Islanders Lose Close Contest In Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, NM - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi turned in its best three-point field goal average of the season this Monday night, in a 70-61 loss to hosts New Mexico State. The Islanders gave the reigning WAC Champions all they could handle throughout the afternoon, leading the contest well into the third quarter before falling by a nine-point deficit.

Once again the Islanders came out firing in Las Cruces, jumping out to an 11-6 lead agatinst the Aggies in the opening four and a half minutes of the evening contest. After being kept off the foul line the entirety of the first half against UTEP on Saturday, Corpus Christi took three trips to the charity stripe in the first quarter while hitting five-of-six. With seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes, the Islanders posted 22 points for their second-highest scoring quarter of the season, having previously dropped 23 in the opening period of an 87-56 win over Texas Lutheran to start the season. 

Trailing 22-19 at the break, the Aggies went on a 13-3 run to start the second quarter and take back the lead. A pair of treys from sophomore Emma Young would bring the Islanders right back within striking range down the stretch of quarter number two, as the guard finished the half tied for a game-high 10 points. Although the Islanders hit just 38.7% overall in the first half, Corpus Christi's shooters were deadly from long range, with four of six shots falling from distance (66.7%). Young and senior Brittany Mbamalu each knocked down a pair of three-pointers as the Islanders outrebounded NMSU 19-17 in the opening 20 minutes. 

Working against the Aggie press defense the Islanders were able to keep their turnover numbers to five, while registering a pair of steals in the opening half. Sophomore Dalesia Booth continued her streak of rejections with her seventh block of the season in the first. The Blue and Green guard finished the night with a career-high five swats, tying the largest number an Islander has recorded since the 2000-01 campaign. 

"We were able to get down the floor, get in our offense and we got some good looks." commented Head Coach Royce Chadwick when asked about how his team handled the NMSU press. "The press was really a non-factor because our point guards handled it."

Corpus Christi depleted the Aggie lead to just three before the halftime break, and after hitting four of their first eight shots from the field, the Islanders would jump back in front 41-39 just over four minutes into the second half. The Blue and Green's hold on the contest would be loosened however, due to some hot shooting from beyond the arc from NMSU, with the hosts hitting from deep on three straight possessions. Leading by as many as eight points down the stretch of the third quarter, the Aggies wouldn't look back for the rest of the night and ultimately finish the evening with a nine-point 70-61 victory.

The Blue and Green still have plenty to work off of after tonight's close game however, as Coach Chadwick reiterrated. "I think we're getting better. I think we were incrementally getting better from the UTEP game to tonight."

• With eight offensive boards in the second half alone, the Islanders 11 second chance points dwarfed the five scored by Monday's hosts
• In her first start since coming back from concussion protocol, junior Uri Jolivette pulled down four rebounds in the second half for a total of seven on the night, a season-high for the post player in the current year
• Booth and Young each finished with 14 points with the latter adding an assist and a steal to her final scoreline 
• The Blue and Green move to 2-3 on the season after losing to 2017 NCAA Championship participants NMSU, but recorded their best three-point shooting night of the year, with seven of 16 field goal attempts from deep falling down (63.2%).

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders ready themselves for a trip back to Edinburg to play in the UTRGV tournament. Corpus Christi matches up with PVAMU on Saturday, followed by a Sunday contest against Florida A&M. The Blue and Green hold a 5-1 record against the Panthers all-time and look to faceoff with the Rattlers for the first time in the program's history. 

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