For the second time in three games, the Cowgirls are stepping into a battle with a national power.

Tonight the McNeese State women’s basketball team heads to Kansas State (7-1) for a chance to play the No. 13 team in the country.

“It is another tough opponent and a challenging game,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy.

The first against a powerhouse this season didn’t work out too well for the Cowgirls (3-5). They lost at then-No. 14 Baylor 124-44 on Nov. 24 in Waco, Texas. The Bears moved up to the No. 10 spot this week.

Next Tuesday, McNeese will move even further up the elite ladder when they take on No. 7 LSU (8-1), the reigning national champion, in Baton Rouge.

“This is a rough stretch,” Kennedy said. “We are in the middle of playing very good teams and it is a real challenge.”

Kennedy said the Cowgirls will be without junior point guard Christina Gil for at least the next two games. She is slowed by an ankle injury suffered early in the Baylor game.

“Christina is still out for a week or so,” he said. “We hope to get her back, maybe for Centenary.”

That would be Dec. 14, when the Cowgirls return home a week from Thursday.

Kennedy said he hopes to get forward Mareia Yespes back. The junior is recovering from an injury. She is the Cowgirls’ second-leading scorer at 10.5 points.

Transfer forward Emilia Tenbrock leads McNeese with a 12.3 average. Azjah Reeves and Gil follow at 10 points each.

The Cowgirls will have to contend with all-America center Ayoka Lee who is on the watch list for every major award. The 6-foot-6 senior once scored 61 points in a game against Oklahoma.

“They got the best post player in the country,” Kennedy said of the Wildcats. “And they have a very good team around her. They are a complete team.”

Lee is averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Wildcats who have split a pair of games with last year’s national runner-up, No. 4 Iowa, this season.

“We have to compete for all four quarters,” Kennedy said. “I want to see us battle better for rebounds and overall. I want to see us fight no matter the score.

“We have to play our game and focus on us.”

Kennedy said McNeese will try to cut down on turnovers as they average 21.5 a game, 15th worst in the nation. The good news is the Cowgirls get 19.9 a game back.