Riding a season-best three-game win streak, the Cowgirls will face their biggest conference test next.

McNeese State hosts Southland Conference-leader Southeastern Louisiana tonight.

The Cowgirls (3-2, 8-10) are halfway through a four-game homestand that has seen them move up to fourth place in the league standings.

Meanwhile, Southeastern (9-6) has rolled through the league’s first five games without a loss.

“They are No. 1 in the league for a reason,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy. “They have five or six players who can hit for double figures any time. It will be a challenge for us.”

During the win streak the Cowgirls have knocked off the bottom trio in the league but Kennedy says they have shown signs of growth.

“I thought we were playing better before the streak but we are now getting the final results,” he said. “Now we have a little more confidence and are finding ways to finish games.”

The game will be a battle between the league’s top offense and defense. McNeese leads the conference in scoring with a 70.8 points a game average. SLU allows 54.3 an outing.

The Cowgirls have two players averaging in double-digit scoring — freshman Kaili Chamberlin (10.3 ppg) and junior Desirae Hansen (10.2 ppg).

Caitlyn Williams leads Southeastern with an 8.5 average. She was named the SLC Player of the Week on Tuesday.

McNeese, which leads the league in rebounding at 41.5 a game and offensive rebounding (15.5), will be tested on the boards by the Lions.

“They are tall and athletic and really hit the glass,” Kennedy said. “We are going to have to work really hard to keep them from getting extra shots.”

Kennedy says the Cowgirls have gotten improved play from a pair of newcomers, freshman Cristina Gil and sophomore transfer Zuzanna Kulinska. Gil has averaged 13.7 points over her last seven games, scoring in double figures in four of those.

Kulinska has averaged 10.8 over her last eight, also scoring in double figures four times. The Cowgirls were a plus-19 points when Kulinska was on the floor in Saturday’s 72-61 win over New Orleans.

“She expands the floor for us really well,” Kennedy said of Kulinska. “We are starting to play together and understand what we are trying to do.”

“We will see how we compete with the top teams and just were we stand,” Kennedy said.