Saturday, January 02, 2021

McNeese State Cowgirls upend Central Arkansas Sugar Bears to kickoff Southland Conference schedule

Photo by
Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved


By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA (January 2, 2021) The McNeese State Cowgirls kicked off their 2021 Southland Conference schedule by downing the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears by the score of 59-45 at Burton Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Cowgirls (1-7) suited up only eight players, with everyone seeing action, due to injuries. 

McNeese jumped out to a 14-6 lead after 10 minutes of play; increasing their lead t0 35-15 at the half. The Sugar Bears mounted a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring McNeese 17-10. The fourth period saw -the Cowgirls hold on for a one-point advantage (14-13) to secure the win. Starting guard Kyla Hamilton (No. 12, shown above) topped the scoring with 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds; all of them on defense.

Fellow starting guards Claralee Richard  and Mychala Linzy also scored in double figures; 13 and 11 respectively. Jayla Cody came off the bench to lead the scoring for the Sugar Bears, with nine points.  Ayanna Trigg led the way in rebounds with eight (five on offense, three on defense).

Statistically, the Sugar Bears led scoring in the paint (28-22), second chance points (15-3) and off the bench scoring (19-10) and rebounds (51-25). McNeese held the edge in fast break points (21-0), field goal shooting (38%-29%), three-pointers (35%-12%) and free throws (70%-58%), and steals (17-6). The Cowgirls led the entire game, with their largest lead, 22 points, coming at the 8:52 mark of the third quarter.

Next up for McNeese is a Saturday, January 9 meeting against Northwestern State, with tip off scheduled for 1 p.m. CST at Burton Coliseum. The Sugar Bears will travel to New Orleans with a 7 p.m. start against the Privateers, on Wednesday, January 6.


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