Islanders Take Jacks To The Brink

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi competed in one of its hardest fought contests of the year this Wednesday, coming up just a point short of No. 2-ranked Stephen F. Austin 59-58. Moving herself into sixth overall in the Islander all-time scoring book, senior Brittany Mbamalu tallied a game-high 23 points on the night, to collect 1,125 for her career.

Dalesia Booth provided the hot hand in the opening quarter, hitting four of her first five shots from the floor and accruing eight points in the first period alone. The Blue and Green forced the Jacks to turn the ball over six times on the way to outscoring the home team 10-2 in the paint and take a 15-13 lead into the first break.

The Islanders continued to expand their lead, thanks to a 10 point second quarter from Brittany Mbamalu, while she added an assist and pair of boards in the first half. Corpus Christi carried a huge advantage in the rebound category after the first 20 minutes, with all nine of their traveling players cleaning the glass. Emma Young would collect four rebounds in the first half before finishing with a team-high of 10 on the evening, as the sophomore continues her streak of five-plus rebounds on the year, failing to reach that mark just once on the season.

Trailing by five, the SFA offense would get into a rhythm during the third quarter, hitting seven of their 15 shots to start the second half (46.7%). The Lumberjacks' press would give Coach Royce Chadwick's side troubles in the quarter, holding the Islanders to just three field goals. 

The fourth quarter would go back and forth throughout, with both sides taking a lead in the final 10 minutes. Mbamalu knocked down all five of her attempts while nailing a pair of three-pointers, including a trey that would put the Islanders out in front 53-50 with just over three minutes remaining. The Jacks would collect six of the next eight points to retake the lead however, as a late turnover by the Islanders would seal a win for hosting SFA.

• Lala Robinson tied a career-high with her two offensive rebounds, as the Islanders would outrebound the Jacks 40-34
• Moving into sixth all-time on the Islander scoring list, Mbamalu is just a single point away from tying for fifth in the Corpus Christi record book
• Young came within three points of her second career double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds
• Booth finished with 13 points overall, marking her third straight double-digit performance. She's shot 51.4% during that span
• The Islanders' defense held an SFA side averaging over 74 points a game to just 59, only the fifth time this year the Jacks have been held to under 60 in the 2017-18 campaign

Despite Wednesday's loss, the Islanders held their own against one of the top teams in the Southland this year and presented themselves as a team to be reckoned with once the start of the postseason comes around. "I like the competitive spirit of this team." said Head Coach Royce Chadwick in a postgame interview. "We go on the road, come in here... They went to the free throw line 24 times, so we had plenty of opportunities to block out and run our press offense. We have to not put them at the free throw line if we see them again, and we have to play a little bit more aggressive in the stretch"

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders next face top-ranked Lamar in Beaumont this Saturday, after falling to the Cardinals earlier this season. Mbamalu is averaging 15 points and five rebounds against LU during her career, as the Blue and Green look to improve on their 13-10 record against Lamar all-time.

Corpus Christi's matchup with Lamar will be streamed live on Watch ESPN, and broadcasted live via radio on the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.

STAY SOCIAL
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