salute to last year’s success, with banners from the Cowboys CIT bid and
the Cowgirls Southland
title and NCAA tournament bid being unveiled. It’s the second
straight year that both teams have something to add to the Burton
Coliseum rafters.
“We’re excited like it’s the first time it’s happened all over again,” said Cowgirls coach Brooks Donald Williams. “Some kids
have never hung a banner. It was a motivating factor for this season, to watch that go down again.”
The Cowgirls will also be introducing an alternate gold uniform for the game.
For both teams, there is work to be done if there is to be yet another banner unveiling at Burton next year.
The Cowgirls (3-2) are coming off a
68-59 overtime loss to Southern Miss in the Lady Eagles Thanksgiving
Classic. The physical
contest saw the Cowgirls attempt 6 free throws to 25 for Southern
Miss, but that’s not the disparity that bothers Donald Williams
the most. Southern Miss outrebounded McNeese 35-23.
“There were a lot of things we could have done differently,” Donald Williams said. “If we boxed out better on a couple rebounds,
then the free-throw margin doesn’t matter.”
The Cowboys (1-3) are trying to snap a three-game losing streak with losses at LSU, Southeast Missouri and Ole Miss.
Offensively, McNeese has some of the
worst stats in the country through its first four games. Out of the 344
teams in Division
I, the Cowboys are 327th in points per game (55.8), 336th in
assists per game (9), 314th in field goal percentage (.381) and
315th in rebounds per game (30.5).
“This process is not one thing that
we’re going to solve real quick. It’s a thing of patience,” said Cowboys
coach Dave Simmons.
“It’s where we are at the end of the season that’s the most
important thing. We wanted to build some toughness on this road
trip. It’s tested us. We’ve got a lot of improvement to do, but
there’s no question we’re doing it... we’re not scoring enough
points. We’re getting open shots. We’re just not hitting those
shots. It’s a question of confidence. You know your team is
counting on you. You’ve got to relax a little bit and get it in
the bucket.”
Coming back to Burton — and playing an opponent that does not have a significant height advantage — figures to give the Cowboys
a chance to snap out of it.
“The shooters have just got to find some type of rhythm,” said shooting guard Jeremie Mitchell. “Lately we haven’t been shooting
the ball well. The main thing is to find a rhythm.”