Cowgirls suffer 72-61 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI — McNeese women’s basketball suffered through an 8 ½ minute scoring drought between the third and fourth quarters to trail by as many as 12 points. The Cowgirls cut the lead to five points late in the game only to eventually fall 72-61 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday night.

“We can’t continue to go through these droughts, especially on the road,” said head coach Lynn Kennedy. “We talked about it last week and we will continue to address it but we are still young and I’m not making excuses. I know the scoreboard doesn’t show it, but believe it or not we are getting better.”

McNeese (5-10, 0-2 SLC) placed three players in double figures with Desirae Hansen leading the way with 15 points which was a welcome sight since Hansen was scoreless in the last two games. Kaili Chamberlin ended the game with 12 and Le’Shenae Stubblefield came off the bench to score 11. Divine Tanks led McNeese with seven rebounds while Zuzanna Kulinska pulled down six.

Both teams got off to a slow start but when the scoring started, McNeese scored the first four points of the game for a quick 4-0 lead then a 6-2 lead on a Hansen jumper. Jumping out to the early lead was also a welcome sight since the Cowgirls have struggled to score early in several games.

The Islanders (10-6, 2-0 SLC) went on an 8-1 run to take a 10-7 lead but the Cowgirls responded by scoring the next four points to retake the lead (11-10). TAMU-CC ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to lead 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.

TAMU-CC also had three players score in double figures with Alecia Westbrook ending the game with a career high 23 points with 13 coming off free throws. Makinna Serrata and Vileta Verano both scored 12 apiece.

TAMU-CC held as much as a 12 point lead a few times but the Cowgirls responded to the cut lead to single digits every time until the end of the game.

After getting to within three points (48-45) in the third quarter, McNeese went cold for over eight minutes until Hansen broke the scoring drought with a three-pointer with 5:06 to play in the game. The Cowgirls didn’t help their cause during the drought by committing six turnovers, missed four jumpers, and missed one free throw.

Trailing by 12 with three minutes left in the game, McNeese cut the lead to five points (66-61) following three treys and a jumper with 44 seconds left in the game.

Having to foul the Islander in the closing seconds in hopes they would miss their free throws, TAMU-CC scored their final six points from the free throw line to seal the victory.

For the second straight game, the opponent dominated at the free throw line. McNeese was 8 of 11 while TAMU-CC was 25 of 30.

McNeese will remain on the road and will travel to Incarnate Word on Saturday.