Just when things were getting interesting, they got ugly.

Using a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter, Incarnate Word flipped the feel of Thursday night’s game in a matter of five minutes.

With that spurt, the Lady Cardinals rolled to a 77-63 victory over McNeese State inside the Legacy Center.

The win moved UIW to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the Southland Conference. The Cowgirls fell to 8-13, 3-7.

“We played really good for three quarters, but you got to finish,” said McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy. “These are all playoff games for us; we can’t lose focus.”

What happens to the Cowgirls is hard to explain. In almost every game, one bad stretch does them in. Thursday night it was the fourth quarter for the first time this season. 

“We haven’t had that happen in the fourth quarter this year,” said Kennedy. “That has usually been our best quarter usually.”

This downfall came out of nowhere.

When Paris Guillory hit a runner with 8:53 remaining, McNeese held a 56-52 lead, and everything looked good. Then, it all fell apart.

Over the next 4:59, the Cowgirls went scoreless while UIW poured it on. Brynn Lusby’s back-to-back traditional 3-point plays put the game away.

When Lusby hit her free throw, the Cardinals scored 19 straight and led 71-56. Guillory finally ended the McNeese drought with two free throws, but the damage was done.

“I thought we had the advantage, then we started to settle,” Kennedy said. “I’m hurt for the players, and I’m disappointed we didn’t finish.

“For some reason, we tend to settle in. I don’t want them to settle in. I want them to fight through it all.”

Kiayra Ellis finished with a career-high 21 points to lead the Cowgirls, while Guillory finished with 16. Sydney McQuietor had seven points, tying her career best.

Jorja Elliott led the Cardinals with 21, and Lusby had 20. 

The two teams were tied after one quarter, 17-17, and McNeese led 33-32 at the half. The Cowgirls extended that lead to 52-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

But UIW outscored McNeese 28-11 over the final 10 minutes.

“I don’t like the game’s outcome, but we are getting better,” said Kennedy.

McNeese will return on the road Saturday when they head to Nicholls for a 1 p.m. game.

Nicholls (14-6, 7-4) won the first meeting this year in Lake Charles, 60-47. The Colonels used a huge second quarter to claim the victory.

Mireia Yespes, McNeese’s leading rebounder, will miss her third straight game due to concussion protocol. Azjah Reeves will return after being suspended one game by the league for fighting in the Cowgirls’ win over Corpus Christi Monday.

This will be McNeese’s fourth game in eight days.

“We can’t worry about any of that or use that as an excuse,” said Kennedy. “Everybody is going through something.