Kulinska scores career high in McNeesse win over A&M-Commerce

COMMERCE, Texas — McNeese women’s basketball overcame early foul trouble in the first quarter but a strong offensive output helped the Cowgirls pick up a 75-67 Southland Conference win over second place Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday.

“I’m so proud of our team and the effort we had today,” said head coach Lynn Kennedy. “We left everything on the court.

McNeese (9-13, 6-5 SLC), who leads the SLC in field goal percent in conference games, shot 53.7 percent (29 for 54) from the field, 46.7 percent (7 of 15) from three-point range, and 50.0 percent (10 of 20) from the free throw line while picking up a season high nine blocks.

“Our offensive execution was perfect.  We had great looks almost every possession.  We are a hard team to guard when we play and execute like we did today.”

Three Cowgirls scored in double figures with Zuzanna Kulinska leading all players with a career high 21 points.  Desirae Hansen, who was nearly perfect on the day scored 17.  Hansen was 5 of 5 from the field including 4 of 4 from three-point range.  The only miss on the day for Hansen was at the free throw line where she sank 3 of 4.  Divine Tanks chipped in with 15 points and led McNeese with eight rebounds.

The Cowgirls’ defense caused problems down low where Alicja Falkowska was a big presence. She ended the game with three of the nine Cowgirl blocks and altered several other Lion shots in the paint.

“Our defense was locked in today. Our rotations were on spot and we knew the scout.  The main goal was rebounding and we got those key rebounds at the right time.”

Texas A&M-Commerce (9-13, 7-3 SLC) also had three double figure scorers.  Laila Lawrence led the Lions with 17 points, Mia Deck had 13, and DesiRay Kernal scored 11.

The first quarter went back and forth and consisted of four ties and McNeese held a slim one point lead (21-20) after the first 10 minutes.  A&M-Commerce led by as many as seven points (39-32) in the second with 1:35 left in the half but McNeese ended the half on a 6-1 run to go into the half trailing 40-32.

A&M-Commerce jumped out to a 52-49 lead with 2:42 left in the third quarter but McNeese ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to hold a 57-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

McNeese held its largest lead of the game (64-56) with 6:18 to play following layups by Kulinska and Tanks. A huge three-pointer by Gil with 5:45 put the Cowgirls up 67-58 with just over five minutes to play.

A&M-Commerce got as close as four points (71-67) with 43 second left but the Cowgirls iced the game at the free throw line by making 4 of their last 6.

NOTES

• Three Cowgirl starters (Chamberlin, Hansen, Falkowska) got into early foul in the first half.  All three played less than 10 minutes in the first half.
• Three Cowgirls scored in double figures. Zuzanna Kulinska led all players with a career high 21 points. Desirae Hansen scored 17 and Divine Tanks added 15.
• Hansen was nearly perfect on the day, making all five attempts from the field including 4 of 4 three-pointers. Hansen missed one free throw (3 of 4).
• Tanks led McNeese with eight rebounds to bring her career total to 734, 10 shy of moving into 4th place in McNeese history.
• The first quarter went back and forth in the first quarter that included four ties.
• McNeese held a 21-20 first quarter lead
• A&M-Commerce held its largest lead of seven points in the half (39-32) with 1:35 left in the second quarter but McNeese closed out the half on a 6-1 run to trail 40-38 at the half.
• Trailing 52-49 with 2:42 left in the third quarter, McNeese ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 55-52 at the end of the quarter.