HOUSTON – A big first half was not enough for HCU women's basketball as they fell 65-60 to the McNeese Cowgirls Thursday evening in Sharp Gym.
HCU (12-15, 7-9 SLC) got off to a sluggish start to open the game as McNeese (9-18, 6-10 SLC) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
N'Denasija Collins finally got the Huskies on the board with a mid-range jumper at the 5:30 mark and followed that up with a three-pointer to cut the lead to two early on.
Enya Maguire checked into the game with the Huskies trailing by six with just under four minutes to play in the period and made her presence felt immediately. She quickly knocked down back-to-back three pointers to even things at 11. After the Cowgirls reclaimed the lead,
Julija Vujakovic made a tough driving layup with just ten seconds to play in the first as the Huskies trailed 17-15 heading to the second.
Playing with great pace as a unit, the Huskies impressive offensive play continued with a 15-6 run over the first five minutes of the second quarter. McNeese picked it up defensively over the last five minutes, holding the HCU offense to just 10 points, but still trailed 36-27 at half.
McNeese came out in the second half looking like a different team. Defensively, they held HCU to just seven made shots in the half. With six minutes left to play in the game, the Cowgirls tied things at 51, finally erasing the Husky lead.
Maguire stepped to the foul line and knocked down two free-throws to briefly give the Huskies another lead. However, a pair of made Cowgirl free-throws, a three pointer, and a layup put the Huskies down five, 58-53 which would be too much for HCU to overcome. HCU scored seven points over the final two minutes but could not keep the Cowgirls off the board.
Collins finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and a team high three steals. Maguire was huge off the bench for HCU, finishing with 15 points and four assists. Sutherland finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and finished tied with Nzoiwu each with two blocks. Kaili Chamberlin led three Cowgirls in double-figures with 13 points and nine rebounds.
HCU hits the road this weekend for a matchup with Nicholls Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
