This is going to be close.

The Cowgirls begin a three-game sprint to the finish line just a nose in front of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the race for the final playoff spot in the Southland Conference.

Both teams are 5-12 in the league, with the Cowgirls owning the tiebreaker thanks to sweeping the two-game series. McNeese finished the Islanders’ sweep last Saturday with a 69-60 win at home in the Legacy Center.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy. “Despite everything we have been through this year, we can make the tournament.”

McNeese is coming off its biggest win of the season, improving to 10-18 overall. 

“Yes, we knew how big that game was for us,” said senior Mireia Yespes. “We had to win it.”

Both the Cowgirls and Corpus Christi have a tough road ahead. They will each play Lamar, which is in second place. 

The Islanders also play Southeastern, which has clinched the regular-season title and is undefeated in the conference. McNeese, the third-place team, will play at Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night. 

“A couple of tough games this week, but we feel like we are playing our best now,” said Kennedy. “We will have to continue to play our best basketball.”

Interestingly, both will host New Orleans, which is also just 3-14. TAMCC plays the Privateers on Thursday night. McNeese finishes the regular season against UNO next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Simply put, the Cowgirls must match the Islanders to make the tournament.

“We have to worry about ourselves,” said Kennedy. “We can’t worry about what they are doing.”

McNeese and SFA (24-5, 14-4) will tip off at 6:30. The Lady Lumberjacks destroyed McNeese in January in the Legacy Center, 91-49.

The key was a 27-3 second quarter as the Cowgirls struggled in all aspects of the game.

“That was our worst game of the season,” said Kennedy. “We were not ready to compete. We did not get back on defense and guard their shooters.”

Six players scored in double figures for SFA, led by Ashlyn Traylor-Waker with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Key Roseby added 13 and 10 for the Lady Jacks.

Paris Guillory and Kyla Davis each had 11 to lead McNeese. 

In that first meeting, SFA launched 40 3-point shots, making 15. They lead the league in long-range shooting and are eighth in the nation with 9.6 made per game. 

That helps the Lady Jacks top the Southland, scoring 78.8 points a game.

“They are going to shoot three-pointers at any time,” said Kennedy. “We have to get out on their shooters, which is hard because they are all shooters.”

Faith Blackstone leads SFA and is second in the conference, scoring at 15.3. Guillory is at 15.2, but injuries have kept her out for most of the season. 

She returned from an ankle injury for McNeese on Saturday and should be good again against SFA. Yespes recovered from her concussion to post a double-double against Corpus Christi, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

“You play all season to have meaningful games at the end,” said Kennedy. “We got that.”