CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Upping its winning-streak to five games, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program used a career-high 23 points from junior
Alecia Westbrook to defeat McNeese 72-61 on Thursday at the American Bank Center.
Westbrook hit five field goals and was 13-of-14 from the free throw line to lead the charge. She was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.
The Islanders (10-6, 2-0 SLC) improved to 9-0 at home where they've outscored the opposition 657-455.
The game was tight late in the third with A&M-Corpus Christi leading 48-45 when it scored the final two points of the quarter and the first seven points of the fourth to create separation 57-45. McNeese (5-10, 0-2 SLC) cut the deficit to 66-61 late but the Islanders scored the final six points of the game to stay in front.
Westbrook's contribution from the free throw line played a large role in A&M-Corpus Christi shooting a season-high percentage of .833 (25-30) as a team. She also helped the Islanders post a 28-18 edge in the paint.
Senior
Makinna Serrata and sophomore
Violeta Verano aided the attack with 12 points apiece. Serrata also recorded seven rebounds, while Verano pulled down six.
McNeese was paced by Desirae Hansen's 15 points including a trio of three-pointers. The Cowgirls entered the game leading the SLC in scoring with 71.6 points per game.
The Islanders started slow and trailed 6-2 midway through the first quarter. Three-pointers by Verano and Allen got them going, and they took the lead 10-7 on a lay-up by Westbrook. A fast-break bucket by Verano extended it to 17-13 at the end of the first.
Sophomore
Ariah Powell drilled a long-range shot to make it a 28-20 game with 7:19 to go in the second. Powell hit another jumper to put the Islanders up 32-20 with 6:30 remaining. The Cowgirls got back in it with a 7-0 deficit but A&M-Corpus Christi still led 38-32 at the intermission.
McNeese opened the third on a 10-2 spurt to take a 42-40 edge with 7:29 left. The Islanders still trailed 32-32 when Serrata hit a jumper to spark six straight points to go back in front 48-43. A pair of free throws by sophomore
Mireia Aguado had them still up 50-45 heading into the fourth.
A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first seven points of the fourth, which was the turning point in the game after Verano nailed a three to make it 57-45 with 6:02 remaining. The Islanders were up 66-55 when the Cowgirls made a late push to trim the deficit to 66-61 with 44 seconds left but didn't score the rest of the way and were forced to foul.
The Islanders will close out the weekend with another home game Saturday when they host HBU at 1 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
NOTES
- The Islanders are now 11-8 all-time against McNeese and 8-2 at home. A&M-Corpus Christi has won the last four meetings but the two teams did not play last season. The Islanders have not lost at home to the Cowgirls since 2013-14.
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 210-144 all-time at home and 85-72 in the American Bank Center.
- Head coach
Royce Chadwick is one win away from 700 in his career. He's also nine SLC victories away from becoming the winningest coach in an SLC career. He's chasing James Smith's mark of 339 wins at Northwestern State from 1987-04. Chadwick has 328 wins including 31 from SHSU, 173 from SFA and 124 as an Islander.
- The Islanders improved to 9-0 when leading at half and 9-0 when they outrebound the opposition. A&M-Corpus Christi held a 42-36 advantage on the glass and entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin (+5.7).
- Westbrook surpassed her previous career-high of 19 points set twice. Her 13 made free throws topped her previous high of nine. Westbrook tallied her 29th career double-figure scoring game and 12th in the last 13 matches. She's grabbed at least eight rebounds in every game this season.
- Serrata notched her 21st career double-figure scoring game and 10th this year. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Her seven rebounds were two shy of matching her career-high.
- Verano continued her streak of distributing at least two assists in every game. She submitted her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the year.
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