Cowgirls get bit by the injury bug; lose depth at key positions
Team depending on younger players to step up
Troy LaFleur
Issue date: 12/7/09 Section: Sports
After losing standout transfer Candace LaCombe due to a knee injury, the McNeese womens' basketball team has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, with a record of 2-4.
Their most recent loss came last Wednesday at the hands of the UL-Lafayette Lady Cajuns, by way of a foul laden 82-68 home defeat.
Louisiana-Lafayette took advantage of all the chances it received from the Cowgirls, hitting 31 of 37 free throws on an evening where we saw 57 combined fouls in the Burton Coliseum.
Three McNeese players-Kiara Johnson, Brooke Froeba, and Ja'Niqua Kendrix-fouled out of the contest.
"We're not deep. So if we get a whistle blown on any of our first group we're in trouble," said head coach Brooks Donald Williams "We have some injuries right now so we aren't very deep. That's the situation we're in, and we have to figure it out and figure it out quickly."
The Cowgirls were no strangers to the charity stripe themselves, making 25 of their 31 attempts. But their 29 turnovers and 33 percent field goal percentage put a halt to any hopes they had of winning.
The Cowgirls led at the half, but fell behind when the Lady Cajuns went on a 14-0 run to start the second half. Donald Williams called three timeouts during the stretch, but it wasn't enough to slow down the momentum.
"It seems like we're very robotic right now. We're not playing what the defense gives us offensively all the time, and especially not when those teams get on a big run," said Donald Williams. "But we're going to fix it and we're going to get better."
Mercedes Johnson led the Cajuns with 20 points, snapping their four game losing skid.
McNeese's Kendra Wells scored a game high 21 points, going an unblemished 10-for-10 from the foul line. Froeba scored 11 points before fouling out.
Before their defeat at the hands of ULL, the Cowgirls fell to SEC powerhouse Kentucky 85-50. Though one cannot expect a win against such a highly decorated program, the team must be given their due for playing hard against such a stacked opponent. Kiara Johnson led the Cowgirls with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Before the Kentucky game, the Cowgirls got their second win of the season in a 63-41 road victory over Samford.
With a week break from action, Coach Donald Williams will be able to get her players in gear for their next game against Paul Quinn College on December 9 in the Lake Charles Civic Center. After that they head to north Louisiana to face UL-Monroe and Louisiana Tech in back-to-back road games. Conference play will begin on January 9 with an away game against UT- San Antonio.
Their most recent loss came last Wednesday at the hands of the UL-Lafayette Lady Cajuns, by way of a foul laden 82-68 home defeat.
Louisiana-Lafayette took advantage of all the chances it received from the Cowgirls, hitting 31 of 37 free throws on an evening where we saw 57 combined fouls in the Burton Coliseum.
Three McNeese players-Kiara Johnson, Brooke Froeba, and Ja'Niqua Kendrix-fouled out of the contest.
"We're not deep. So if we get a whistle blown on any of our first group we're in trouble," said head coach Brooks Donald Williams "We have some injuries right now so we aren't very deep. That's the situation we're in, and we have to figure it out and figure it out quickly."
The Cowgirls were no strangers to the charity stripe themselves, making 25 of their 31 attempts. But their 29 turnovers and 33 percent field goal percentage put a halt to any hopes they had of winning.
The Cowgirls led at the half, but fell behind when the Lady Cajuns went on a 14-0 run to start the second half. Donald Williams called three timeouts during the stretch, but it wasn't enough to slow down the momentum.
"It seems like we're very robotic right now. We're not playing what the defense gives us offensively all the time, and especially not when those teams get on a big run," said Donald Williams. "But we're going to fix it and we're going to get better."
Mercedes Johnson led the Cajuns with 20 points, snapping their four game losing skid.
McNeese's Kendra Wells scored a game high 21 points, going an unblemished 10-for-10 from the foul line. Froeba scored 11 points before fouling out.
Before their defeat at the hands of ULL, the Cowgirls fell to SEC powerhouse Kentucky 85-50. Though one cannot expect a win against such a highly decorated program, the team must be given their due for playing hard against such a stacked opponent. Kiara Johnson led the Cowgirls with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Before the Kentucky game, the Cowgirls got their second win of the season in a 63-41 road victory over Samford.
With a week break from action, Coach Donald Williams will be able to get her players in gear for their next game against Paul Quinn College on December 9 in the Lake Charles Civic Center. After that they head to north Louisiana to face UL-Monroe and Louisiana Tech in back-to-back road games. Conference play will begin on January 9 with an away game against UT- San Antonio.
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