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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The first home game of the year will be a rivalry matchup for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program when it takes on UTRGV at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Dugan Wellness Center in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
It will be the first of two meetings this year between A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV. The Islanders will travel to Edinburg, Texas for the second on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is an annual rivalry series in which A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV compete against each other in 12 sports. The Islanders lead the all-time series 4-1. This year, A&M-Corpus Christi is ahead 13-6 with each win counting as three points and one point being awarded for attendance for men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and baseball.
The Islanders opened the season Tuesday against a nationally ranked opponent in No. 23 Texas A&M, which made it to the Sweet 16 last year. The Islanders led after the first four and a half minutes and trailed by just two with 1:33 left in the first. Senior
Makinna Serrata tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, while junior
Alexandria Pollard notched a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior
Alecia Westbrook, who finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, was named to the SLC Preseason All-Conference Second-Team. She led the league in rebounding last season with 8.8 per game. Westbrook was the team's leader in scoring, rebounding and assists with 12.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 assist per game, and was second in steals. She was the only student-athlete on the roster to start in all 19 games and registered 15 double-figure scoring games and eight double-doubles.
Like the Islanders, the Vaqueros also faced a ranked opponent on opening day. They put up a good fight against No. 21 South Florida in a 63-56 defeat. Grad transfer Taylor Muff, who arrived from Northern Colorado, led the team with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
UTRGV was picked to finish 10th in the Preseason WAC Poll. Sara Bershers was named to the Preseason All-Conference Second-Team after averaging 13.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last year.
The game can be watched live on ESPN+ with Doug Kesterson on the call.
NOTES
- The Islanders are 23-14 all-time against the Vaqueros and 13-6 at home.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 201-144 all-time at home and 47-28 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
- A&M-Corpus Christi began its 23rd season of basketball Tuesday. The Islanders were the 2020 Southland Conference champions, finishing the year 23-7 overall and 17-3 SLC. The conference tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, but the Islanders were the top seed. The 17-3 SLC record was the best-ever in program history.
- The Islanders returned four starters from last year's squad and their top seven leading scorers. Sophomore
Paige Allen averaged 9.6 points per game and Serrata 8.9 per outing. Serrata tallied a career-high 17 points in the final game of the season at HBU.
- There are only four current student-athletes in the entire Southland Conference that have won an SLC championship, and all four are on A&M-Corpus Christi: Westbrook, Serrata,
Hayle Campbell and
Olivia Dowden.
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