Islanders Go for Sweep over UTRGV in South Texas Showdown Rematch

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EDINBURG, Texas – Looking to complete the season sweep over UTRGV, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program will travel to Bert Ogden Arena for a 5 p.m. tip Tuesday in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
 
The Islanders (4-4) won the first meeting 66-57 over the Vaqueros (3-5) at home on Nov. 14. A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first 13 points of the game and the lead was never in doubt the rest of the way. Senior Makinna Serrata netted 20 points.
 
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is an annual rivalry series in which Texas 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 22-7 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 posted an attendance of 716 at home against UTRGV, which the Vaqueros will need to top in order to win the attendance point.
 
The Islanders will look to shake-off a 69-61 defeat at Rice on Saturday. A&M-Corpus Christi led by 10 with 2:05 to go in the third quarter when Rice began chipping away and came back in the fourth. Junior Alecia Westbrook submitted team-highs of 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals and was 5-of-6 from both the field and the free throw line.
 
Westbrook averages a double-double of 12.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She leads the league in rebounding, ranks third in steals (2.5 spg) and top-five in both field goal percentage (.534) and scoring.
 
Serrata is the team's leading scorer with 13.5 points per outing. She poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the team to an 81-61 victory over Pacific. It was her second 20-plus scoring game of the season along with a game vs. UTRGV.
 
Freshman Annukka Willstedt puts in 10.6 points per game and notched 25 points against Tulane on 7-of-8 3FGs. Willstedt leads the league in field goal percentage (.571) and is the team's leading three-point shooter with a 12-for-24 (.500) clip.
 
Sophomore Violeta Verano ranks first in the conference in assist (5.1 apg) and is second in assist:turnover ratio (1.2). Verano has dished out at least three assists in every game this year and distributed a career-high seven in her last outing at Rice.
 
UTRGV is coming off back-to-back wins over Southland Conference opponents HBU 67-58 and UIW 62-57, both at home. Tuesday will be the third of a seven-game home stand. Sara Berchers leads the team with 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game; she did not play in the first meeting against the Islanders.
 
The game can be watched on ESPN+ with a subscription or can be heard live for free on the Islanders Digital Network with Doug Kesterson on the call.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 24-14 all-time against the Vaqueros and 10-8 on the road.
 
- With a victory Tuesday, the Islanders would have a winning record after nine games for the fourth time in five years.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is going for its first road win of the season. The team is 4-0 at home.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi ranks first in the Southland Conference in several statistical categories including field goal percentage (.408), rebounding margin (+4.6), assists (15.9 apg), assist:turnover ratio (.95) and steals (13.1 spg)
 
- 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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