Matilde Motta and Valencia Fontenelle-Posson scored 14 points apiece as the McNeese Cowgirls beat the Grambling Lady Tigers 56-51 on Thursday night at Townsley Law Arena before a crowd of 2,309.
Fontenelle-Posson posted a double-double with 10 rebounds to go with 4 steals in 34 minutes. Motta shot 5 of 11 from the field and grabbed 9 rebounds.
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McNeese took the first quarter 13-12 and pulled away in the second, outscoring Grambling 18-12. The Cowgirls scored 9 straight points in that quarter, turning a 22-20 edge into a 31-20 lead. They won the third quarter 17-11 and built a lead as large as 13 points.
Grambling outscored McNeese 16-8 in the fourth quarter but could not catch up. The Lady Tigers never led by more than 1 point. The game had four lead changes and no ties.
Avari Berry added 11 points, 4 assists and 4 steals in 37 minutes for McNeese, which shot 19 of 57 (33%) and made 8 of 25 3-pointers. The Cowgirls had 13 assists to Grambling's 5.
Angel Wilkinson led Grambling with 20 points, making 10 of 13 free throws while shooting 4 of 11 from the field. Da'Naya Ross had 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Princess Anderson had 7 points and 3 steals. Grambling shot 13 of 56 (23%) and 2 of 18 from 3-point range, though it outrebounded McNeese 50-43 and went 23 of 32 at the line. The Lady Tigers committed 23 turnovers to McNeese's 22.
McNeese improved to 2-0. Grambling fell to 0-2.
