WBB Opens 2016-17 Season on Saturday

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Set for the fifth season under head coach Royce Chadwick, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team opens the 2016-17 season on Saturday against Toledo in the American Bank Center at noon.
 
The game will be broadcast on the Islanders Digital Network with Steven King on the call.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is giving four complimentary reserved tickets to any active or retired military personnel with a valid military ID.
 
GAME THEMES
>> The Islanders open the 2016-17 season at home against Toledo, in the first meeting in history between two programs.
>> Royce Chadwick returns for his fifth year on the Island, sitting third in career victories at A&M-Corpus Christi with 47.
>> The 2016-17 roster for the Islanders features a mixture of old and new. Three healthy seniors will guide a youth-laden team of seven first-year Division I players, including five freshman.
>> A&M-Corpus Christi was picked to finish 10th the Southland Conference by the league's coaches and sports information directors.
>> Redshirt-junior guard Brittany Mbamalu will miss the opening six to eight weeks of the season with an injury.
 
LAST TIME OUT
>> The Islanders topped Texas A&M-International 79-41 in the lone preseason exhibition at the Dugan Wellness Center last Sunday.
>> Chadwick went with a mix of old and new in the starting lineup with two seniors, two freshmen and a sophomore.
>> Brianna Jackson came off the bench to lead the Blue and Green in scoring with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
>> Uri Jolivette sparked the Islanders out of the gate on the way to a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
>> Rookie Tiara Matthews had a good showing on the glass with six rebounds in her first outing wearing the Blue and Green.
>> Redshirt-senior Ashanti Plummer grabbed nine rebounds to add to eight points on the evening. Sunday's contest was the first game setting for Plummer in 20 months, after missing the 2015-16 season with an injury.
>> Offensively, A&M-Corpus Christi was hot. The Islanders shot 54-percent from the field.
>> The Blue and Green crushed the Dustdevils on the boards with a 47-22 edge at the end of the night.
 
IN SEASON OPENERS          
>> A&M-Corpus Christi is 6-11 in season openers, with a 5-8 mark in games played in the Coastal Bend
>> The Islanders last opened the season with a victory back in 2013. The Blue and Green edged Western Illinois 66-60 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
>> A victory in the season opener can be a sign of better things to come. In six seasons when the Blue and Green defeated an opponent on opening night, the Islanders have averaged a record of 19.2-10.3 for the remainder of the season.
 
 
2016-17 ROSTER    
>> The Islanders open the new year with four seniors to lead the way. Kassie Jones, Camesha Davis and Ashanti Plummer return for their final season with the Blue and Green. Kre'Ana Henry will be out for the 2016-17 season with an injury
>> The junior class features a pair of newcomers, as well as the one of the most prolific shooter in program history. Transfers Erin Willis and Brianna Jackson bring experience to the offense, after arriving to the Island from Cisco College and Independence College, respectively. The Islanders will look to redshirt-junior Brittany Mbamalu, who led the team in scoring last season with 9.9 ppg, to continue her perimeter threat.
>> The second-year crew of Uri Jolivette and redshirt-freshman Sydney-Anne Cottrell will aim to showcase their developed talents.
>> The freshmen five of Dae Dae Evans, Emma Young, Tiara Matthews, Rayanna Carter and Dalesia Booth are primed to set the tone for the next four years on the Island.
 
TEAM NOTES
>> The Islanders return 63.3 percent of the scoring from the 2015-16 season.
>> A&M-Corpus Christi, after struggling to find a consistent scoring threat last year, will look for its first player to average more than 10 points per game since Shay Weaver in the 2014-15 campaign.
>> The five freshmen on the 2016-17 roster make up the largest rookie class in the Royce Chadwick era at A&M-Corpus Christi.
>> Already putting faith in his young class, a pair of rookies (Evans and Booth) was in Chadwick's starting lineup against the Dustdevils last week.
>> The return of Ashanti Plummer has given a new look to the post for the Islanders. Standing 6'2, the New York City added much need height to the post rotation.
 
SERIES HISTORY
>> Saturday will be the first meeting in history between the two programs.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS 
>> The Rockets posted a 17-13 record during the 2015-16 season and a 12-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
>> Toledo finished the season third in the West Division to qualify for the MAC tournament, before falling to Akron in the first round 73-71.
>> Head coach Tricia is in her ninth season with the Rockets and has guided Toledo to five postseason appearances, including a WNIT title in 2010-11.
>> Toledo boasts two returning starters from the 2015-16 campaign and two of the top three scorers from a year ago.
>> Janice Monakana averaged 11.1 points per game in 2015-16 to receive All-MAC honorable mention laurels along with Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott's 11 points per game.
>> Toledo has a distinct international feel to its roster in 2016-17 with six of its 14 players from outside the United States.
>> Toledo defeated Lock Haven (NCAA DII) 99-41 last Saturday in its preseason exhibition.

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