Islanders push past McNeese State, clinch SLC Tournament bid

Story Headlines
- The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi women's basketball program (14-14, 8-9 Southland) knocked off a resilient McNeese State squad (7-21, 5-12 Southland) Wednesday evening at the Dugan Wellness Center, officially punching the Islanders' ticket to Katy for the Southland Conference Tournament.
- Junior Dae Dae Evans posted a career night in the 62-51 victory, locking down her first-ever double-double behind a 12 point, 10 rebound performance. Meanwhile, fellow juniors Alexes Bryant and Dalesia Booth also reached the double-digit plateau, totaling 13 and 11 points, respectively, while pulling down a combined nine rebounds.

Key Islander Statistics
- For the game, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi closed out the competition shooting 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-of-11) beyond the arc and 77.3 percent (17-of-22) at the charity stripe.
- The Islanders managed to commit less turnovers (17-to-20) than the Cowgirls and convert those changes-in-possession into points more efficiently, notching 17 to McNeese State's 11. 
- A particular advantage for A&M-Corpus Christi came in the form of its bench, as the Islanders generated 31 points from their non-starters while the Cowgirls struggled to keep pace, picking up only 18 on the night.
- Evans also managed to notch four steals in the win, vaulting her up two spots in the single-season record book (59 steals, moved from eighth to sixth) and one spot on the career annals (126 total steals, moved from seventh to sixth all-time).
- Fellow junior Emma Young fought her way to another solid game, pulling down 10 boards with seven points and two steals. Like Evans, the do-it-all forward also shifted her weight in the career record books, passing former teammate Camesha Davis in total free throws made behind a 3-of-4 shooting performance at the line (201 made free throws, moved from seventh to sixth all-time).

Up Next
- Bolstered by the win over McNeese State, the Islanders enter Saturday afternoon's Senior Day contest with Houston Baptist riding a wave of momentum, tipoff against the Huskies set for 2:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center.

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). You can watch Islander home games and listen to road broadcasts on the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.