Lady Cowboys down Houston Baptist

HOUSTON, Texas—McNeese women’s basketball team used solid defense and rebounding late in the game to even their Southland Conference record to 1-1 Monday night with a 71-64 win over Houston Baptist. The win improves the Cowgirls’ overall record to 9-5. McNeese will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1 p.m. Saturday in their SLC home opener.

“Hats off to our kids, we out-toughed them in the end in their own place and that is a hard thing to do,” said head coach Brooks Donald Williams. “I thought our post players came up with big rebounds and just coming up with big plays.”

McNeese placed three players in double figure scoring, led by senior point guard Jayln Johnson. Despite being double teamed for most of the night, Johnson scored a game-high 23 on 8-of 15 from the field including 3 of 6 from three-point range and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. Amber Donnes tied her season high with 18 and Allison Baggett chipped in 13.

After the Cowgirls took the early lead in the game, Houston Baptist took the lead and held a 19-11 first quarter lead and then a 34-31 lead. The Cowgirls were outrebounded 25-14 in the first half but made up for it in the second half by outrebounding HBU by 14 to end the game 41 to 38 in the rebound column.
Sophomore Frederica Haywood ended the game with a season high 14 boards including nine on the defensive end.

The third quarter went back and forth and consisted of seven ties with the last coming at 51 all with 42 seconds left before Johnson’s second free throw gave the Cowgirls a 52-51 lead. A layup by Baggett on an inbounds play upped the Cowgirls’ lead to 54-51.

McNeese got a spark off the bench around the six minute mark in the fourth quarter by Pearland, Texas native Keara Hudanll. Hudnall came off the bench with the Cowgirls leading by three with 8:26 to play. Hudnall hit Donnes on a back door layup and then hit a jumper on the next Cowgirl possession for a 60-53 lead.

HBU got as close as three points with five minutes to play but McNeese went on a 7-2 run in the next two minutes to take their largest lead of the game of eight points (67-59). McNeese sealed the game at the free throw line where they scored their final four points of the game.