Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team played its most
complete game of the year as it defeated McNeese St., 76-65, at the Dugan Wellness Center Saturday evening. With the win, the Islanders improve to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. The 2-1 start to league play is the best under head coach Royce Chadwick during his tenure at the Island University.
Four Islanders finished the game with double-digit points, which is a season high for the team. Junior transfer Shay Weaver led the squad with 25 points, while sophomore Camesha Davis added 16 points and nine rebounds. Olivia Fouty recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds to pick up her seventh double-double of the year while Lufkin, Texas product Kassie Jones added 12 points in 28 minutes of action for the Islanders.
"We had four kids in double figures and that's how you win basketball games, by spreading it around," said Chadwick. "We had really good effort in a lot of different places."
The Islanders' two leading scorers on the season coming into the game, did just that against McNeese St. Though they were not a part of the Southland Conference Tournament opener last year when McNeese St. sent the Islanders home, they knew the importance to this game. Fouty had 14 first-half points, many of which were of pure hustle. The 6-foot-0 senior forward grabbed eight rebounds in the opening frame, leading to easy putbacks. Another impact player for the Islanders was Weaver. The Arlington, Texas native drained back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first, forcing McNeese St. to call timeout and regroup. Jones hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to end the first half, sending the Islanders to the locker room up, 42-29.
McNeese St. (8-6, 2-1 SLC) began the second half on a 7-1 run, before C. Davis broke the silence for the Islanders. The Desoto, Texas native came up with big buckets for the Islanders throughout the night. A&M-Corpus Christi led by as many as 18 points in the second half, but the Cowgirls did not fall easily, making a run with eight minutes remaining to cut the lead to seven points, before the Islanders countered with a run of their own to close out the game.
A&M-Corpus Christi shot 50 percent (29-of-58) from the floor, compared to the Cowgirls 38.6 percent (22-of-57). The Islanders also hit six 3-pointers on the night, with nearly all coming when McNeese started a run of their own.
McNeese St. junior Allison Baggett carried the Cowgirls in the game, scoring 26 points, while Ann Nwosah added 15.
"The important thing for us was that we had three games in five days and we had to protect our home court," Chadwick noted. "We got a rough draw to open the Southland Conference, having to go all the way to Central Arkansas, come home with no practice and play Lamar and then just one practice and play today. The key for us was to protect our home court and that's what we did."
A&M-Corpus Christi will wrap up their homestand next Wednesday, Jan. 14, when they host Northwestern State. The Islanders and Lady Demons will tip off at 7 p.m. on Stripes Court at the American Bank Center.
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