Islanders Unable to Overcome Early Owl Lead

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - After taking an early deficit, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's second half bid came up just short in a 67-56 loss to visiting Rice. With the visiting side coming fresh off receiving votes in the latest top-25 poll, the Islanders faced some of their toughest competition of the season thus far, but were unable to extend their winning streak to five consecutive games. 

Playing in their first game since December 5th, the Islanders allowed the Owls to an early start this Monday after the visiting squad knocked down six of 13 shots from the field and a trio of three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes of play. The effects of the extended break appeared to play on the Blue and Green at the start of competition, as the team recorded 20 points on their first 25 attempts on the afternoon, and trailed by a count of 36-20 into the halftime.

Brittany Mbamalu added to her program career record with a pair of threes in the first half, bringing her all-time total to 241 field goals made from beyond the arc. The redshirt-senior's career total stood in seventh among all active Division-I players heading into the night's affair, as the starting guard would finish the night with 10 points and a pair of rebounds.

With plenty of mountain to climb, the Islanders entered the second half with a new mindset, as their aggressive play resulted in 10 Rice turnovers over the final 20 minutes and a burst of 36 points scored. Hitting three of four shots and accruing three steals in quarter number three, sophomore Emma Young was at the lead of the Blue and Green attack, turning multiple Rice turnovers into points on the other end. The hosting Islanders would score just a pair of buckets off of turnovers in the third term, but would outscore the Owls 14-6 in the paint while outrebounding the side eight to six.

Trailing by 12 to start the final period, a bucket from Kre'Ana Henry and a three from starting point guard Dae Dae Evans would put Corpus Christi within three possessions of taking their first lead of the night. The Blue and Green continued to cause poor decisions by the Owls, as Rice surrendered another seven turnovers in the last quarter with Young accounting for a pair of robberies. Along with another four points, the sophomore's energetic play and ability to create contact kept the hosts within 10 points with as much as five minutes remaining, as Corpus Christi continued to hang with one of the top-30 programs in the country.

After some poor work on the boards, the Owls would experience an uptick to end the night however, outrebounding the Islanders 13-5 and limiting the Blue and Green to zero second chance points. At the end of the night Rice's advantage in shooting percentage had dwindled down to a 44.6% to 40.0% lead, but a 12 for 30 night from deep would be the ultimate decider in a closely held 11-point loss for Coach Royce Chadwick's side.

• Young's five steals beat the personal best she set against Houston Baptist last year (4), while her 17 points on the night mark her sixth double-digit performance of the season
• Young remained true to form with her 13-point second half effort, as the sophomore has now hit 24 of her 41 shots taken in the latter stanza (58.5%), in comparison to the 17 of 45 she's hit in opening halve (37.8%)
• With 17 points from Young, another nine from Evans, eight from Dalesia Booth and a two-point bucket from Tiara Matthews, Islander sophomores accounted for 36 of the team's 56 points on the night (64.3%)
• Booth led the Islanders with a pair of blocks on the afternoon, she entered Monday's game against Rice ranked first in the Southland concerning rejections, and now holds a whopping 18 on the year
• The Blue and Green caused 13 Rice turnovers on the night, 10 of which came in the second half alone. The Islanders have registered a dozen or more steals in all 10 of their contests this year

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders face their first NAIA foe of the season, playing the St. Thomas Celts for the first time in program history. The Blue and Green enter their approaching Wednesday night contest undefeated against NAIA opponents, emerging on top in all eight of their contests against teams from that league.

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