CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Freshman
Emma Young scored five straight points before senior
Kassie Jones knocked down a pair of last second free throws on Wednesday night as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team edged out a gritty 64-61 overtime victory over Texas Southern in the Dugan Wellness Center.
"We had a lot of freshmen play tonight and play with resiliency," head coach
Royce Chadwick said. "I thought we made the plays that we needed to make down the stretch. Hats off to TSU, they have the best team that I can remember them having over the last five years."
Trailing by six late in the third, the Islanders (1-1) battled back to take a three-point lead with two minutes to play in the fourth. Unable to sink the game winning shot at the end of the fourth, A&M-Corpus Christi buckled down to overcome a four-point deficit two minutes into the extra period.
The Blue and Green held the Tigers (1-1) to just a pair of points in the final three minutes, as
Camesha Davis recorded a block and two rebounds.
"I was very proud of the way we executed," Chadwick added. "We were playing with players out of position, and they handled the duties that they do not normally have very well."
The Islanders were without the services of
Uri Jolivette, who missed the game due to illness. A&M-Corpus Christi recorded a 41.1-percent night from the field, and spread the wealth on Wednesday night with all nine players scoring at least four points.
WINNING ON A MILESTONE
Wednesday night served as the 500th game in Islanders' history. A&M-Corpus Christi now has an all-time record of 240-260 (.480). The Islanders improved their home winning percentage to .556 (154-123) with the victory over Texas Southern.
ALL DAE
Dae Dae Evans was electric against the Tigers, dropping six points and dishing out a trio of dimes. The Bellaire native dazzled the crowd on one occasion to give A&M-Corpus Christi a 49-48 lead midway through the fourth with a behind the back dribble, leading to a floater in the lane.
ROOKIES RISING TO THE OCCASION
In just the second game of the season, Chadwick elected to start three freshmen in Young,
Dae Dae Evans and
Dalesia Booth. Combined, the rookies picked up 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while making five steals. Young finished second on the team with nine points.
"I thought the freshmen didn't get their head down when they made a mistake," Chadwick said. "Emma came off the bench to hit a big three for us. I thought Dae Dae had an excellent basketball game for us, Dalesia was doing everything she could to disrupt the passing lanes."
Coming off the bench,
Tiara Matthews was a bruising presence down low. Flinging her body after every loose ball, the Sugar Land native drilled a pair of pressure-filled free throws to give A&M-Corpus Christi the lead in the fourth.
"Tiara might have made the difference in the game for us," Chadwick continued. "She was going for every loose ball and every rebound. The younger players' motors are really keeping them going right now, but they couldn't have done it without the help of the upper classmen."
DAVIS DAMAGES
Senior
Camesha Davis earned her first start of the year against the Tigers. After being hobbled by an injury in the season opener against Toledo, Davis came out on Wednesday one rebound shy of her seventh career double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
"I thought I did well on the offensive glass," Davis said alluding to her three offensive rebounds. "Coach told me not to worry about the shots that I missed and to get on the rebounds, which worked out for me. Being able to grab a couple of offensive rebounds got me going tonight."
Davis chipped in a pair of blocks to pull within 10 of fourth place on the all-time list. The Islanders finished the game with seven swats, the 18th time the Blue and Green recorded seven or more in program history.
MADAM MAYOR
Mayor of Corpus Christi Nelda Martinez served as the honorary guest coach for the Blue and Green on Wednesday night. After cheering on from the bench in the 60-55 win over Rice in 2015, Martinez moved to 2-0 in her coaching career on the Island.
COOLING OFF THE HOT HANDS
Prior Wednesday night's contest, Texas Southern downed Conference-USA champions UTEP in the season opener by 21 points. Kaitlyn Palmer led the way with 24 points. Against the Islanders, Palmer was held in check to just 10 points, while the Blue and Green forced 25 turnovers on the night.
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
A&M-Corpus Christi will look to build on the win against Texas Southern on Friday at Texas State. The Islanders have not faced the Bobcats since 2013.
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- Go Islanders -
