Islanders surge in second half, fall to Wildcats in title game

Story Headlines
- The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi women's basketball team had it's incredible run in the Southland Conference Tournament come to an end on Sunday, falling to Abilene Christian, 69-68, in the title game at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
- The Islanders trailed by as many as 24 early in the third quarter to eventually tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi finishes the season at 17-16 overall while ACU improved to 23-9.
- Dalesia Booth scored a game high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. She grabbed four rebounds and had a pair of steals in 31 minutes. Booth went 5-of-6 at the free throw line.

Key Islander Statistics
- The Islanders outrebounded the Wildcats, 37-35, and held a 19-12 advantage on the offensive boards.
- Trailing 43-25 at halftime, A&M-Corpus Christi outscored ACU 43-26 in the second half.
- The Islanders held a 48-28 advantage in points in the paint, a 25-14 edge in points off turnovers and scored 20 second chance points to the Wildcats' four.
- The A&M-Corpus Christi bench also outscored ACU's, 33-2.
- Alexes Bryant grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with nine points. She had five offensive boards, recorded an assist, a block and a steal while not committing a turnover.
- Dae Dae Evans finished with nine points while grabbing four rebounds to go along with four steals.
- Emma Young had six rebounds and scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. She had three assists and one steal in 22 minutes.
- Tiara Matthews was 2-of-3 from the field, finishing with five points and three rebounds.
- La'Janeira Robinson had four points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Makinna Serrata was 4-of-5 from the field with eight points. She grabbed two rebounds and added an assist and a steal in 19 minutes. She did not commit a turnover in the game.

Third Quarter Run
- With over seven minutes to play in the third quarter, the Wildcats went up by 24 on a Breanna Wright jumper. After that, the Islanders closed out the quarter on a 19-3 run. ACU would miss eight straight shots as the Islanders cut the lead to single digits on Evans' last second rebound and score, 53-45.

Fourth Quarter
- Out of the break, the Islanders got layups from Booth and Young to cut the lead to four, 53-49. Booth grabbed an offensive board and converted an and-one to make it a one-point game, 53-52, with over 8:40 left to play.

- The Wildcats pushed the lead back out to 11 but another Islander run tied the game, 64-64 with just under two to play after Booth knocked down a pair of free throws.

- Down the stretch, the Wildcats got a layup and hit a free throw to make the lead 67-64 with under 20 seconds to play. Young drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws to make it 67-66. A&M-Corpus Christi fouled on the inbounds and ACU's Dominique Golightly missed both free throws. But the Wildcats were able to track down the offensive rebound and with seven seconds to play, Breanna Wright hit two free throws. The Islanders' last second three pointer fell short and Serrata hit a two-pointer as the buzzer sounded with the score 69-68 ACU.

Islander Notables
- Booth and Bryant were named to the All-Southland Tournament team for their play this week ... this was the second all-time Southland championship game appearance for the Islanders, last appearing in 2010 ... ACU was the No. 4 seed in this year's tournament and A&M-Corpus Christi was the No. 6 seed.

Stay Social
- For more information on Islanders Women's Basketball, keep up with the team via their Facebook page (Islanders Women's Basketball) and follow the program on Twitter (@IslandersWBB) and Instagram (@IslandersWBB).