CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Sophomore
Alecia Westbrook registered a career-high 16 points, but the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program fell 89-76 to Texas A&M-International on Wednesday at the American Bank Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi (0-1), the defending Southland Conference regular season champions, ran into a hot shooting TAMIU (1-0) squad that nailed 15 three-pointers and shot .429 from beyond-the-arc.
In addition to Westbrook's big night in scoring, she also matched her career-high with four career blocks and secured a team-high seven rebounds.
Westbrook was one of four Islanders in double-figures in scoring. In their first collegiate outings, freshman
Paige Allen tallied 12 points and freshmen
Jade Thompson and
Nabaweeyah McGill finished with 10 apiece.
TAMIU garnered a pair of double-doubles. Patrycja Jaworska ended with 21 points and 10 assists, while Nicole Heyn tabbed 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Dustdevils came out of the gates firing and built an early 16-4 lead. They continued to knock down the long-range shot and catapulted ahead 27-9 with 1:01 left in the first quarter. The Islanders ended the quarter strong though and a fast-break lay-up by Allen cut the deficit to 29-16 in the closing seconds.
A&M-Corpus Christi trimmed the deficit late in the second quarter. Down 43-30, a lay-up by Westbrook and an old-fashion three-point play by freshman
Mireia Aguado got it down to 43-35. The Islanders continued to surge and trailed just 45-41 after a lay-up by junior
Torrionna Nesbitt. TAMIU led 48-41 at the half.
The Dustdevils went on a big run in the middle of the third quarter to create separation. A 14-0 run had them ahead 75-52 with 1:18 remaining. The Islanders finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a lay-in by freshman
Delayna Gillard to trail 75-59 heading into the fourth.
TAMIU rebuilt their advantage to 85-65 when the Islanders made one last push. A lay-up by Allen sparked a 10-0 run as A&M-Corpus Christi trailed 85-75 with 1:40 to go. Though, the Islanders couldn't get any closer as the Dustdevils were able to wind down the clock to limit the number of possessions left in the game.
Up next, the Islanders will hit the road for a weekend swing in the state of Kansas. They'll take on Wichita State at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by a 6 p.m. Sunday contest at Kansas.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi had both its seven-game winning streak and seven-game home winning streak snapped.
- It was the first time the Islanders dropped a season opener in the last four years.
- A&M-Corpus Christi moved to 11-11 all-time in home openers. The Islanders are now 197-139 all-time at home and 83-71 in the American Bank Center.
- It was just the second-ever meeting between the Islanders and Dustdevils. A&M-Corpus Christi won the first encounter 53-34 on Dec. 5, 2017. The teams have also played in three exhibition games.
- Westbrook's 16 points surpassed her previous career-high of 14 set against Abilene Christian on Feb. 15, 2020. She was 6-of-10 from the field to turn in her sixth career double-figure scoring game. Westbrook's four blocks matched a career-high set against Nicholls on Dec. 18, 2019. She set the program record for most blocks for a freshman last year with 30.
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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