A&M-Corpus Christi Puts Game Out of Reach Early against St. Thomas

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program led 20-3 at the end of the first quarter and 45-15 at half en route to a 79-38 victory over St. Thomas (TX) on Wednesday in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (2-1) got it done on both of ends of the floor. Defensively, it limited the Celts to a 12-54 (.222) mark, including 1-of-16 (.063) in the first quarter. The Islanders also outrebounded St. Thomas 54-31 and pulled down 18 offensive boards.
 
Freshman Annukka Willstedt recorded a breakout game with a season-high 16 points to lead all scorers. She was one of three Islanders in double-figures along with freshman Maya Ellis with a season-high 13 points and sophomore Nabaweeyah McGill with a career-high 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Also making a big impact on the stat sheet was junior Alecia Westbrook with five points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
 
The Islanders held an advantage in nearly every statistic. They outscored the Celts 38-13 in bench scoring as every A&M-Corpus Christi student-athlete that entered the game made at least one field goal.
 
St. Thomas was led by Micayla Hamilton's nine points.
 
Hamilton scored the first bucket of the game, but then the Islanders responded with an astounding 19-2 run over the course of eight minutes. The run included seven points from Willstedt, and four points and 10 rebounds by Westbrook.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi increased the advantage to 33-6 midway through the second quarter after a fast-break lay-up by sophomore Violeta Verano. The Islanders went up 45-12 after a runner in the lane by junior Haley Campbell with 1:33 left.
 
The Celts were most resilient in the third quarter where they shot .462 from the field. They got the deficit down to 46-28 with 5:41 remaining, but the Islanders responded with an 8-0 run capped by a pair of free throws by senior Makinna Serrata to go back up 54-28.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi finished the game strong and limited St. Thomas to 1-of-10 (.100) shooting in the fourth. The largest lead of the game came on the final bucket as sophomore Paige Allen hit a jumper to put closure on a 79-38 decision.
 
The Islanders will wrap-up a three-game home stand Monday when it hosts Pacific at 7 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 4-0 all-time against St. Thomas (TX).
 
- The Islanders improved to 203-144 all-time at home and 49-28 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked second in the Southland Conference in offensive rebounding (14.0 orpg) and will see its average go up after pulling down 18.
 
- Willstedt posted her first career double-figure scoring game and went 7-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from long range. Her previous high in scoring was seven points against Texas A&M in the season opener.
 
- Ellis netted her first career double-figure scoring performance after hitting four field goals and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
- McGill, who made her first career start, notched her second consecutive double-digit affair after scoring 11 against UTRGV on Sunday and the fourth of her career. Her six rebounds matched a season-high. McGill was 5-of-7 from the field.
 
- Westbrook became the first student-athlete to grab 15 rebounds since Emma Coleman-O'Bryan had 18 against South Alabama on Nov. 14, 2019. The school record for rebounds in a game is 19 done twice, the last by Anita Jeffery against UTPA on Nov. 11, 2010. Westbrook has registered at least 10 rebounds in every game this year and 14 times in her career.
 


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