HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University fought out of an early hole but never fully recovered in falling 63-43 to McNeese State University in a New Year's Eve matinee at Sharp Gym Wednesday afternoon. The Huskies found themselves down ten right out of the gate before scratching back to within three before the Cowgirls methodically pulled away.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers from Carley Hamilton and Kaili Chamberlain gave the visitors a 10-0 lead just over five minutes into the ballgame. A three-point play by Jordan Jackson finally got the Huskies on the board and a layup by Kamryn McLaurin cut the deficit in half with HCU down 16-8 after a period of play.
 
The Pokes pushed their lead out to 12 on a jumper in the paint by Lexi Alexander and still led by double-digits midway through the period, 23-13. From there, the Huskies mounted a little rush, holding the Cowgirls to just five points over the next four minutes while crawling back into it. A three-ball from Madelyne Davis started a burst, and Grace Booth connected on two charity shots to cut the McNeese lead to just three, 26-23 with 1:19 to go.
 
McNeese would respond however, getting a layup from Jalencia Pierre and a conventional three-point play from Arianna Patton with 1.2 second left to grab an eight-point lead 31-23 at the intermission.
 
A fastbreak layup by Dasia Hyams cut the lead to five two minutes into the third, but the Huskies went cold from there, going scoreless for the next five minutes. Meanwhile, Dakota Howard scored eight points during a game-changing 11-0 run that gave the Cowgirls control with a 42-25 lead at the 3:15 mark of the third. The Cowgirls would cruise from there, taking a 17-point lead heading into the final period, which remained the closest the Huskies came the rest of the way.
 
The Huskies struggled from the field, hitting just 33% overall and 18% from the three-point line. HCU was a plus-seven on the backboards, but 27 turnovers turned into 30 points for McNeese.
 
Kamryn McLaurin led the Huskies with 17 points off the bench, going 8-10 from the charity stripe. Grace Booth was the only other HCU player in double-digits, scoring 11 points to go with game-highs of 11 caroms and four helpers. Jordan Jackson chipped in six points, five boards and two blocked shots.
 
McNeese (9-4 / 3-1 SLC) was led Dakota Howard's 18 points, five boards and five steals. Lexi Alexander had 12 points and six rebounds while Tyreona Sibley gave the Pokes a trio of double-digits scorers with 10 points.
 
HCU drops to 4-7 overall and back to even in Southland play at 2-2. The Huskies will return to action on Saturday afternoon in San Antonio against rival University of the Incarnate Word, the start of a three-game road stretch. Tip-off at McDermott Convocation Center is scheduled for 1 pm.
 
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