By Mason Griffin and Wyatt Junkmann

Cowboy Basketball

The McNeese Cowboys had a successful stretch in Southland Conference basketball action this week, defeating both the Incarnate Word Cardinals Saturday and the Houston Christian Huskies Monday to keep their strong season rolling.  

In their matchup against the University of the Incarnate Word, the Cowboys tied 44–44 early in the second half then unleashed a decisive 20–2 run that propelled the Cowboys to the 81-64 win in front of a lively home crowd in the Townsley Law Arena. 

Senior Foward Jerell Colbert, junior guard Tyshawn Archie, and freshman guard Larry Johnson each recorded 17 points.  

Senior guard DJ Richards said Head Coach Bill Armstrong’s emphasis on focus at halftime was important for the win. 

“It’s kind of hard when you’re coming off a loss,” Richards said Armstrong told the team at halftime. “You feel like it’s kind of hard to play for things when you feel like you’re supposed be in a certain position.” 

Two days later, McNeese took on Houston Christian on home turf in another Southland Conference match up. The Huskies pushed the Cowboys throughout, but McNeese managed to hold down the stretch for the 4-point victory. 

Leading the way for McNeese was Jovohn Garcia, who logged 18 points in the win over Houston Christian, while Johnson and Archie added 14 and 11 points, respectively.  

Despite the victory, Armstrong said he wants his team to play better. 

“It’s disappointing, because I thought we had matured and were going to be able to start playing good basketball and try to peak in March,” Armstrong said. 

With these two wins, McNeese’s overall record is now 20-5 with 13-3 in conference play putting them in second place behind Stephen F. Austin State University, which has a 22-3 overall record with 15-1 in conference play.

Cowgirl Basketball

The Cowgirls continue to be the standard in the Southland, notching another victory and moving to 20-4 overall and 14-1 in conference. 

The Cowgirls won a Feb. 7 matchup with the Incarnate Word Cardinals 75-54.

It was a close game for the first three quarters, as McNeese could not pull away from UIW. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 47-40. 

The Cowgirls started firing on all cylinders in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 more points, playing both great defense and great offense. 

Softball

Cowgirl softball bounced back from a loss vs the No. 1 team in the nation to rattle off four wins in a row on opening weekend at Cowgirl Diamond at Joe Miller Field.  

McNeese faced off against Texas Tech Feb. 5 to kick off the season, where the Cowgirls packed out the stands with a record-breaking attendance of 1,804 McNeese faithful. 

However, the home crowd couldn’t help much, with Texas Tech winning 13-3 against the Pokes in the first game of the Twisted Vines Bayou Bash.  

McNeese started Feb. 6 with a win over the University of North Texas Mean Green in a 5-2 game. The Pokes held a 5-0 lead going into the sixth inning. Even with North Texas starting a comeback, McNeese was able to hold steady and keep the lead.  

Immediately after the UNT win, the Cowgirls played UL-Monroe, ending with a 6-2 win. A strong first few innings led to a stagnant middle. McNeese scored six times in the first three innings and held ULM scoreless until the sixth inning, when they put up their only two runs. Sophomore Maddie Taylor led the way in scoring for the Cowgirls, with 2 hits and 2 runs scored.  

Saturday’s game against Tulsa started off slow, with the two teams tied 4-4 at the end of five innings. Tulsa scored a run to take a brief lead at the top of the sixth.  

The Cowgirls answered the call, dropping nine points in the bottom of the sixth. Because of the success, officials enacted the “Mercy Rule.” With the use of the rule, which allows a game to end early when a team has a significant lead, the Pokes took home a 13-5 victory.  

Later Saturday evening, McNeese took on ULM again. This time the Cowgirls had a much easier time defeating the Hawks, winning 9-1 in five innings.  

McNeese Softball is now ranked No. 33 in NET rankings and will face Austin Peay and UIC this weekend at Cowgirl Diamond.