Monday, March 15, 2004
CORPUS CHRISTI ? The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women?s
basketball team picked up several NCAA Division I Independent
honors following their record setting 19-9 season in 2003-2004.
TAMU-CC head coach Jodi Kest was selected as the Independent Coach
of the Year, while Terra Andrews (So., Missouri City) earned
Co-Player of the Year honors. Jackie Ododa (Jr., Mombasa, Kenya)
and Kirbria Lewis (Fr., Baytown) garnered Defensive Player of the
Year and Newcomer of the Year laurels respectively. Andrews was
also a First Team All-Independent selection, while Ododa and Lewis
were named Second Team All-Independent.
In her second season as head coach, Kest guided the squad to the
most wins in team history (19) and most home wins (13). The
Islanders concluded their season just four wins away from the
single season Division I Independent record, set by the DePaul
University team (23-4) in the 1978-79 season.
Andrews shared NCAA Division I Independent Player of the Year
honors with IPFW career scoring leader Amy Gearlds. In her
sophomore season, Andrews averaged a team-high 11.7 points per game
along with 6.6 rebounds, and connected on more than 40 percent of
her attempts from the field. She reached double figures in scoring
19 times over 27 games, with a season-high 26-point outburst at the
Southern Mississippi tournament in a win over Radford. Andrews
scored at least 10 points in 12 consecutive games from November
29-January 5, and posted three double-doubles, including 16 points
and 10 boards in a win over Central Michigan. Andrews registered 14
points and 13 rebounds at Stephen F. Austin, leading the Islanders
to their first ever overtime victory.
Ododa provided A&M-Corpus Christi with a strong defensive
presence, and a dominating rebounder after transferring to
A&M-Corpus Christi from Cisco Junior College. In her first
season with the Islanders, Ododa grabbed a team-high 8.5 rebounds
per game, while averaging 6.7 points, 1.11 steals, and blocked 18
shots. She set single-season records in offensive rebounds (113),
defensive rebounds (124), and total rebounds (237), while averaging
just over 21 minutes per game. Ododa was also credited with 18
blocked shots, including one game with four rejections and another
with three. In the season opener, Ododa set a single-game record
with 17 rebounds against Texas San Antonio, only to shatter her own
record with a 19-board performance against Northern Colorado. She
recorded a season-high five steals in a road win against Portland,
and had four double-doubles, including games against IPFW, Arkansas
State, and UTSA. Ododa reached double figures in rebounds 10 times,
and in points six times.
As a freshman, Lewis averaged 9.8 points, 4.29 assists, two steals,
and 3.8 rebounds per game. Lewis? 120 assists were third best
single-season total in Islander history, and she dished out at
least five in 12 of her 27 games including a season-high 11 in a
win at IPFW. Also a presence a defense, Lewis led TAMU-CC with 56
steals. Earned Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic Most Valuable
Player honors, when she poured in 21 points in the championship
game against Bowling Green. Lewis scored in double digits 17 times,
including the final five games of the season.
