By Wyatt Junkmann and Mason Griffin

The Poke Press

Cowgirl Tennis

McNeese’s tennis team extended its win streak to three after defeating Sam Houston Friday and Lubbock Christian Monday. 

In the doubles match against Sam Houston, sophomore Stella Rundova and sophomore Elena Morales started off the series with a 7-5 set victory.  

The next duo to represent the Cowgirls was sophomore Salome Fluri and junior Erica Hagi. The two couldn’t out-match Sam Houston’s Christine Jevicky and Nayuma Subba and dropped the match 4 sets to 6. Fluri was swapped out for junior Ana Hollweg for the final match. Hagi and Hollweg then won the series 7-5 against Sam Houston.  

In the singles matches, McNeese went 4-2 in the individual series. Fluri, Hagi, Hollweg, and Morales all won their individual matches. Both Fluri and Hollweg had 3-set matches but still came out on top. Hagi dominated her match with 6-2, 6-2 score. Morales had a much easier route, winning two sets with a total score of 12-2. 

The momentum held steady in McNeese’s match against Lubbock Christian, where the Cowgirls cleaned house, winning all seven events they hosted against Lubbock Christian.  

The Cowgirls’ next competition is at Tarleton State, where McNeese will face off against Oral Roberts and Collin College Saturday and Tarleton State Sunday. 

Cowboys Basketball

The Bayou Bandits wrapped up a challenging two-game stretch with a dramatic road win followed by a hard-fought conference loss, as Southland play heats up in the runup to the conference championship. 

McNeese picked up a gritty road victory against Lamar Jan. 31, edging the Cardinals 64–63 in a game that came down to the final possessions. The game was tight to the very end, but the Cowboys leaned on timely scoring and defensive stops late in the second half to secure the one-point win.  

McNeese’s guard Larry Johnson, was the Cowboys’ leading scorer with 22 points, and forward Jerell Colbert finished with a double-double of 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks.  

Monday saw a different outcome for the Cowboys as they dropped a 67-60 matchup Monday against conference rival Stephen F. Austin. Stephen F. Austin jumped out to an early lead and controlled much of the first half, forcing McNeese to play from behind. Guard Tyshawn Archie led the Cowboys in scoring, finishing with 16 points. 

McNeese was unable to close the gap despite a second-half push that cut into the deficit. 

“I’m proud of the guys,” Cowboys head coach Bill Armstrong said. “They gave everything they had during the second half. I didn’t think it was a lack of effort in the first half. We held them to 31 points. We just couldn’t make a shot. Couldn’t make a layup. We were out of sorts offensively.” 

The loss dropped the Cowboys to 18–5 overall and 10–2 in conference play, breaking a 4-game winning streak.