Islanders Begin New Year In Natchitoches

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi looks to start 2018 off on the right foot with a visit to 0-2 Northwestern State. 

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Northwestern State
When: Wednesday, 6:30 PM
Where: Prather Coliseum | Natchitoches, Louisiana
Listen: Islanders Digital Network, Powered by AEP Texas

SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders are 9-5 against Northwestern State all-time, and are on a two-game win streak against the Demons
• The two teams' last meeting took place in the 2017 Southland Conference tournament. The Blue and Green took that decision 57-46, outrebounding the Demons 44-32 while tying a season-high with nine blocks
• Brittany Mbamalu scored an average of 13 points between the Islanders' two wins against NSU last year
• The Islanders' last five games with Northwestern State have been decided by an average of 10 points.

ISLANDER NOTES

• The Blue and Green's 58-50 loss to UCA last week came down to the wire, with the Islanders trailing by just seven with under a minute remaining
• Dalesia Booth came within a field goal of her career-high against the Sugar Bears, dropping 21 points with seven boards
• Booth's performance came a single game removed from her 17-point performance against Saint Thomas. The sophomore is averaging over 14 points per contest over her team's last five games, and is shooting 64.4% during that span
• Multiple players posted career-highs against Saint Thomas this December, with Tiara Matthews recording her first ever double-double, the third Islander double-double of the current season
• Laderica Paul has played some big minutes off the bench since becoming eligible to compete, scoring 14 points, three boards and three steals against Saint Thomas
• The Islander defense has held opponents to the 24th best average in all of D-I women's basketball. As sides are scoring just 55.6 points against the Blue and Green this year
• The Islanders' board play has been a key to their success this season, with their +7.5 rebounding margin standing as the 42nd-widest in Division I basketball
• Mbamalu's 243 career threes are a program record, and rank 11th among active Division I players, she is just 26 points away from becoming the eighth Islander in history to score 1,000 points in a career

HOW THEY MATCHUP

• The Islanders ended the Demons' season in the first round of the 2017 SLC Championship, and would advance as far as the semifinals
•  The Blue and Green will face another ball-hawking squad this week, with NSU ranking sixth in the country concerning forced turnovers per contest (24.15)
• Corpus Christi is 3-3 when losing the turnover battle, while the Demons are 0-5 when facing the same situation
• The Islanders' biggest advantage may come on the boards, as the Blue and Green is outrebounding NSU by six per game. Corpus Christi is 7-1 when pulling down more rebounds than their opponents
• The Demons' defense at the arc is the best in the SLC and 24th in the country, as teams have shot only 26.5% from deep against NSU this year
• Dalesia Booth's 21 blocks on the year are just one short of Northwestern State's team total for the 2017-18 season

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders will be on the road for the next few weeks, next playing contests at Sam Houston State and New Orleans on the 10th and 13th respectively. The Blue and Green split a two-game series with the Privateers the previous season but put up a 'W' against UNO in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Southland Conference Championship, while their contest with SHSU ended in a 63-37 rout of the hosting Bearkats. The Islanders' coming matchups, along with all road contests, can be heard via the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Islanders women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersWBB), Instagram (@IslandersWBB) and like their Facebook page (Islanders Women's Basketball).