EDINBURG, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program fell 52-43 to UTRGV on Tuesday at Bert Ogden Arena, resulting in a season split in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
The Islanders (4-5) won the first meeting 66-57 at home on Nov. 14. A&M-Corpus Christi also won the attendance point 716-531.
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 23-10 with each win counting as three points and one point being awarded for attendance for men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and baseball.
A&M-Corpus Christi looked good early and led by eight in the first quarter, but UTRGV (4-5) responded with a big second quarter and extended its lead in the third. The Islanders attempted to come back late, but the Vaqueros were able to hold them off.
The Islanders were cold from the field and shot .276 overall, 1-of-10 from three-point range and 10-of-22 from the free throw line.
Junior
Alecia Westbrook registered a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. One rebound shy of a double-double was senior
Makinna Serrata with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore
Paige Allen tallied a team-high 12 points off the bench.
UTRGV was led by KaCee Kyle's 14 points. Sara Bershers ended with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Islanders used an 8-0 run to build a 12-4 lead in the first quarter after a second chance bucket by senior
Alexandria Pollard. The Vaqueros scored the next six points, but a lay-up by Serrata in the closing seconds kept A&M-Corpus Christi up 14-10 at the end of one.
After a lay-up by Westbrook to start the second, UTRGV came charging back with a big 13-0 run to jump ahead 23-16 with 4:48 left. The Islanders got it down to 23-22 after a lay-up by sophomore
Ariah Powell, but Bershers hit a three on UTRGV's final possession to make it 26-22 at the half.
A three-pointer by sophomore
Violeta Verano trimmed the deficit to 32-30 with 5:36 to go in the third. Though, the Vaqueros went on a 7-0 spurt to push their lead back up to 39-30 with 1:43 remaining.
In the fourth, UTRGV went up 44-34 when A&M-Corpus Christi made one last push. A lay-up by Serrata and a jumper by Allen got it down to 48-43 at the 1:28 mark, but the Islanders couldn't get any closer. The Vaqueros made four free throws in the final minute to stay ahead.
A&M-Corpus Christi will return home Friday when it hosts Schreiner at 7 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center. The Islanders are 4-0 at home this year.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 24-15 all-time against the Vaqueros and 10-9 on the road.
- The Islanders pulled down 14 offensive rebounds and recorded a 14-2 advantage in second chance points.
- Westbrook, who entered the game leading the league in rebounding, notched her third double-double of the season and 11th of her career. It was her sixth consecutive double-figure scoring game and 22nd of her career. It was also her sixth double-digit rebounding game of the season and 17th of her career. She entered the game ranked third in the SLC in steals (2.5 spg) and swiped three.
- Serrata etched her sixth double-figure scoring game of the year and 17th of her career. Her nine rebounds matched a career-high, set against UTRGV in the first meeting this year.
- Allen made six field goals, which were a season-high. It was her third double-digit scoring game of the season and 13th of her career.
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