Lynn Kennedy joined the long list of walking wounded for the Cowgirls Saturday.

Friday night, the McNeese State women’s head coach suffered a medical emergency that sent him to a local hospital. 

Kennedy was on the bench when the Cowgirls played rival Lamar inside the Legacy Center, but assistant head coach Mike Pittman ran the club. 

Unfortunately, the outcome was still the same. 

The Cardinals won their 16th straight in the Battle for the Border, taking a 68-52 victory back to Beaumont, Texas. McNeese hasn’t beaten Lamar since March 11, 2016, in the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament.

McNeese fell to 2-5 in the league and 7-11 overall, while Lamar improved to 12-4, 7-0. 

“We are really proud of the fight in the girls,” said Pittman. “We felt like we knew we would be ready to play.”

McNeese tried to make things interesting down by 27 in the third quarter. Forward Mireia Yespes made a traditional 3-point play to cut the lead to 62-50 with 2:57 remaining. 

“I wanted to put them in the best position I could,” said Pittman. “At halftime, we told the ladies we just needed to give ourselves a chance.”

But the Cowgirls could get no closer as the Cardinals scored a quick five to end hopes of a comeback.

Behind a huge third quarter, the Cardinals opened up a relatively close game with the Cowgirls hanging around 38-24 at the break. But Lamar turned up the pressure with their press and forced McNeese into turnovers that led to easy baskets. 

“We still have to learn how to finish; that is the next step,” Pittman said. “We wanted to make them pay for their press.”

McNeese guard Paris Guillory led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 9 of her 22 shots. She also made 4 of 8 on 3-pointers. Kiayra Ellis added 10.

Akasha Davis and R’Mani Taylor both had 20 to lead Lamar.

“Davis is one of the best, if not the best, post player in the league,” said Pittman. 

McNeese will be on the road Thursday night when they travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a game against the Islands. Next Saturday, they will take on SLC newcomer Texas-Rio Grande Valley for the first time as a league foe.