DENVER – A three-game winning-streak came to an end Friday for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program as Denver hit 19 three-pointers to take an 87-65 decision at Hamilton Gymnasium.
The 19 threes were the most A&M-Corpus Christi (3-2) has allowed in a single-game in school history.
The Islanders led 17-14 after the first quarter when Denver (2-3) responded by going 6-for-9 from three in the second to take a slight 44-41 edge at the half. The Pioneers hit five more threes in the third to create separation and six triples in the fourth to finish the game 19-for-44 (.432) from long-range.
"The lesson we learned tonight was that when you're on the road, you have to bring a little extra intensity that we just didn't have tonight," said head coach
Royce Chadwick. "We showed a little bit of our youth as we didn't continue to battle the way that we needed to when it got tough. I thought Denver played exceptionally well in the second half and lit us up."
Junior
Alecia Westbrook led the way for the Islanders with 17 points and eight rebounds and was 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Freshman
Paige Allen turned in 15 points and six steals.
Also in double-figures was freshman
Annukka Willstedt with 11 points. Sophomore
Violeta Verano dished out a career-high seven assists and sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill swatted a career-high four blocks.
Denver's Anna Jackson became the first student-athlete to ever hit 10 threes in a game against A&M-Corpus Christi as she finished with 36 points and was 10-for-17 from long-range. Meghan Boyd ended with 25 points and hit five triples.
The Islanders led 9-3 early after a steal by senior
Makinna Serrata led to a fast-break lay-up by Willstedt. A&M-Corpus Christi was still ahead 11-5 after a second-chance bucket by Westbrook. The Islanders were up 17-14 at the end of the first after a lay-up by Allen.
A&M-Corpus Christi was still ahead 37-35 after a jumper in the paint by Allen with 1:49 left in the second when the Pioneers started to catch fire. They ended the half with a pair of threes to go up 44-41, and that carried into the second half when they hit five more triples in the first five minutes to catapult ahead 59-45.
The Islanders got the deficit down to 63-56 at the end of the third after a three by Allen and a lay-up by junior
Hayle Campbell. Though, the long range shots continued to fall early in the fourth for Denver and it quickly went back up 69-56. The Pioneers extended it late in the fourth.
"This was not our best game by far and hopefully we'll be a little more in-tune tomorrow. Tulane is the best team here, so we have our work cut out for us. We're going to have to get down and defend, but we'll go regroup tonight and get ready for tomorrow," Chadwick said.
The Islanders will conclude the tournament tomorrow with a 2 p.m. (CT) tip against Tulane on a neutral court. The game can be watched on Pioneers All-Access with a subscription and can also be heard for free on the Islanders Digital Network with Doug Kesterson on the call.
NOTES
- The Islanders won the turnover battle 26-20 and outscored the Pioneers 32-22 off turnovers.
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game leading the league in assist:turnover ratio and distributed 16 assists on 24 made baskets.
- The Islanders outscored Denver 36-16 in the paint and 23-7 off the bench.
- Verano entered the game leading the conference in assists with 4.5 per outing and will see her average go up with seven in the game. Her previous high was six assists in the win over UTRGV.
- Westbrook registered her second straight double-figure scoring game and 18th of her career. Her nine made free throws matched a career-high set at New Orleans on Feb. 24, 2021. Westbrook has notched seven steals over the last two games.
- Allen's 15 points topped her previous season-high of 10 set against Pacific. It was her second consecutive double-figure scoring game and 12th of her career. Allen's six steals were one shy of her career-high seven set at Wichita State on Nov. 27, 2020. It was the third time in her career that she's grabbed at least five steals in a game.
- Willstedt posted her third straight double-figure scoring performance. She was 5-of-9 from the field and also recorded a pair of steals.
- McGill's four blocks doubled her season-high and topped her career-high of three set against Lamar on Feb. 20, 2021.
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