Islanders Experience Miner Hiccup On The Road

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After taking an early deficit, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was unable to overcome the UTEP Miners on Saturday night in a 69-49 loss.
 
The Islanders looked hot in the opening minutes of competition, draining their first two attempts of the afternoon and causing three Miner turnovers in the first three minutes of play. Starting point guard Lajaneira Robinson hit her first three since arriving on the Island, while Brittany Mbamalu nailed her 14^th of the season, to give the Islanders a six-point advantage in the beginning stages. After a UTEP run however, the Blue and Green would take a 14-12 deficit into the first break, as Kre'Ana hit two-of-three from the floor and pulled down a pair of boards in the opening 10 minutes.

The scales would begin to tip in favor of the home team at the start of the second quarter, as the Miner offense used its height inside to score 12 of its 14 points in the period. With a lack of foul calls in the Islanders favor, Corpus Christi finished the first half without a trip to the charity stripe and trailed by a count of 28-18 at the break.

Henry would add another two buckets in the third to lead her team with nine points after 30 minutes, while senior Brianna Jackson would get her first field goal of the season on a jumper in the last 2:36 of the quarter. Sophomore guard Dalesia Booth continued her streak of rejections with her fourth block of the year, giving the San Antonio native a swat in each of her last three outings. 

The Islanders would save their best performance for the final stanza, hitting eight of 16 shots taken from the floor, along with a pair of three-pointers. Dae Dae Evans would come within four points of tying a career-high with the highest scoring quarter of her career scoring all 13 of her points in the fourth. The sophomore guard finished off four field goals against the Miners in the last 10 minutes, along with her first two treys of the 2017-18 campaign. Evans' 13 stands as a personal season-high, on the way to adding her 11th assist of the campaign during her 23 minutes played. 

The Islanders would outscore hosting UTEP 21-20 in the fourth, but were unable to overcome the Miners established lead, as the night finished 69-49 in Corpus Christi's second contest of this extended road trip.



COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders have a short turnaround with a trip to New Mexico State this coming Monday, playing at Las Cruces for the first time in program history. Corpus Christi last played the Aggies in December of 2015, and will will look to break NMSU's press defense to come away with a win.

Monday's game, along with all Islander contests, can be followed live via the Islander Digital Network, brought to you by AEP Texas.

STAY SOCIAL
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