TARLETON, Texas— McNeese women's basketball came away with a gutsy 49-47 win over Tarleton State Sunday afternoon in a game that consisted of 17 lead changes and nine ties.
"This was definitely a defensive battle," said head coach
Ayla Guzzardo. "Coming down the stretch of the game, we knew we were going to be a little oversized in the post, huge shoutout to my bigs today for working and competing from Lexi (Alexander), Ty (Sibley), Dakota (Howard) and even Mo (Joseph) that came in a played good quality minutes."
McNeese (2-1) trailed by two points (43-41) with 4:13 to play then went on a 6-2 run to take a 47-45 with 1:29 left. Tarleton State's Elodie Lutbert's layup tied the game at 45 all and then again at 47 apiece with just over a minute to play.
Tarleton State (2-3) missed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left and
Tyreona Sibley gave the Cowgirls a 49-47 lead with a layup.
Following a Tarleton State timeout with 11 seconds to set up a play, the Cowgirls defense forced Gia Adams to attempt a three-pointer as time ran out, and Sibley grabbed the rebound for the win.
"We were focusing on making sure we would get the offensive rebounds and didn't want to turn the ball over more than 10 times. We also caused them to turn the ball over 19 time and scored 19 points off those turnovers. That's a huge advantage when we are struggling to score but as always, we hang our hats on the defensive end."
McNeese pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and held Tarleton State to 10 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over just eight times while making Tarleton State turn the ball over 19 times.
"Our offense stemmed from our defense today. "Thankful that we had a good fourth quarter and started putting the ball in the hole. We played hard and together and this is a big win against a Mid-Major team."
Jalencia Pierre and Alexander both led the Cowgirls in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
McNeese will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 22 to host LSU-Alexandria at 1 p.m. in its final home game until its Southland Conference opener against East Texas A&M on Dec. 12.
1st QUARTER
• Cowgirls started off cold from the field, connecting on 1 of 6 attempts in the first five minutes of the game.
• McNeese trailed by as many as four points (3:16 left) but scored the next six points to lead 12-10.
• Tarleton State made a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to take the first quarter lead
• McNeese shot 26.3 percent from the field (5-19) in the quarter
• Held Tarleton State to zero second chance points and zero points in the paint in the quarter
Tarleton State 13, McNeese 12
2nd QUARTER
• McNeese trailed 18-17 midway through the quarter following one of two made free throws by
Dakota Howard.
• Cowgirls took a 22-18 lead on a three-pointer by Patton followed by a layup by Hamilton with two minutes left in the half.
• A late turnover in the quarter allowed Tarleton State to tie the game at 22 for the halftime score.
• Shot 33.3 percent from the field, scored seven points off six Tarleton State turnovers
• McNeese outrebounded Tarleton State 22-17 in the first half
•
Lexi Alexander led McNeese with eight first half points,
Tyreona Sibley led with four rebounds
McNeese 22, Tarleton State 22
3rd QUARTER
• McNeese took a 27-26 lead early in the half on a steal and layup by Jalencia Pierre
• McNeese led 33-30 with 2:37 left in the quarter, Tarleton State ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead 37-33.
Tarleton State 37, McNeese 33
4th QUARTER
• McNeese opened the quarter by scoring the first four points in the first two minutes on a layup by Pierre and a jumper by Hamilton to tie the game at 37 apiece
• There were six ties in the fourth quarter
•
Tyreona Sibley scored the winning basket with 11 seconds left in the game
• McNeese outscored Tarleton State 16-10 in the fourth quarter
McNeese 49, Tarleton State 47
NOTES
• Neither team led by more than four points in the game
• McNeese caused 19 turnovers and scored 19 points off those turnovers
• McNeese outrebounded the Texans 37-36 overall including 15-10 on the offensive boards
• McNeese outscored the Texans 38-22 in the paint
• McNeese was credited with 11 steals while the Texans had tw0
• McNeese ended the game shooting 34.4 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from the free throw line making 6 of 10 attempts
• Jalencia Pierre and
Lexi Alexander ended the game in double figures, both with season highs. Pierre scored 12 points and Alexander ended with 11
Next Game
Nov. 22 LSU-Alexandria (1 p.m./ESPN+)
Upcoming Games
!Nov. 24 vs. West Virginia (12:30 p.m. CT/Flo College)
!Nov. 26 vs. Ohio State/Belmont
Dec. 2 at Utah Tech (ESPN+)
^Dec. 5 at Arizona State (ESPN+)
^Dec. 6 vs. Nevada
Dec. 12 East Texas A&M (5 p.m./ESPN+)
!- Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship
^- Briann January Classic/Tempe, Ariz.
