Islanders Tip-Off Season against Texas A&M-International at American Bank Center

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The 22nd season of Islanders basketball begins Wednesday when Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi hosts Texas A&M-International at 5 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
 
The game will be the first part of a doubleheader as the Islander men will also take on TAMIU after.
 
The women's basketball program will set out to defend its Southland Conference regular season championship after finishing 23-7 overall and 17-3 SLC in 2019-20. The 17-3 SLC record was the best-ever in program history. The conference tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
The Islanders carry over a seven-game winning streak from last season. They are also on a seven-game home winning streak.
 
Despite losing its top-five leading scorers and all five starters, A&M-Corpus Christi reloaded with seven newcomers including six freshmen.
 
Sophomore Alecia Westbrook shot a team-high .520 from the floor last year, which ranks top-five all-time in Islanders single-season history. Westbrook also broke the school record for blocks in a season for a freshman with 30. She averaged 5.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season and started in 11 games.
 
Giana Wright is the lone senior on the squad. She's recorded 136 career points and 116 rebounds.
 
Head coach Royce Chadwick is the reigning SLC Coach of the Year winner. He enters his ninth season at the helm and 37th year overall as a head coach. Chadwick previously spent 11 seasons as head coach at Marshall, 7 seasons at Stephen F. Austin, 5 seasons at Howard JC, 3 seasons at Sam Houston State and 2 seasons Panhandle State.
 
Chadwick is 15 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in an SLC career. He's chasing James Smith's mark of 339 wins at Northwestern State from 1987-04. Chadwick has 324 wins including 31 from SHSU, 173 from SFA and 120 as an Islander.

The Dustdevils are coming off an 11-17 campaign, including 8-14 in the Lone Star Conference. The team competes at the Division II level and is coached by Nate Vogel, who enters his second season.
 
TAMIU returns its two leading scorers from last year. Patrycja Jaworska averaged 13.3 points per game last year, while Nicole Heyn averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.
 
The women's game can be watched on the Islanders Digital Network with Doug Kesterson on the call.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is looking to win its season opener for the fourth year in a row. The Islanders are 4-4 in season openers under Chadwick. Last season, the team ousted St. Thomas 75-55 on opening day.
 
- The Islanders are 11-10 all-time in home openers and 4-4 under Chadwick. They are looking to win their home opener for the fourth year in a row. A&M-Corpus Christi is 197-138 all-time at home and 83-70 in the American Bank Center. A&M-Corpus Christi finished 13-1 at home last year.
 
- Wednesday will be just the second-ever meeting between the Islanders and the Dust Devils (although the two have played in three other exhibition games). A&M-Corpus Christi won the first encounter in a low-scoring 53-34 affair on Dec. 5, 2017.
 
- Junior Torrionna Nesbitt is the granddaughter of Linda Shiflett-Irvin, whose nephew is NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.
 
- Chadwick returns his entire coaching staff. Associate head coach Roxanne White and assistant coach Darren Brunson have been with him since the beginning and enter their ninth seasons. Assistant coach Sherrie Tucker begins her third season.
 
Safety Protocols
- Security screening lines will be adjusted to allow for social distancing as possible.
 
- All Guest Services & Security staff will be required to wear facemasks and gloves at all times.
 
- Social Distancing Markers will be added for line queues.
 
- Hand sanitizing stations will be added throughout entry points and the concourse.
 
- Arena seats and high touch points areas will be fully sanitized after every event with hospital grade disinfectant.
 
- Additional housekeeping staff will be on-site to continuously clean restrooms throughout the event.
 
- Sneeze guards will be added at concession points of sale.
 
- No cash transactions at concessions.
 
- All shared condiment & utensil stations will be replaced with single use condiment packets and pre-packaged utensils kept behind the concession stand counters.
 
- All staff will complete COVID-19 screening upon entering the facility.
 
Stay Social
- Keep up with the women's basketball program via its Facebook page (Islanders Women's Basketball) and follow the program on Twitter (@Islanders_WBB) and Instagram (@IslandersWBB).
 
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