ISLANDERS at SAM HOUSTON STATE
Saturday, Feb. 7 • 2 p.m. • Johnson Coliseum • Huntsville, Texas
STATS | AUDIO | GAME NOTES: ISLANDERS • BEARKATS | TWITTER
CORPUS CHRISTI - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team will wrap its three-game road trip at Sam Houston State Saturday. The Islanders and Bearkats will tipoff at 2 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum. The Islanders (10-11, 6-4 SLC) will look to get in the win column once again after falling at Houston Baptist Thursday. Fan can listen to the action at GoIslanders.com with Yannis Koutroupis on the call.
LOOKING AT SHSU
Sam Houston comes into the game at 6-14 overall and winners of three of its last four games. The team is 5-5 in Southland Conference play. Shernise Robertson, a 5-6 guard, leads the league in scoring with 19.3 points per game overall and 23.4 points in SLC play alone.
SERIES HISTORY
The Islanders lead the all-time series 11-8, but have dropped the last six meetings between the two schools. A&M-Corpus Christi last defeated the Bearkats in the Southland Conference tournament during the 2009-10 season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Islanders dropped a heartbreaker to Houston Baptist Feb. 5 in Houston. The team overcame a 16-point second half deficit, but it proved too much as the Huskies eked their ninth win of the year at in front of their home fans.
AMCC started out hot, scoring 12 of the games first 16 points. That soon changed as the team went cold from the floor and turned the ball over five times during a 17-0 run by the Huskies.
The team did not quit though, making its comeback midway through the second half. The rally was fueled by the Islanders' defensive aggression. Sophomore Kassie Jones proved her worth on the defensive end, ripping the ball a career-high eight times, leading to several runout layups and momentum turning in the Islanders favor.
In the end, it was too much for the Islanders who cut the HBU lead to just two points with 1:29 left in the game. Houston Baptist sealed the game at the free throw line.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Junior Shay Weaver has proven to be the offensive catalyst for the Islanders so far this season, averaging 16.9 points per game. The 5-foot-8 guard has also shown the ability to crash the boards, ranking third on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game.
Toledo, Ohio native Olivia Fouty is second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 9.2 rebounds per game. The Eastern Michigan transfer has started 19-of-20 games this year and is just 14 points away from 1,000 for her career.
THE THIRD AMIGA
Camesha Davis has stepped into the spotlight for the Islanders. The forward is averaging 9.9 points per contest to go along with 6.6 rebounds per game. The sophomore has recorded four double-doubles this season. Against Texas Southern, the Desoto, Texas native pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and led the Islanders to a come-from-behind victory, scoring a game-high 22 points. Davis has started every game for AMCC this season.
TURNING THE TABLES
Though the Islanders don't have the potent scoring power that many Southland team's have, the team has used its energy on the defensive end. The islanders are second in the SLC, allowing just 58.2 points per contest. Through 20 games this year, A&M-Corpus Christi has allowed just two teams to eclipse the 70-point mark.
MAKING HISTORY
Shay Weaver was just 10 points away from becoming the all-time single-game scorer during the Islanders 99-33 win over Huston-Tillotson. The redshirt junior finished the first half with 27 points, before setting a new career-high with 35 points in the game.
THE RECORD BOOK
The Islanders played stellar defense in its win over Huston-Tillotson, nearly breaking the record for fewest points allowed in both halves of the game, allowing 17 in the first and 16 in the second, respectively.
FILLING THE VOID
The Islanders will be without their first and second returning scoring options from the 2013-14 season with Brittany Mbamalu and Shola Adebayo out for the season with injuries. Mbamalu led the Islanders with 9.7 ppg while Adebayo chipped in 8.3 ppg.
THE ROAD TO 600
Head coach Royce Chadwick enters his 31st year of coaching and sits at 593 career wins. Prior to coming to the Island University in 2012, Chadwick spent 11 seasons at the helm of Marshall. He has also coached at Stephen F. Austin, Howard College, Sam Houston State and Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
After finishing last season with an 18-12 record, the Islanders have been picked by the Southland coaches and SID's to finish seventh in the conference. Last year the Islanders were picked ninth in the coaches poll and finished fourth in the conference.
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