Las Cruces, N.M. -- The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's
basketball team got back on the winning track in the first game of
the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic, beating the Western
New Mexico Mustangs by an 88-60 score in the first ever meeting
between the two teams.
The Islanders
had six players score in double figures, led by Myeisha Myles' 16
points.
The Islanders
improve to 2-3 on the season while Western New Mexico falls to
2-2.
TAMUCC came out
blazing on both ends of the court in the first half Friday
night. The Islanders shot
an even 50% from the floor (16-32) while holding the mustangs to
only 23.3% shooting (7-30) in the first half. The Islanders held a 41-17 advantage
headed into halftime.
The Islanders
quickly jumped out to an 11-0 lead less than five minutes into the
game behind three Sarah Davidson baskets, a Shaye Montgomery jumper
and a Jade Davis three-pointer.
The Mustangs
answered back by hitting several shots to bring the margin to 15-13
in favor of the Islanders with 8:54 left in the first half.
The Islanders
then proceeded to stretch the lead substantially, going on a 14-0
run over the next 5:24 to take a 29-13 advantage before the
Mustangs finally broke through again with a pair of free throws at
3:30 to make it 29-15.
The Islanders
kept pouring it on, outscoring the Mustangs 12-2 over the final
3:30 to take a 41-17 lead into halftime.
The 17 points
in the first half by the Mustangs match the seventh-lowest point
total allowed by the Islanders in a first half of play. The last time TAMUCC allowed just 17
points in a half was against Texas Southern on Dec. 1, 2004.
Davis led the
Islanders with nine points in the first half, going a perfect
3-for-3 from behind the three-point line. Davidson added eight points while
Nyesha Adams came off the bench to provide another eight points for
the Islanders in the half.
In the second
half, the Islanders continued the hot shooting while the Mustangs
played a much closer half of basketball, as TAMUCC only outscored
WNMU by a 47-43 margin in the second period.
The Islanders
shot 51.4% in the second half to better their performance from the
first period of play. The
Mustangs actually had a better percentage, 51.9%, in the second
half but were not able to get enough shots to make up the
difference in the winning margin.
The Islanders
had a total of six players scoring in double digits. Those players were Myles with 16,
Davidson and Davis with 14 each, Deziree Green with 11 points and
Adams and Lauren Smith off the bench with 10 points apiece.
Myles also led
the Islanders with eight rebounds in the contest. Adrienne Scott came off the bench as
the second-leading rebounder with six on the night. Montgomery dished out a game-high five
assists while David contributed four and Green added three.
TAMUCC shot
50.7% for the game at 35-for-69. The Mustangs improved in the second
half but still shot only 36.8% for the game at 21-for-57.
The Islanders
forced 19 turnovers by the Mustangs while committing a season-low
12 in the game.
The Islanders
will face off against tournament host New Mexico State on Saturday
afternoon in a game with a 5:30 CST tipoff. The Islanders then have a quick
turnaround as they return home Sunday and leave Monday to travel to
Dallas for a Tuesday night match up against SMU.
