Something tells me the McNeese Cowgirls shouldn’t stuff their sneakers too far in the back of the closet or locker just yet.
I think there’s more basketball to be played, and deservedly so.
McNeese’s run at the Southland Conference tournament ended with a 72-64 loss to the top-seeded team, and eventual tournament champs, Central Arkansas, in the semi-finals. The Cowgirls will have to watch the NCAA from the outside looking in.
As has been the case in recent years when McNeese reached that magical 20-win season mark, there were other post-season tournaments that come calling with invites.
It shouldn’t take long before head coach Brooks Donald Williams, well respected in her ever-enlarging sphere of influence in women’s basketball, hears that the WNIT or WBI would welcome the Cowgirls in their brackets.
This program; this coach; these players, both past and present, have the pedigree for post-season play of any kind.
The numbers tell a good part of the Cowgirls’ story. It’s a story tournament organizers have come to respect.
Back-to-back SLC tournament titles in 2011 and 2012 meant consecutive trips to the NCAA’s Big Dance. This season’s 20-12 finish makes it four years with 20 or more victories. And there have been five straight post-season events, the last three being in the WBI tournament.
The Cowgirls went on an amazing run in 2013, advancing to the Women’s Basketball Invitational I finals, only to fall to Detroit Mercy in the championship game.
Over her nine years as head coach, Williams has guided the Cowgirls to six semi-final rounds of the SLC Tournament, including those two back-to-back titles. Her overall 161 wins is the most in the program’s history. She continues to recruit, develop, work and push to keep the Cowgirls in the upper echelon of the league.
To put it simply, Williams has been the shining star of McNeese’s head coaching ranks — and I don’t just mean in women’s sports. I’m talking about the full line-up of football, baseball, basketball, softball, track and field … You get the picture.
The Cowgirls’ turnaround under Williams hit its apex with the recruitment and stardom of the Iota dynamos of Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett. From 2009 through 2013, “The Twins,” as they were commonly called, ruled the Southland Conference.
Williams deftly devised game plans and offenses to take full advantage of The Twins’ unique talents. They were the Jordan and Pippen of the SLC at the time, and Williams had to employ a Zen-like touch to coach the two superstars, and provide them with an accomplished supporting cast.
Once Ashlyn and Caitlyn graduated, the prevailing question was: how long would it take to rebuild and restock the program?
Keep in mind Williams was watching that graduation clock closer than most. So she knew The Twins’ dynasty had a start and an end.
She was preparing and reinventing with new talent, using the same core beliefs of maximum effort and defensive hustle.
“Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett were two of the best to ever play in this program and in this region,” said Williams in a recent conversation. “So for us to keep our program not really missing a step [was a challenge]. [It’s difficult] when you lose kids of that caliber — and not just them: the whole surrounding crew was really good. On other teams, they would have been all conference players. Kendra Wells was as good as I have ever coached.”
The 38-year-old basketball lifer kept the program progressing by dipping back into the Baggett family tree with the addition of younger sister Allison. Williams also went home to Jennings and found a point guard worthy of following in Caitlyn’s footsteps.
Jayln Johnson is the key to the present team’s success, with a strong three-way game of scoring, assists and steals. She worked her way into the team’s record books as the Cowgirls’ all-time leader in assists, breaking the record held by her mentor, Caitlyn.
Since the Twins’ departure, the reins of the team have been given to Allison and Jayln, who became McNeese’s new dynamic duo of the backcourt. “They have kept McNeese Cowgirls basketball relevant,” said Williams. “I don’t think there is any question a long time ago, when the Twins graduated, along with the departure of Matika Hull and Kendra Wells, and we had several 1,000-point scorers — all those championship kids — a lot of people counted us out.
“But Al and Jay came in and kept our program at the top of the league. [We were] near 20 wins every year, per season — every single year. That’s incredible to me.
“So for Allison and Jay to come in and do what they’ve done for the past several years is simply amazing.”
What comes as a surprise to me is the speed at which Act Two of Cowgirls basketball began and ended.
I know Father Time can be cruel. But it’s difficult to realize Baggett and Johnson are winding down their careers as seniors. They’ve been so consistent and ever-present over these four years. They haven’t made anyone near the program forget The Twins by any means. But they’ve carved out their own singular legacy and memorable moments.
“They are great kids,” said Williams. “Team players. They are girls you always root for because they are just good, kind souls.
“They have always wanted to please our fans, and me, [and] our program, and make Ashlyn and Cait and all the former Cowgirls proud. They’ve done that — no question. They’re not finished.”
Williams and her Cowgirls may not be ready to relax either. As Lagniappe went to press, the Cowgirls were expecting a post-season tournament invite of some kind.
Another 20-win season, two star players running the show and a foundation of winning built over the past half-decade give the Cowgirls a leg-up on other teams in Louisiana when tournament directors go shopping.
In the meantime, Williams and her staff will begin Act Three.
The preparation for re-invention is made easier with the return of seven players who have spent significant time on the floor as starters and have provided help from the bench. Among these players are senior guards Amber Donnes and Hannah Cupit, both tough defenders and rebounders. There’s big junior guard Keara Hudnall, senior Victoria Rachal and front court mates Frederica Haywood (a rebounding machine) and Mercedes Rogers — the latter two headed to promising junior seasons next year.
The Baggett family has finally run out of star basketball players. But that hasn’t stopped Williams in her constant pursuit of home-grown talent. Her passion and endless intensity have been hard at work on the recruiting trails around south Louisiana all season.
That’s what shining stars do.
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