WBB Shines in Open Practice

Women's Basketball | October 29, 2016

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A week before the its lone preseason exhibition against Texas A&M-International, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team held an open intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning in the Fieldhouse. In front of a light crowd of supporters, the blue team defeated the gray team 62-58.
 
"We have a long way to go, but it was nice to see our players on the court in a game setting," head coach Royce Chadwick said. "We are very thankful of all the support from our fans. Our young players will get a lot of experience very quickly to work well with our returners."
 
Mixing up teams throughout the morning, Chadwick saw his team work in different lineups. Leading the way in scoring was senior Kassie Jones. The Lufkin native dropped a game-high 25 points, which would have been a career high in a regular season game. Powered by a 4-for-4 performance from deep, Jones also recorded five steals.
 
Maddisen Turner was hot in the post, racking up 11 points and grabbing five rebounds. Freshmen Tiara Matthews and Dalesia Booth showed why they will be names to watch this year. Matthews, a freshman out of Sugar Land, hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds, while Booth, a rookie from San Antonio, tallied nine points and five boards. 
 
Before and after the scrimmage, the Islanders met with fans in attendance to thank them for their support and preview the upcoming season.
 
The next appearance for Chadwick will be at the Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Downtown Marina. Call 825-BALL (2255) to purchase tickets.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi opens the 2016-17 campaign on Nov. 12 at the American Bank Center against Toledo.
 
ON THE INJURY FRONT
The injury bug has bitten the Islanders during Chadwick's four-year reign on the Island. Striking again during the preseason, the Islanders will be without the services of several players at the start of the year.
 
• Redshirt-junior guard Brittany Mbamalu will miss six to eight weeks with a foot injury picked up in practice.
• Senior forward Kre'Ana Henry will not be available this season, after suffering a knee injury during the preseason.
• Graduate-transfer forward Cassidee Ranger will not appear for the Islanders due to lingering effects of a injury from her time at Iona last season.

ISLANDERS DIGITAL NETWORK
All Islanders home events for soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball will be broadcast live and for free on the Islanders Digital Network during the 2016-17 season.  Fans can access the live video at GoIslanders.com, clicking the "Video" dropdown tab and selecting "Watch Live."
 
GET ON BOARD
Get on board with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Athletics by purchasing season tickets for the 2016-17 basketball campaign today.  Call (361) 825-BALL or visit GoIslanders.com for more information.

STAY SOCIAL
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