CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Head coach
Royce Chadwick reached the 700-win total in his collegiate coaching career after the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program shutdown HBU 57-44 on Saturday at the American Bank Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi (11-6, 3-0 SLC), did not allow a made field goal in the fourth quarter as HBU (6-8, 2-1 SLC) was 0-of-12 from the floor and 0-for-5 from three-point range. For the game, the Islanders held the Huskies to a .298 (14-47) shooting mark and .231 (3-13) from long range.
On the offensive end, senior
Makinna Serrata turned in 20 points and nine rebounds. Junior
Alecia Westbrook was also one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore
Violeta Verano tallied 10 points and five assists.
A&M-Corpus Christi extended its winning streak to six games. The Islanders also improved to 10-0 at home there they've outscored the opposition 714-499.
The Islanders controlled the glass where they outrebounded the Huskies 37-28. A&M-Corpus Christi also held a large 38-14 advantage in points in the paint.
HBU was guided by Kennedy Wilson's 11 points.
The Islanders led 8-5 early after a fast break lay-up by Serrata. An old-fashion three-point play by Serrata kept them ahead 13-9 with 2:41 left. A&M-Corpus Christi maintained a 15-12 edge after the first after a jumper by sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill.
The Islanders extended their lead to 21-14 with 6:27 to go after an inside bucket by Westbrook. After a three-pointer by HBU, A&M-Corpus Christi went on a 7-0 run to make it a 28-17 game with 4:08 left after a jumper by Serrata. A put-back by sophomore
Mireia Aguado in the closing seconds kept the team ahead 36-27.
After the Huskies trimmed the deficit to 38-34 in the third, the Islanders used a 6-0 spurt to push their lead back up to 44-34 after sophomore
Ariah Powell scored with 1:44 remaining.
A&M-Corpus Christi stood its ground in the fourth as HBU's only scoring came from the free throw line. A lay-up by Verano gave the Islanders a double-digit lead 53-42 at the 4:12 mark, and they extended it to 55-42 on a lay-in by Serrata with 2:43 left.
A&M-Corpus Christi will look to duplicate its performance Thursday when it plays its first conference road game of the season at Southeastern at 5:30 p.m.
NOTES
- Chadwick improved to 700-264, which includes stints at Panhandle State, Sam Houston, Howard JC, Stephen F. Austin, Marshall and A&M-Corpus Christi. He's in his 38th season as a collegiate head coach. With the win, Chadwick is also just eight SLC victories away from becoming the winningest coach in an SLC career.
- The Islanders are 3-0 in conference for the first time since 2009-10.
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 13-7 all-time against HBU and 8-3 at home. It was the Islanders second win over the Huskies this year after a 61-56 non-conference victory in the Dugan Wellness Center on Jan. 5.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 211-144 all-time at home and 86-72 in the American Bank Center.
- The Islanders improved to 10-0 this year when leading at half and 10-0 when they outrebound the opposition.
- Westbrook continued her streak of grabbing at least eight rebounds in every game this season. She registered her 30th career double-figure scoring game and 13th in the last 14 games.
- Serrata notched her third 20-plus scoring game of the year. It was also her 22nd double-digit scoring performance of her career, 11th this season and fourth in a row. Serrata was 9-of-13 from the floor and her nine made field goals matched a career-high.
- Verano etched her fifth double-figure scoring performance of the season and second in a row. She's dished out at least two assists in every game this year.
- McGill entered the game leading the SLC in blocks (1.5 bpg) and swatted four.
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