A Split Decision
Mar 13, 2026 04:01PM ● By Kelsey Swire
McNeese teams win, lose title games
By Jim Gazzolo
One team was the heavy favorite, the other a slight underdog.
McNeese’s two basketball teams entered this week’s Southland Conference Championships from different directions.
The women’s team was the league’s regular-season champs and on a 20-game winning streak. The men, second-seeded, had won eight in a row.
The Cowboys were defending their championship, the Cowgirls were trying to win their first in 14 years.
In the end, both reached the title game and faced teams from Stephen F. Austin. Yet the school could only manage one title: going to the Cowboys, who are now preparing for the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls will head off to the WBIT after dropping the title game.
“It hurts,” said McNeese women’s coach Ayla Guzzardo, whose team lost Thursday. “I wanted to win for my staff, win for my players, win for the fans who supported us.”
The men captured their title Wednesday, less than 24 hours after they won an epic triple-overtime game against Texas-Rio Grande Valley in the semifinals. That game became an instant classic.
However, the real winner this week was the league, which put on its best show and had its best games. It also saw a crowd of 5,272 pack Townsley Law Arena, making Commissioner Chris Grant a winner for sure.
“This was a big week for our league,” Grant said.
The league has grown into a solid basketball conference for mid-majors over the last three seasons. Now it must try to get more than one bid, which would be its next step.
As for the Cowboys, they will find out where they are going and who they are playing Sunday night when CBS hosts the Selection Show. Fans are invited to attend inside Townsley Arena for the 5 p.m. show.
Doors to the arena will open at 4 p.m.
The Cowgirls will find out their postseason future at 8 p.m. Sunday.
McNeese was hoping to be just the third Southland school to put both its men’s and women’s programs into the NCAA Tournament the same season. Both will begin the postseason with 28-5 records, making McNeese's teams 56-10.
The programs have come a long way since they were struggling just to make the SCL championships.
Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS Lake Charles.