CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For three quarters of Monday's opening game of the Battle on the Border Tournament, hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team used swarming defense and nearly 40-percent shooting to hold a five-point lead over UC-Santa Barbara.
Four turnovers in the fourth quarter by the Islanders (4-6), coupled with 24 points from the Gauchos (4-7), sent the Blue and Green to its third consecutive loss, falling 66-60 in UTRGV Fieldhouse.
"I thought we had two lulls in the game," head coach
Royce Chadwick said. "We struggled right at the end of the first half and again in the third quarter. They were very powerful inside, and we couldn't keep them from posting up inside. Once they got their post game working, they were able to kick it out for three, so we had our hands full in the fourth quarter."
The height differential in the post, with a pair of 6-foot-4 players for the Gauchos, put A&M-Corpus Christi down 13 in the rebound margin after the first half. Over the final 20 minutes, the Islanders matched the Gauchos on the glass 16-16, as
Emma Young pulled down a team-high five boards.
To offset its disadvantage on the glass, the Blue and Green forced 20 UCSB turnovers, led by
Dae Dae Evans with a career-high three steals. The Islanders missed setting a season low in turnovers by two, finishing with 12.
"I thought our guards did a really good job in the first half of containing their offense," Chadwick added. "Their guards were looking to get it into the posts and we were able shut down the passing lanes and create turnovers."
After leading 11-8 in the first quarter, the Islanders appeared to take control of the game, opening up a 10-point lead with three minutes to play in the half. The Gauchos cut the advantage to three with a 7-0 run to close out the second quarter.
Young gave the Islanders their largest lead in the second half at seven points with 40 seconds remaining in the third, but UCSB turned the tide over the next nine minutes with a 22-9 run for the win.
Dalesia Booth led the way for the Blue and Green with 12 points, her fourth game of the season in double figures.
Brittany Mbamalu drained a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while
Camesha Davis added 10 of her own.
The Gauchos shot 47.1-percent from the floor, while the Blue and Green were 38.1-percent on the night
Ashanti Plummer recorded a pair of blocks, her first in three games. Young also dished out four assists, one shy of her career high.
SECOND SHOWDOWN
The Islanders play the return leg of the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union, tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against UT-Rio Grande Valley. A&M-Corpus Christi will have redemption on its mind after dropping the inaugural women's basketball game of the Showdown on Dec. 3, 68-65.
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- Go Islanders -
