McNeese Women's Basketball comes back to defeat lamar

Staff Reports

The Contraband

McNeese women’s basketball team overcame a sluggish start and an 18-point third quarter deficit to defeat Lamar 92-84 here Saturday in Southland Conference action. The two teams will turn around and face each other in Beaumont, Texas next Wednesday.

Mercedes Rogers came up big on the glass for the Cowgirls, ending the game with a career high 13 rebounds. Jayln Johnson was one of three Cowgirls to score in double figures. Johnson scored 22 points, Amber Donnes had 17 and Keara Hudnall pitched in with 11. Frederica Haywood ended the game with 11 rebounds.

Lamar opened the game by scoring the first six points, the third straight game McNeese has gotten off to a slow start. The Cardinals held a 25-20 first quarter lead and a 50-36 halftime lead, its largest of the half. The Cardinals shot 41.2 percent from the field and were nearly perfect from the free throw line, making 19 of 21 attempts. The Cowgirls shot 35.9 percent from the field and were 5 of 18 from three-point range while making 3 of 5 free throws.

The Cowgirls’ comeback bid started with five minutes left in the third quarter when Williams put Hudnall, Haily Jenkins, Rogers, Jasmyn Carswell and Victoria Rachal on the court to generate some energy and that group of players came through. The Cowgirls outscored the Cardinals 24-17 in the quarter to cut the Lamar lead to seven points (67-60).

McNeese kept the momentum up and fed off the crowd as the Cowgirls began the fourth quarter by outscoring Lamar 12-6 in the first five minutes of the half to take its first lead of the game on a Rogers offensive rebound and put back. The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes before Rachal put the Cowgirls in the lead for good on a layup. The Cowgirls didn’t get to the free throw line often in the first half but did in the second half. McNeese scored its final 11 points of the game from the free throw line and ended the game making 25-36, 21 of 31 in the second half alone. The Cowgirls scored 21 second chance points in the second half after scoring only six in the first half.

The Cowgirls dominated the boards in the second half by outrebound Lamar by 25 in the half and ended the game with a 59-38 edge. The Cowgirls’ bench came up big as well, outscoring Lamar’s bench 40-3 with 37 of those points coming in the second half.

Lamar placed four players in double figure scoring with Kiara Desamours and Addesha Collins leading all players with 27. Chastadie Barrs scored 14 and Baileigh O’Dell ended with 11.
The teams will face each other against Wednesday, Feb. 24 in Beaumont. The game will be televised on ESPN3.