Islanders Look to Bounce Back on the Road this Weekend at Wichita State & Kansas

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WICHITA, Kan. – To tip-off a three-game road trip, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program will head to Wichita State for a 2 p.m. game Friday at Charles Koch Arena, followed by a 6 p.m. Sunday affair at Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
 
The Islanders (0-1) will look to shake-off an 89-76 defeat to Texas A&M-International on Wednesday. A&M-Corpus Christi outscored the Dustdevils in all the specialty stats including points off turnovers, points in the paint, second chance points, fast break points and bench points, but TAMIU shot 15-35 (.429) from 3FG.
 
Sophomore Alecia Westbrook stood out with a career-high 16 points to go along with 7 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. She was following up on a 2019-20 season where she shot a team-high .520 from the field (top-five all-time in single-season history) and set the program record for most blocks for a freshman with 30.
 
Of the six freshmen on the squad, three of them scored in double-figures Wednesday. Paige Allen got the start and netted 12 points, while Jade Thompson and Nabaweeyah McGill came off the bench to score 10 apiece.
 
Friday will be the season-opener for Wichita State (0-0), which is coming off a 16-15 season overall and 7-9 in the American Conference. The Shockers bring back their leading scorer in senior guard Mariah McCully who averaged 12.6 points per game last year.
 
The Jayhawks (1-0) opened the season with a 78-62 victory over Northern Colorado. Holly Kersgieter led the team with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kansas finished 15-14 overall and 4-14 in the Big 12 last year. The team brought back 11 student-athletes including the team's leading scorer Aniya Thomas (12.6 ppg).
 
The Islanders will conclude the three-game road trip at UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday. Their next home game is Saturday, Dec. 5 when they host St. Edwards at 2 p.m. in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi will play its first-ever games against Wichita State and Kansas. On Sunday, the Islanders will go for their first win over a school in a Power Five conference since 2009-10 when they beat both Alabama and Washington.
 
- The Islanders are the defending Southland Conference Regular season champions after finishing the year 23-7 overall and 17-3 SLC. The conference tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. The 17-3 SLC record was the best-ever in program history.
 
- Head coach Royce Chadwick is the reigning SLC Coach of the Year winner. He's in his ninth season at the helm and 37th year overall as a head coach. 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 Islanders reloaded this season after losing their five leading scorers and all five starters. A&M-Corpus Christi brought in seven newcomers including six freshmen.
 
- Giana Wright is the lone senior on the squad. She's recorded 136 career points and 118 rebounds.
 
- Junior Torrionna Nesbitt is the granddaughter of Linda Shiflett-Irvin, whose nephew is NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.
 
- Chadwick returned his entire coaching staff this year. Associate head coach Roxanne White and assistant coach Darren Brunson have been with him since the beginning and are in their ninth seasons. Assistant coach Sherrie Tucker is in her third season.
 
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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