After a big semifinals win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday afternoon, the McNeese women’s basketball team returned on Thursday to face Stephen F. Austin to decide who would punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys couldn’t get it done on their home floor, losing to the Ladyjacks 71-59. The loss put their end-of-season record at 28-5 and 21-1 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
McNeese wasted no time jumping out to a 7-2 lead through the first three minutes of the game. Dakota Howard had the team’s first two buckets, including an 18-footer that Allasia Washington assisted on. Washington then made an and-one layup as Cha Gardner was called for the foul.
The Ladyjacks outscored the Cowirls 9-5 through the middle part of the opening quarter. Harmanie Dominguez knocked down an and-one three-pointer from 25 feet out before Myka Perry got into the paint, and Ashlyn Taylor-Walker also hit a three. In between that was when Avari Berry got a layup and an assist on Arianna Patton’s shot from downtown.
The first quarter closed with Perry making another layup at the 1:21 mark and cutting the Cowgirls’ lead down to 19-18. The second quarter was sloppy, with three turnovers by Stephen F. Austin. McNeese didn’t capitalize on any of those extra opportunities and allowed the Ladyjacks to take their first lead of the game.
Key Roseby gave SFA its first lead as both teams traded buckets for the next couple of minutes. Kaili Chamberlin knocked down a 16-footer for the Pokes, but the Ladyjacks were on fire from three-point range as Roseby and Dominguez each made shots. Roseby scored seven points and assisted on Dominguez’s shot during the run to put Stephen F. Austin ahead 28-23 with 6:57 to go before halftime.
McNeese then went on a 10-4 run late into the quarter to reclaim the lead. Jalencia Pierre and Howard scored on back-to-back possessions twice before Pierre answered Perry’s layup with one of her own. Those baskets put the Cowgirls ahead by one, but it was Aziyah Farrier who had a buzzer beater to give the Ladyjacks the 34-33 halftime lead.
Perry continued to be an issue for McNeese as she scored 10 of SFA’s first 12 points of the second half. She was fouled on the opening possession, made three more layups, and hit a 10-footer with Roseby knocking down a jumpshot in the middle of Perry’s run.
Those six minutes by Perry to open the second half put the Ladyjacks ahead by five. That lead grew as Farrier got into the paint on back-to-back possessions before McNeese went on a five-point run to end the third quarter. The Cowgirls were down 50-48 with 10 minutes to play.
McNeese ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as Stephen F. outscored them 7-1 through the first three-and-a-half minutes. Kaylinn Kemp made a pair of shots, including a three-pointer that Gardner assisted on, and Perry put up another layup after Patton missed a 23-footer. Howard tried to cut into SFA’s lead with an and-one, but it was neutralized by Dominguez, who scored twice. Once in the paint and then another three a minute later.
The Cowgirls cut it to a five-point game with 2:20 left as Patton scored from downtown, but that was the closest they’d get the rest of the way. The Ladyjacks answered any shot the Pokes made in the closing minutes. Perry and Dominguez put the game away for good with an and-one layup and another three-pointer.
At the final buzzer, McNeese found itself runner-up in the Southland Conference Championship, losing 71-59 to Stephen F. Austin and missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
BIG NUMBER: 1
The McNeese Cowgirls were one win away from winning their first conference title since 2012. The loss to Stephen F. Austin was also the team’s only loss in conference play all season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Myka Perry
Perry came up big for the Ladyjacks on Thursday as she scored a team-high 21 points in 37 minutes on 9/14 shooting. The sophomore guard also had six rebounds and no turnovers as McNeese fell in the championship round of the Southland Conference Tournament, 71-59.
UP NEXT: The McNeese women’s basketball team will wait until early November for the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season.