LAKE CHARLES—  Junior Mireia Yespes came off the bench to score a career high 35 points in a McNeese women's basketball 93-46 win over Centenary Thursday.  The win snapped a two-game losing streak and improved the Cowgirls to 4-7 on the season.  The loss drops Centenary to 1-10 on the year.
 
Yespes is the first Cowgirl to score at least 30 points in a game since Allison Baggett scored 30 against Lamar in 2016.  The 35-point output is also the eighth highest individual point total by a Cowgirl in program history.
 
Yespes connected on 13 of 17 field goals including two of three treys and was 7 of 9 from the free throw line.  She also ended the game with six rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass.
 
Every Cowgirl that played, scored at least two points. Yespes was joined in double figures with Azjah Reeves (13 pts.), Helena Galunic (11 pts.), and Emilia Tenbrock (10 pts.).  Galunic led all players with 11 rebounds for her first career double double.
 
Centenary missed their first 23 field goals of the game before Lauren Castillo's made a layup with 6:12 left in the second quarter.  McNeese held a 24-2 lead after the first quarter and 39-17 halftime lead.
 
The Cowgirls continued to build on its lead, getting 29 second half points from Yespes including 15 in the third quarter.  Yespes had six points at the half before going on a tear in the second half.
 
After McNeese built a 20-point lead, Centenary got as close as 13 points (44-31) early in the third quarter before a 12-1 Cowgirl run upped the lead to 54-32 with Yespes scoring 11 of the 12 Cowgirl points.
 
Yespes scored the opening bucket in the fourth quarter to give McNeese a 30-point lead and her three-pointer with less than two minutes in the game put McNeese up by 42 points.  
 
McNeese will host Tarleton State Saturday at 1 p.m. before breaking for the Christmas Holiday
 
1^st Quarter
• McNeese scored the first seven points of the game
• Centenary missed all 18 field goal attempts in the quarter.  The Ladies scored their only two points on free throws midway through the quarter
• McNeese then scored the next 17 straight points
• Cristina Gil returned to the court after missing the last three games
 
2^nd Quarter
• Centenary made their first field goal of the game off a layup by Lauren Castillo with 6:12 left to play in the half.
• That layup started an 8-0 run by the Ladies to cut the lead to 28-11
• McNeese ended the quarter on a 11-6 run to hold a 39-17 halftime lead
• Centenary outrebounded McNeese 27-25 in the first half  
 
3^rd Quarter
• Centenary started the second half on a 14-5 run to cut into the McNeese lead (44-31)
• McNeese went on a 16-5 run behind back-to-back three-pointers by Azjah Reeves late in the quarter to lead 60-36
•Yespes scored 14 points of her career high ?? points in quarter  
 
4^th Quarter
• McNeese outscored the Ladies 27-8 in the quarter and shot 56.3 percent from the field and 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
 
 McNEESE NOTES
• Snapped a two-game losing streak
• Every Cowgirl that played scored at least two points
• Four Cowgirls scored in double figures
• Mireia Yespes scored a career high 35 points
 • Yespes is the first Cowgirl to score at least 30 points in a game since Allison Baggett scored 30 points against Lamar in 2016.
• The 35 points is the eight highest individual point total in program history
• Helena Galunic recorded her first career double double (11 pts., 11 reb.)
• Alva Mofalk also recorded a career high with eight rebounds
• McNeese outrebounded Centenary 53-40
• The 53 rebounds tie the second most this season
• The 23 assists are the second most this season
• The 17 steals are the second most this season
 
COWGIRLS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sat., Dec. 16 vs. Tarleton State (1 p.m.)
Sun., Dec. 31 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1 p.m.)
Thu., Jan. 4 at Northwestern State (6:30 p.m.)/ SLC OPENER