On a day for kids, the Cowgirls made child’s play out of Dillard.

McNeese State invited fourth- and fifth-graders from all over the area into the Legacy Center as they unveiled their new-look women’s basketball team.

The outcome was no surprise to anybody as the revamped Cowgirls routed their NAIA opponents in their season opener, 76-47 Monday in front of 3,533. Most of those were youngsters willing to make noise.

“I love seeing the kids,” said Cowgirl guard Cristina Gil. “We can feel their energy.”

Gil, who played last year on a bad leg, finished with 11 points and three assists. In total 11 Cowgirls scored in a balanced attack.

“It doesn’t matter who we play in there,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy. “I think we have a lot of people who can score.”

Junior Mireia Yespes led all scorers with 12 points in just over 18 minutes of playing time.

With eight newcomers on the roster, four of them freshmen, McNeese needs production from its fresh faces. The Cowgirls got that as the newbies finished with 45 points.

True freshman Zajah Reeves and junior transfer Dmilia Tenbrock each finished with 10 points. Reeves even played the most minutes for McNeese at 28:09 while fellow freshman Boston Berry had five points in 22 minutes.

“We have a lot of new people and have a lot to learn,” said Tenbrock. “This was a good first game for us and we learned a lot from it, but our chemistry is good.”

The Cowgirls scored the game’s first nine points and were never really tested after that while beating Dillard (0-2) for the eighth time in eight meetings.

“I really like the way we started,” said Kennedy. “We were not hitting some of our shots, especially in the second quarter but I liked the looks we were getting.”

McNeese finished just 6-of-26 from behind the 3-point line and made only 18-of-32 free throws.

“I think we will shoot the ball better,” said Kennedy. “You look at that as the first game. It was a completely different atmosphere than in an empty gym at practice.”

McNeese also committed 22 turnovers but only allowed six points off those. They scored 21 on 28 Dillard miscues.

The Cowgirls led 21-8 after one quarter and 41-17 at the half. Things were a little more even after the break but the lead was never in doubt as McNeese took a 62-35 advantage into the final quarter.

Erika Diaz was the only Blue Devil to finish in double figures with 10 points.

“Overall we can build on a lot today,” said Kennedy. “There were a lot of positives we can take away from the win.”

McNeese will be back home Sunday for a 3 p.m. game against Prairie View in the Legacy Center. The Cowgirls will play seven of their first eight games at home, all coming in November.