HOUSTON, Texas---  McNeese softball took the early lead in the first inning, but Houston scored five runs in the second to take the lead for good in a 10-6 loss to the Cougars Tuesday night. 

Despite the loss, Jada Muñoz missed hitting for the cycle by a triple.  Muñoz picked up three of the Cowgirls' seven hits on the night.
 
The loss snaps the Cowgirls seven game winning streak as they fall to 21-13 overall.  Houston improves to 18-11 on the season.
 
Kadence Williams fell to 5-5 overall with the loss.  The Cowgirls used three pitchers including Williams who allowed five earned runs on five hits and one walk in 1 1/3 innings.
 
McNeese took a 2-0 lead in their first at bat of the game on a RBI double by Muñoz that scored the Cowgirls leadoff runner Kassidy Chance. Chance led the game with a double off the wall then moved to third on a long fly out by Samantha Mundine.  After Muñoz stole third, she scored on a ground out by Nyjah Fontenot for a 2-0 lead.
 
The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the first with a leadoff homerun by Jordee Wilkins to cut the McNeese lead in half. 
 
Houston scored five runs on five hits and took advantage of one Cowgirl error in the second inning to take a 6-2 lead.  A lead they wouldn't give up.  Singles by Ariel Redmond, Mandy Esman, and Brooke Wells and a double by Wilkins all accounted for the Cougar runs in the inning.
 
McNeese scored a run in the third inning on a one out bases loaded walk by Reese Reyna to cut the Houston lead to 6-3.  McNeese stranded the bases loaded and missed a chance to add more runs when Rylie Bouvier lined out to first base for a double play.
 
Muñoz sent her ninth homerun of the season over the centerfield wall in the fifth inning to pull the Cowgirls to within two runs, 6-4.
 
Houston added three insurance runs without a hit in the fifth inning and once again took advantage of a Cowgirl error to extend its lead to 9-4. 
 
McNeese got two runs back in the sixth on Reyna's fourth homerun of the season, a solo homerun to cut the Houston lead to four.  A two out bases loaded walk by Mundine scored the second Cowgirl run of the inning to trail 9-6.  Muñoz then lined out to third to end the threat with the bases loaded.
 
Houston added a run in the sixth on a two-out triple to right field by Wells for a 10-6 Houston lead.