CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Winning its home opener, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program came out of the gates hot and downed UTRGV 66-57 Sunday at the Dugan Wellness Center in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
With the wire-to-wire win, A&M-Corpus Christi takes a 16-6 lead (each win counts as three points) over UTRGV as an institution in the South Texas Showdown standings, which is an annual rivalry between the two schools in 12 sports. The Islanders lead the all-time yearly series 4-1.
A&M-Corpus Christi drew a crowd of 716 on Sunday. UTRGV will have to top that on Dec. 14 with one attendance point at stake.
The Islanders (1-1) got out to 13-0 lead and held UTRGV (0-2) scoreless until the 4:10 mark of the first quarter. A&M-Corpus Christi led 35-19 at the half and 49-32 at the end of the third. The Vaqueros made a run down the stretch but were too far behind to threaten the outcome.
A&M-Corpus Christi's defense stood out and limited the Vaqueros to 21-64 (.328) from the field and 4-14 (.167) from three-point range.
Senior
Makinna Serrata registered a career and game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill was also in double-figures with 11 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore
Violeta Verano ended with seven points and a game-high six assists, while junior
Alecia Westbrook totaled seven points and 10 rebounds.
The Vaqueros also had a pair of double-figure scorers with Jessica Martino scoring 13 points off the bench and Taylor Muff with 12 points and six rebounds.
Both teams forced 23 turnovers, but the Islanders got the better of it by outscoring the Vaqueros 20-13 off them.
Senior
Alexandria Pollard started the scoring with a jumper and Serrata followed with an and-one. Field goals by Serrata, freshman
Annukka Willstedt and McGill increased it to 13-0 with 4:22 to go, and the Islanders led 15-5 after the first.
A&M-Corpus Christi scored 20 points in the second quarter, including seven by Serrata. Westbrook hit a pair of free throws to make it a 23-7 game, and the Islanders maintained a 35-19 advantage at the intermission.
The team's largest lead of the game 47-22 came on a free throw by McGill with 5:37 to go in the third. The Vaqueros ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, but A&M-Corpus Christi was still ahead 49-32 heading into the fourth.
The Islanders led 62-43 with 2:55 remaining when UTRGV made a final push and used a 9-0 run to trim it to 62-52 with 1:13 left. Though, sophomore
Ariah Powell made four consecutive free throws in the final minute and the hole was too deep for the Vaqueros in the end.
It was the first of two meetings this year between A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV. The Islanders will travel to Edinburg, Texas for the rematch on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
Next up, A&M-Corpus Christi will remain at home Wednesday when it hosts St. Thomas (TX) at 7 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center.
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 24-14 all-time against the Vaqueros and 14-6 at home.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 202-144 all-time at home and 48-28 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
- Serrata's previous career-high was 17 points in the season finale at HBU last year. She was 9-of-18 from the floor and recorded her second straight double-figure scoring game after opening with 11 points at Texas A&M on Tuesday. Serrata netted her 13th career double-digit scoring affair.
- McGill matched her career-high of 11 points, set at HBU in the finale last year. She etched her third career double-figure scoring game on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
- Verano is averaging 5.0 assists per game after distributing six today and four in the opener against the Aggies.
- Westbrook has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in both games this year and 13 times in her career. She hit the team's first three-pointer of the season today and the first of her career in the third quarter.
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