RUSTON—McNeese women's basketball opened its 2020-21 season with a 90-45 loss at Louisiana Tech Wednesday night.
 
"It wasn't the start that we wanted," said head coach Kacie Cryer. "First game jitters came through for our players which we do not want to use an excuse and we won't. It wasn't the showing we wanted and its uncharacteristic of our ladies following the practices and preseason we have had."
 
Senior Callie Maddox began her final campaign by leading the Cowgirls in scoring with 10 points on 4 of 7 from the field including two three-pointers.
 
Sophomore Mia Robinson who spent the 2019-20 season as a redshirt led McNeese with seven rebounds, all coming on the defensive end.
 
It wasn't the outcome the Cowgirls had hoped for in their first game back since they last played a game on March 7.
 
McNeese (0-1) began the game by committing three turnovers in its first four possessions including two charging calls on Elizabeth Critton in the first two minutes of the game.
 
First game jitters were evident for the Cowgirls who had six players playing their first Division I game tonight. McNeese missed their first seven shots attempted which put them down 22-0 before Maia Robinson put the Cowgirls on the board with a layup with less than two minutes left in the quarter. Louisiana Tech )1-0) would go score the final six points of the quarter to lead 28-2.
 
"Defensively, we were hesitant the entire game and we must focus and regroup for Ole Miss."
 
The Cowgirls settled down a little and started the second quarter off by outscoring the Lady Techsters 7-2 on two free throws by Mychala Linzy, a three-pointer by Shaela Gardner and a layup by Callie Maddox to trail 30-9.
 
Claralee Richard gave the Cowgirls a spark within a two-minute span late in the quarter by scoring seven straight point that force La. Tech to call a timeout. McNeese trailed 52-18 at the half.  
 
La. Tech would outscore the Cowgirls 21-10 in the third quarter and both teams each scored 17 points in the final quarter.
 
As a team, McNeese shot 28.8 percent (17-59) from the field and 70.0 percent (7-10) from the free throw line. The Cowgirls were also outrebounded 51-37 and turned the ball over 27 times and La. Tech capitalized on the Cowgirl turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers.
 
"We have a tough and very resilient group who is very disappointed in their performance tonight. As much as we hate to lose, we have a lot of takeaways to build on and this group is going to be just fine. We have to stay the course, trust the process, and trust each other."
 
McNeese will return to the hardwood on Monday, Nov. 30 when they will travel to Ole Miss for a 6 p.m. game.