After doing everything right for the first quarter, the Cowgirls fell into one of their funks in the second.

That gave Stephen F. Austin more than enough leeway to bury McNeese State Thursday night inside the Legacy Center.

Using a giant run over the course of the first and second quarters, the Ladyjacks rolled a 91-49 Southland Conference victory, improving to 14-4, 4-3. McNeese fell to 7-10, 2-4.

“Tonight was a gut punch for us,” McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy said. “I liked our quarter. We were locked in and followed the game plan.”

McNeese made just one shot over the final 11:51 of the opening half, that being a 3-pointer from Paris Guillory midway through the second. By then, the Ladyjacks had erased all early Cowgirl momentum and were well on their way to victory.

Guillory’s trey came as a minor protest during a 32-3 run by SFA that took the Ladyjacks from down 17-11 with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter to a 43-20 halftime lead.

The rest of the game was simple paperwork. 

“Again, it’s the big run,” Kennedy said. “We got to be better and stop that. It’s every game.

“We work on it every practice but it doesn’t translate into games. That’s on me.”

Things started off well for the Cowgirls, as Kiayra Davis returned to the lineup and hit a 3-pointer as McNeee took that six-point lead. 

Davis and Guillory led McNeese with 11 points, while Mireia Yespes had 13 rebounds and seven points before fouling out.

The Ladyjacks, who came into the night leading the conference in 3-point shooting, made just one of 11 from long distance. From there, they found their target and hit 14 of 29 over the last 30 minutes.

Ashlyn Traylor-Walker led all scorers with 22 points as six SFA players finished in double figures. 

“We have to be mentally stronger and find ways to come out of those runs,” said Kennedy. “They are trying. It’s not like they aren’t trying. We get away from the game plan.”

McNeese will be back home Saturday to conclude their homestand against rival Lamar. In the latest Battle of the Border, the Cowgirls will be looking to break a 15-game losing streak to the Cardinals. 

The Cowgirls haven’t beaten Lamar since March of 2016, when they won their second-round showdown in the SLC Tournament. It was the third time that season McNeese beat the Cardinals.