LAKE CHARLES—Fans will get to witness two of the Southland's top two women's basketball point guards in McNeese State's
Jayln Johnson and Northwestern State's Janelle Perez when two teams face off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Burton Coliseum.
McNeese will welcome its former alumni and the group will be recognized at halftime. Also Rowdy will be celebrating his birthday with all of the Rowdy's Kids Club members throughout both games. A Pizza Party is scheduled for halftime of the women's game and cake will be available at halftime of the men's game. All members are invited to attend.
Johnson and the Cowgirls (11-7, 3-3 SLC) will look to bounce back from its first home loss of the season and first home loss since Nicholls defeated McNeese 73-68 on Feb. 28 of last year.
Both point guards lead their respective squads in scoring and assists. Johnson is averaging 13.5 ppg. and 4.7 assists per game as well as leading the Cowgirls with and ranks fourth in the nation with a 91.7 free throw percent. Johnson and Perez are tied in the SLC assist/turnover ratio at 2.1. On top of that, Johnson is averaging a team high 1.4 steals per game. The Jennings native needs one assists to move into sole possession of second place in McNeese's career assists.
Allison Baggett and Frederica Heywood are the supporting cast to Johnson lately. Baggett is also averaging in double figures with 12.9 ppg. and is coming off her second consecutive 20-point game with 20 against Incarnate Word on Wednesday. Baggett has scored in double figures in 13 of the Cowgirls' 18 games.
Haywood has led the Cowgirls in rebounding all season and is currently averaging 8.1 overall and 11.2 in SLC games only. She has grabbed 10 or more in four of the last five games, pulling down a season high 17 against Sam Houston State last Saturday.
Perez leads Northwestern State (11-7, 5-2 SLC) in scoring 14.7 ppg. and 3.6 assist per game, ranking her third in the league. Beatrice Attura is averaging 13.8 ppg. The Lady Demons have won eight of their last 10 games and are coming off a 70-61 road loss at Nicholls on Thursday. Tia Youngblood leads NW State with 5.5 rpg.
