Cowgirls use team effort in posting first win of the season
The McNeese women’s basketball team used an all-around effort to earn a 106-54 win over Southern-New Orleans on Monday night in the Health and Human Performance Complex.
Four players had a career-high scoring night and one other player tied her career-high as the Cowgirls broke 100 points for the first time since Nov. 27, 2016 when they defeated LSU-Alexandria 100-56.
“I’m just really proud of our girls,” McNeese head coach Kacie Cryer said.
“What a great win and a much-needed win that they’ve really been working really hard to get. We told ourselves we’re 0-0 going into this game and we don’t need to worry about what’s happening. But all those games prepared us for this moment today,” she said.
McNeese (1-8) jumped out on top of SUNO (5-10) early, but the Lady Knights hung around and only trailed 23-17 after one quarter.
The Cowgirls turned it on in the second quarter and blew what was a relatively tight game open with a 17-0 run to end the half. McNeese took a 48-23 lead into the locker room.
Regan Bolton scored a career-high 26 points on 6-of-11 three-point shooting. She had 17 points in the first half.
“I got myself in a rhythm and my teammates created shots for me,” Bolton said. “It helps a lot when you’re a shooter, it’s easy to make shots when they (create) shots for you.”
In the second half, McNeese continued its strong play from the first half and got the entire team playing time. SUNO only played seven players, so the Cowgirls’ depth, pressing, and running in transition wore the Lady Knights out.
Up next for the Cowgirls is a home game against Division III Louisiana College on Wednesday, Dec. 19.
McNeese’s Rayah Haynes tries to drive around Southern New Orleans’ Asia Thibodeaux during a non-conference game at the McNeese H&HP Complex in Lake Charles, La., Monday, Dec. 17, 2018. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)