Islanders Drop Southland Opener

NEW ORLEANS – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball fell on Saturday in its Southland Conference opener to New Orleans, 75-54, on the road.
 
The Islanders (4-8, 0-1) could not overcome shooting 26-percent in the first half, finishing the game going 35-percent from the field. Randi Brown was a thorn in the side of the Islanders all night, scoring a game-high 45 points for New Orleans (6-5, 1-0).

"I thought that Randi Brown was big time tonight for them," head coach Royce Chadwick said. "I really believe that she was the best player that we have played this year.  Defensively, we didn't do enough to slow her down tonight, and we paid for it." 
 
Ashanti Plummer, Brittany Mbamalu, Brianna Jackson and Emma Young led the Blue and Green with seven points, each. Rookie Tiara Matthews made the most of her 12 minutes, grabbing a team-high and career-high seven rebounds.
  
The Privateers opened the game with a 19-4 run, before Young sparked a 6-0 streak with four points to draw within nine. The deficit proved to be the closest the Islanders would get for the rest of the night.
 
After New Orleans grew its lead to 33 in the third quarter, Chadwick introduced freshman guard Rayanna Carter to run the point. In just a four-minute span, the Leander, Texas, native guided the Islanders' offense to score 11 straight points, but the Privateers knocked down two of their 12 3-pointers in the fourth to keep their distance.

A&M-Corpus Christi outrebounded an opponent for the seventh time this season, beating New Orleans on the boards 39-37. 
 
ON THE TRAIL TO THIBODAUX
The Islanders continue their whirlwind week on the road on Monday night at Nicholls. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. and can be heard on the Islanders Digital Network.

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