No. 5 Islanders Open Postseason In Katy

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - After securing its second straight trip to the Women's Basketball Southland Conference Championship, No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi faces off with bottom seed No. 8 McNeese in the first round of this year's postseason tournament. The Islanders' 18 wins this year tie a regular season-high for the past eight years, and is the second-most the side has collected since 2013-14.

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: No. 8 McNeese
When: Thursday, 11:00 AM
Where: Leonard E. Merrell Center | Katy, Texas
Watch: ESPN Watch 
Listen: Islander Digital Network, Powered by AEP Texas

SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders are 6-7 against McNeese all-time, but have never lost to the Cowgirls when playing them outside of Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Corpus Christi came within six points of beating McNeese in last week's regular season matchup, where sophomore Emma Young tallied season-highs in both points (27) and rebounds (13)
• The Blue and Green shot 50% from the floor against McNeese in last year's meeting, as current Islanders Brittany Mbamalu and Dalesia Booth combined for 24 points in the contest
• The Islanders entered the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament as a sixth seed last season, losing to eventual champions, and current third seed, Central Arkansas in the semifinals

ISLANDER NOTES

• The Islanders had a pair listed to this year's Southland All-Conference Team with guard Brittany Mbamalu receiving Second Team honors and Emma Young earning honorable mentions
• After scoring a pair of career-highs against the Cowgirls last week, sophomore Emma Young has combined for 50 points in her last two outings, while tallying a career-high in steals (6) against Houston Baptist last Saturday
• The Blue and Green took a 73-68 victory over HBU over the weekend, scoring 25 points off of the Huskies' 22 turnovers
• Pouring in 73 three-pointers on the season, Brittany Mbamalu ranks 77th in the country in threes per game (2.52)
• With an 85.1% average from the charity stripe, Young ranks 38th in the country concerning free throw percentage
• The Islanders outboarded one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country this week, pulling down 14 offensive boards to the Cowgirls' 11
• The Islanders are 8-3 in their previous 11 Southland games, dropping their three losing decisions by only 13 points combined
• Corpus Christi's defense ranks 40th in the country this season, allowing just 57.4 points per game. They've held opponents to under 60 on 16 occasions, and under 50 points in six different contests

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS

• McNeese ranks 24th in the country concerning offensive rebounds with 15 per game, and 30th in overall boards at 42.30 per contest
• The Cowgirls offense runs through point guard Caitlin Davis. The sophomore's 5.8 assists per game place her second in the Southland and 25th in Division I women's basketball
• McNeese limped into the postseason this year, with their 8-10 record in conference play placing them in eighth overall. The Cowgirls have lost five of their last six games against SLC opponents

COMING UP NEXT
With a win over McNeese this Thursday, the Islanders will continue their postseason play with a matchup against No. 4 Nicholls in the conference quarterfinals. The Blue and Green won their last matchup with the Colonels earlier this season, hanging 21 points over their opponents in a 76-55 win at home in Dugan.

Islanders' approaching postseason contests will all be live streamed on ESPN Watch, while Corpus Christi fans can access their team's live radio feed via the Islanders 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 Basketball)