NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Guided by
Camesha Davis' game-high 18 points, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Southland Conference leader Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night.
The Islanders (4-10, 0-3) managed to cut the deficit to one with 5:40 to play in the fourth, but the Ladyjacks (12-2, 3-0) countered with 12 straight points to take the win, 64-56.
"I thought we played our hearts out tonight," head coach
Royce Chadwick said. "Our kids were exhausted, but they continued to fight. I think we learned a lot about our team.
"We know that we can dig down deeper and do the job. We are a couple of plays away for winning the game. Our youngsters are growing up a little bit. We learned a lot, but we need to get better for Saturday."
The Islanders put SFA, a team that won its first two league games by an average of 34 points, on the back foot early with four points apiece from
Brittany Mbamalu,
Uri Jolivette and
Emma Young.
The opening 20 minutes saw the Blue and Green handle every punch the hosts could throw, never allowing the hosts to regain the lead in the final 13 minutes of the first half. Much of the Islanders' success in the second quarter was attributed to Davis scoring nine of the teams' 14 points.
SFA bolted out of the break on 15-3 run to take a 42-32 lead, before Chadwick called a timeout at the 4:26 mark of the third. Prompted by
Erin Willis at the point, who was making her second start of the season, A&M-Corpus Christi chipped away at the Ladyjacks' lead for the remainder of the game.
Kassie Jones gave the Blue and Green momentum heading into the fourth after going coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer with a layup. Following a jumper by Jolivette, Davis sunk a floater in the lane to bring the Islanders to within one.
The one-point deficit proved to be the closest the Islanders would get. During the 12-0 run for SFA, A&M-Corpus Christi committed six turnovers. In an attempt to counter the errors, Davis and Jolivette combined to reject four shots.
The Blue and Green tallied the final five points of the game in the last 10 seconds, courtesy of Mbamalu's second 3-pointer of the game and a steal and score by Willis.
Brentney Branch led SFA with 17 points, as the hosts outrebounded the Islanders 42-33.
POSTGAME NOTES
>>
Camesha Davis and
Brittany Mbamalu nearly played the entire game, finishing with 38 and 37 minutes, respectively.
>>
Erin Willis matched her career high with four assists in 28 minutes of work, also a career high.
>> The Islanders drove at the Ladyjacks all night, getting to the line and knocking down 20-of-26 free throws on the night.
>> Mbamalu snagged a career-high eight rebounds.
>> Davis moved into seventh all time with 176 free throws made, third on the all-time blocks list with 88, sixth with 369 defensive rebounds. She also set a career high with six free throws.
>> Jolivette matched her career high with a pair of rejections.
TELL THE WORLD WE'RE COMING HOME
Thursday night marked the end of the Islanders' seven-game road swing, which included the first three games of Southland Conference action. A&M-Corpus Christi's whirlwind opening week of league play wraps up on Saturday as Northwestern State comes to the American Bank Center for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information surrounding Islanders women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersWBB) and like the team on Facebook (Islanders Women's Basketball).
- Go Islanders -
