Having pulled off a big upset, the Cowgirls now go for the kill.

Today McNeese State looks to capture the fourth and final bye heading into the Southland Conference basketball tournament.

The Cowgirls host Incarnate Word in their home finale at 1 p.m. A victory by McNeese would earn that bye.

“It is very big for us to get the bye,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy. “I think it increases your odds of winning the tournament greatly if you don’t have to play four games in four days.”

The Cowgirls (12-13, 7-5 SLC) are on the rise, having won three consecutive games and seven of their last 10. After winning six games in 22 outings last season, they have a chance at winning record for the first time in five seasons.

“We are getting better,” Kennedy said. “You could see it coming. We were getting close. That was a big win for us.”

UIW (9-14, 5-7) is the only team which has a chance to catch the Cowgirls for fourth.

“It is super important to finish in the fourth spot,” said Cowgirls freshman Kaili Chamberlin who scored 23 points Thursday night in the 75-64 win over first-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “It puts us on the map.”

McNeese beat UIW 67-57 on Jan. 22 in San Antonio. Cristina Gil led four Cowgirls in double figures with 16.

Guard Jaauckln Moore, who leads the conference in scoring at 17.8 a game, hit for 19 points to lead the Cardinals in the first meeting. Chamberlin leads the Cowgirls in scoring at 11.3.

“(Moore) is a really good player who we will have to watch,” Kennedy said. “They have been playing well of late.

“This will be the most important game of the year for us. We can’t celebrate our last win. We still have to go out and play hard.”

McNeese will finish the season a week from today at Houston Baptist.