Islanders Open South Texas Showdown in Edinburg

Women's Basketball | November 13, 2017

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi prepares for leg one of this year's South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Federal Credit Union, facing the UTRGV Vaqueros this Tuesday. 
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Islanders at UTRGV
When: Tuesday, 7 PM
Where: UTRGV Fieldhouse | Edinburg, Texas
Where: WAC Digital Network
Listen: Islanders Digital Network powered by AEP Texas

SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders hold a 3-2 record against UTRGV over the past four years, winning once in Edinburg over that span
• The Blue and Green are 21-11 against UTRGV all-time, including its contests played against UT-Pan AM and UT Brownsville
• Sophomore Emma Young dropped 21 points over two games against UTRGV last year, including a 16 point, seven rebound performance at home
• The Vaqueros return just three players from last season's squad, with only one of those athletes earning a start against the Islanders last season
• Corpus Christi is 1-2 against the Vaqueros since the program became UTRGV, beating their South Texas rivals in the one contest they scored more three-pointers
• The Islanders have out-rebounded the Vaqueros 139-104 over those three games, pulling down 55 boards in the process

HOW THEY MATCHUP

• Both Corpus Christi and UTRGV enter Tuesday's contest with a 2-0 record, after winning both of their games in this year's Corpus Christi Classic
• While the Islanders beat their two opponents by a combined 50 points, the Vaqueros narrowly escaped defeat on Saturday, beating Division III Trinity University 62-57
• The Islanders boast better numbers than the Vaqueros in nearly every major team category this season, averaging 10 more points scored per game and averaging 8.5 more boards per contest
• While Corpus Christi returns nine players from last year's roster, UTRGV brings back just three
• Only two of those UTRGV players collected 10-plus starts in the 2016-17 season, while the Islanders bring back five of their top-seven minute-eaters from the previous campaign
• The Islanders' ability to cause turnovers could be the difference maker in Tuesday's contest, as the Blue and Green is currently plus- 12 in the turnover department in comparison to the Vaqueros mi- nus-one
• Corpus Christi has secured 64 points off of turnovers after last weekend, while UTRGV has just 41 over its two games played 

ISLANDER NOTES

• Three Islanders scored the first points of their Division I careers in Friday's contest against Texas Lutheran, with Giana Wright, Lajaneira Robinson and K'Neisha Bush each scoring a eld goal in the rst half against TLU
• Brittany Mbamalu dropped 21 against the Bulldogs for a game- high, the ninth 20-plus performance of her career
• Emma Young became the first Islander to record a double-double in the 2017-18 campaign, against McMurry on Saturday. She joins Mbamalu as one of two active Islanders to record a double-double in their career
• Young recorded a career-high 11 rebounds against the War Hawks and tied a career-high with 17 points
• Six players have already recorded double-digit performances in the Islanders' young season, with four players scoring 10-plus against TLU to open the year
• Three Corpus Christi athletes have hit from beyond the arc during the current campaign. Mbamalu leads her squad with five treys, while fellow senior Kre'Ana Henry is hitting .571 from range 
• Although she has not been the highest scorer in either game this year, Booth has recorded 14 points in both of the Islanders contests, and has swiped a team-high seven steals
• Henry pulled down a career-high four offensive boards against Texas Lutheran on Friday with a total of seven on the night, on the way to setting another career-high with 17 points
• Uri Jolivette currently sits second on the Corpus Christi squad with 11 rebounds, recording six and five against the Bulldogs and McMurry respectively

SCOUTING THE VAQUEROS

• UTRGV has made a habit of getting to the line, averaging 21.5 free throws made per game, and shooting .782 from the stripe this year
• Sophomore Megan Johnson has been the Vaqueros go-to player thus far in 2017, averaging team-highs in points (13.5), rebounds (8.5) and steals (3)
• The majority of the Vaqueros' points have come during the fourth quarter, with 46 of their 129 points coming in the final stanza
• Center Laura Van Tilberg has been a boost off the bench for UTRGV, scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds in just 45 minutes played • Rio Grande Valley is the only WAC team to open the season at 2-0 with wins over Concordia and Trinity
• The Vaqueros' 53 points allowed per game is the lowest in the WAC thus far this season, due in part to a conservative defense that has allowed just 33 free throws over two games 

Islanders fans can follow along with this Tuesday's live stats on Sidearm Sports or listen in through the Islanders Digital Network powered by AEP Texas. Spectators can also catch the action through an online live stream, provided by the WAC Digital Network.

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders continue their non-conference schedule with four straight road contests over the next two weeks, including a Saturday matchup with UTEP. The Blue and Green meetup with the Miners for the first time in a decade, losing their last contest in El Paso during the 2007-08 season.

STAY SOCIAL
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