Islanders Poised For Postseason

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - In one of their better shooting efforts of the season, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi took revenge on visitors Abilene Christian this Wednesday inside Dugan. After losing to the Wildcats by a single possession in Abilene earlier this year, the Blue and Green outscored visiting ACU 70-51 the other night, to move within a single win of a spot in the Southland Conference Championship tournament.

Winning the tipoff, the Wildcats would immediately drive down the floor to get the first points of Wednesday's SLC contest. That bucket, scored in the opening five seconds of the game, would mark the last time ACU would hold a lead on the night.  

The Islanders went on to score 14 unanswered points in the next five minutes, boosted by five apiece from starters Emma Young and Brittany Mbamalu. The two scored a combined 12 points through the first quarter to help carry their team to an 18-15 lead, while their team combined for three blocks against the visiting Wildcats. 

Knocking down eight field goals in the opening period, the Islanders continued their hot shooting on to the second, scoring on 53.33% of their shots from the field. Dae Dae Evans hit three of four in the quarter to finish the half with eight points overall, while the Islanders defense forced a dozen ACU turnovers before halftime. 

Corpus Christi would score 16 of their 34 points in the first half off of Wildcat turnovers, to carry an eight-point lead into the third quarter. Young made her presence known coming out of the break, recording a statline of eight points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a rejection in the third frame alone. Mbamalu went two of three from deep during the quarter to bring her point total up to 13, as the Islanders outrebounded ACU 12-7 in the third.

With a a 12-point lead in hand, Corpus Christi would double-up on Abilene in the final stanza, outscoring the visitors 18-9. Coach Chadwick's side allowed just three field goals scored in the final 10 minutes on the way to their ninth win in conference-play, closing out the remaining eight minutes of play on a 12-1 run.

The Islanders' win moves them ahead of the Wildcats in the Southland standings, sitting just a single victory behind fourth-place New Orleans, with a game in hand.

"...I think we're getting tougher as we go. It's late February, our team is starting to mesh, and you get a bunch of good players that can get laser focused, and they can be a really great basketball team." said Head Coach Royce Chadwick in a postgame interview. "We're teetering on doing some things that are gonna make us really formidable in March."

• Four Corpus Christi players finished in double digits on the night, moving them to 5-0 when accomplishing that feat this season
• With 18 points and eight rebounds, Young would come within two boards of a double-double, on the way to adding five assists on the night
• Since returning from injury at the end of January, Young has averaged nearly 13 points per contest over the course of eight games
• Evans finished her night with 13 points scored. The guard holds a career average of 5.68 points per game, but sees that number rise to 14 when playing the Wildcats
• Dalesia Booth and Mbamalu would round out the night's quartet of 10-plus performances, with the latter hitting a team-high of four field goals from beyond the arc

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders will have a shot at securing a spot in the Southland Conference Championship tournament this Saturday, with the opportunity to clinch a seed on a win over 11th-placed Incarnate Word.  The Blue and Green downed the Cardinals 62-58 in San Antonio earlier this month and will be the heavy favorite against UIW at Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court at American Bank Center, this approaching weekend.

Corpus Christi will say goodbye to a pair of seniors in this Saturday's contest, as Brittany Mbamalu and Kre'Ana Henry play in the final home game of their careers on the Island. Mbamalu retires from the program with more three-pointers than any player in Islander history (274) while ranking fifth in scoring all-time (1,148). Meanwhile, Henry is currently on track to finish with the fifth-highest three-point shooting percentage in school history, shooting a career-average of 38.1% from beyond the arc,

The Islanders' approaching contest with UIW, along with all Corpus Christi games, can be followed live via the Islanders Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.

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