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HAMMOND, La. – With sole possession of first-place on the line, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program will travel to Southeastern for a 5:30 p.m. tip Thursday at the University Center, and will close out the weekend at 1 p.m. Saturday against Northwestern State in Prather Coliseum.
A&M-Corpus Christi (11-6, 3-0 SLC) and Southeastern (7-6, 3-0 SLC) are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the Southland Conference. The game can be watched with a subscription on ESPN+ or heard for free on 1440 AM NewsTalk K-E-Y-S.
The Islanders enter play on a six-game winning streak with all six against SLC opponents. Wins over UIW, McNeese and HBU counted towards their conference records, while two victories over UIW and one over HBU were non-conference after the SLC Preseason Tipoff was canceled on the women's side.
The Islanders are coming off a 57-44 win over HBU where they did not allow a made field goal in the fourth quarter. In two wins over the Huskies this year, the Islanders did not make a single three-pointer but dominated the boards and the paint.
Junior
Alecia Westbrook is the reigning SLC Player of the Week winner, her third this season. She nearly averaged a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds in the wins over McNeese and HBU. On the season, Westbrook averages a double-double of 13.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, and her rebounding mark ranks 19th in the nation. Westbrook has grabbed at least eight rebounds in every game and has scored in double-figures in 13 of the last 14 contests.
Westbrook is one of two Islanders averaging in double-figures along with senior
Makinna Serrata with 12.8 points per game. Serrata is coming off a big performance of 20 points and nine rebounds against HBU.
Sophomore
Violeta Verano leads the league in assists with 4.4 per game and has dished out at least a pair of assists in every game this year. Verano is averaging 10.3 points per game in conference.
Leading the league in steals is sophomore
Paige Allen with 2.4 per game. She's grabbed three in all three conference games. Allen also scores 7.2 points per game.
Sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill leads the SLC in blocks with 1.6 per game. She swatted four in her last outing against HBU. Her season-high is seven against UIW in the Dugan Wellness Center.
Southeastern has been stout defensively, allowing just 55.5 points per game on the year. The Lady Lions have a balanced scoring attack led by Hailey Giaratano's 8.5 points per game. Caitlyn Williams averages 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in conference.
In league games, SLU carries a +12.0 rebounding margin, shoots .522 from the field and limits the opposition to .372 shooting.
Northwestern State (9-5, 2-1 SLC) is also off to a strong start and is coming off a big 75-47 road victory at New Orleans. The Lady Demons have non-conference wins over Arkansas State and UL-Monroe on their resume.
Candice Parramore is one of the league's top scorers with 13.4 points per game and 18.7 in conference. Monette Bolden is also a heavy contributor with 12.9 points per outing and 11.3 in conference.
NOTES
- Head coach
Royce Chadwick reached the 700-win total in his career as a collegiate head coach in the team's last game against HBU. Chadwick is also eight SLC victories away from becoming the winningest coach in an SLC career. He's chasing James Smith's mark of 210 wins at Northwestern State from 1987-04. Chadwick's career SLC record is 203-98 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 79 at A&M-Corpus Christi.
- The Islanders are 11-8 all-time against the Lady Lions and 12-5 against the Lady Demons.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2009-10. The program has never been 4-0 since joining a league in 2006-07. The Islanders previously competed as an independent since 1999-00.
- The Islanders rank eighth in the country in free throw attempts (389), 13th in free throws made (265) and 23rd in steals per game (11.0). In addition to those categories, the Islanders lead the SLC in assists (15.2 apg) and rebounding margin (+5.9).
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 10-0 when leading at half and 10-0 when it outrebounds the opposition.
- 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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