Islanders Square Off In South Texas Showdown

Women's Basketball | November 28, 2017

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi looks to even its series against UTRGV this Wednesday, competing in the second leg of the 2017-18 South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Federal Credit Union.

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: UTRGV
When: Wednesday, 7 PM
Where: Dugan Wellness Center | Corpus Christi, Texas
Listen: Islanders Digital Network, Powered by AEP Texas

PROMOTIONS
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SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders faceoff with the Vaqueros for the second time this year, dropping their last decision against UTRGV 56-53
• The Blue and Green is 21-12 against UTRGV all-time, including its contests played against UT-Pan Am and UT Brownsville
• Corpus Christi is 3-3 against UTRGV since 2013, earning two of those three wins back at home
• Brittany Mbamalu recorded a program record eight three-pointers when the Islanders played UTRGV earlier this year
• Emma Young came within a single rebound of her second double-double this year, scoring 16 with nine boards at UTRGV earlier this month

ISLANDER NOTES

• The Islanders enter this Wednesday's contest coming off a two-game win streak after going undefeated at the Feast of Giving Tournament in Edinburg
• The Blue and Green shot 11-for-25 (44%) from beyond the arc against PVAMU and Florida A&M, with career program record holder Brittany Mbamalu nailing seven-of-15 (46.7%)
• Corpus Christi has posted 17 blocks over their last three contests, with Dalesia Booth accounting for eight of those rejections. The guard is currently on a streak of six straight performances while recording a block
• The Islanders' 29 blocks this season, ranks 46th in all of Division I women's basketball
• Entering the previous weekend averaging 16 free throws per game, the Islanders recorded 27 shots from the charity stripe against Prairie View A&M, shooting a season-best .815 from the line
• Corpus Christi breached the 70-point mark for the second time this season, beating the Panthers 72-62. They posted a season-best 56 boards during that contest, outrebounding the Panthers by 25
• The Blue and Green is shooting .433 in their four wins this season, but are averaging .326 over the team's three losses
• With an average of seven rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, Emma Young leads the Islanders in both categories, while her 10 points per contest trail only Mbamalu (14.0)
• Seniors Kre'Ana Henry and Brittany Mbamalu both earned Feast of Giving All-Tournament recognition last weekend. Henry set a career-high with 18 points against FAMU, while averaging 15 points and six rebounds per game. Mbamalu set a season-high with eight rebounds against the Rattlers while averaging 16.5 and seven over the course of the weekend
• For her performance this past weekend, Mbamalu recently earned Honorable Mention for Southland Conference Player of the Week

HOW THEY MATCHUP

• Like the Islanders, the Vaqueros are riding a win streak of their own, having won their previous three contests against FAMU, PVAMU and Texas Lutheran
• Averaging over 36%, Corpus Christi is vastly superior to UTRGV when shooting from beyond the arc, with the Vaqueros hitting an average of 22% on the year
• UTRGV outrebounded the Islanders just 42-40 the last time the two teams met, and has pulled down over 40 boards in each of their last five contests
• Laura Van Tilburg has been the Vaqueros' top scorer in four of their seven games this season, while Mbamalu has done the same in three of the Islanders' contests
• While both teams have collected exactly 120 shots from the charity stripe this season, the Vaqueros have a slight edge in the conversion category, outshooting the Islanders .742 to .683
• Dae Dae Evans and Emma Young have collected 20 and 24 assists respectively this year, while just a single UTRGV player has recorded more than 20 assists in the 2017-18 campaign
• While the Vaqueros hold an edge in the turnover margin department, the Islanders have outblocked UTRGV 29-20 over the course of seven contests
• The Islanders and the Vaqueros are all 3-0 when facing common opponents, beating Texas Lutheran, PVAMU and Florida A&M
• Both teams are prone to early starts with the Islanders averaging 18.14 in the first quarter and the Vaqueros scoring 15.57 during the opening frame

COMING UP NEXT
Sitting on the cusp of a six-game home stand, the Islanders next face Texas A&M International on December 5th inside the Dugan Wellness Center. The Blue and Green will compete against the Dust Devils for a fifth consecutive year, but will faceoff with TAMIU in a regular season matchup for the first time since 2014.

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