CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Senior
Alecia Westbrook turned in her 20
th career double-double and second in a row to propel the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team to a 63-46 win over Western Colorado on Sunday in the Dugan Wellness Center.
Western Colorado (1-2) led the game after the first quarter, but a 16-0 scoring run in the second quarter helped the Islanders (2-2) to a 37-24 lead at the intermission. The Mountaineers would get back within 10 at the 7:11 mark in the fourth, but A&M-Corpus Christi pulled away again for the 17-point final advantage.
The win marked the second straight for the Islanders who extended their home-winning streak to 16 games, the seventh longest in the nation. Westbrook's double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds was the game-high in both. Nine of her points came at the free throw line.
Redshirt senior
Makinna Serrata recorded her second double-figure scoring game of the season with 12 points after knocking down the game-high six field goals. Sophomore
Jaeda Whitner notched her first double-figure scoring game of the season, coming off the bench to score 10.
The Mountaineers were led by Emmery Wagstaff with 12 points. Rachel Cockman turned in eight points and four rebounds before getting into foul trouble, while Brooklyn Seymour got eight points and a block.
The Islanders won the tip-off, and Serrata's layup was good on the fastbreak for a 2-0 lead within the first four seconds of the game. Western Colorado would gain a 15-14 advantage before the jumper by sophomore
Annukka Willstedt reversed it to 16-15 at the 2:11 mark. Two free throws by the Mountaineers, however, reversed the score again as they led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter had A&M-Corpus Christi go on an immediate 16-0 scoring run with a trio of layups by Westbrook and the long-range goal by Willstedt. The layup and free throw by junior
Mireia Aguado kept the Islanders up 37-24 going into the half.
The Islanders stayed ahead by double-figures through the third, with the three-pointer by junior
Violeta Verano at the 2:56 mark extending it to a 47-32 score. The layup by Westbrook was matched with a jumper by the Mountaineers to take the game 49-36 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth featured a single-digit deficit for the first time since the second quarter, but the three-pointer by Whitner at the 5:56 mark gave the Islanders back a 12-point lead. The fourth also featured the largest lead of the game, which came within the last 30 seconds of the game after two free throws by Whitner created a 63-44 advantage for the Islanders. Western Colorado's last possession resulted in a jumper to end the game 63-46, Islanders on top.
Up next, the Islanders will travel to Puerto Rice to compete in the Puerto Rico Clasico. They will face Stony Brook and No. 22 Nebraska during the tournament.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 217-144 all-time at home and 57-28 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
- The home-winning streak of 16 games is tied for seventh longest in the nation.
- The Islanders outrebounded Western Colorado 36-29, and 13-6 in offensive rebounds. A&M-Corpus Christi has either outrebounded or tied all of their opponents this season in offensive rebounds.
- The Islanders are 2-0 when they outscore their opponents in the paint.
- Westbrook turned in her 20
th career double-double and she is now second all-time in the program's career record for double-doubles. The record is 29, set by Elisa Beagle (2005-10).
- Whitner came off the bench to score her career-high 10 points as an Islander. She was also 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, another career-high.
- The Islanders are continuing to receive votes in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top-25 AP Poll. They are the only team from the Southland Conference to be represented.
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