LUBBOCK, Texas – The SLC preseason favorites of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team will face Texas Tech in its 2022-23 season opener on Monday at 5:30 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena.
The game can be watched live on Big 12 Now/ESPN+, and can also be heard live for free on the Islanders Digital Network with Doug Kesterson on the call.
Royce Chadwick begins his 11
th season at the helm and 39
th year overall as a head coach. In the 2021-22 regular season finale victory over UIW, Chadwick became the winningest coach in SLC history with 211 career league wins, surpassing James Smith's mark of 210 from 1987-04 at Northwestern State. Chadwick's career SLC record is 211-100 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 87 at A&M-Corpus Christi. Chadwick also reached the 700-win total in his career is up to 708.
The Islanders return four starters from last year's squad and their top seven leading scorers, including Preseason All-Conference First-Team selections seniors
Makinna Serrata and
Alecia Westbrook.
Serrata, the 2022 SLC Student-Athlete of the Year, led the Islanders and ranked second in the conference with 407 points. She averaged 14.5 per game and shot .502 from the field to earn herself an All-Texas Honorable Mention.
Westbrook was named the 2021-22 Dave Campbell All-Texas Defensive Player of the Year. She was honored on the All-Texas Third-Team and SLC All-Conference First-Team after averaging a double-double of 13.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Westbrook ended the season ranked top-25 in the nation in rebounding and top-20 in free throws made.
Texas Tech was projected to finish seventh out of ten in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Lady Raiders are under the leadership of Krista Gerlich who begins her second year as the head coach of her alma mater.
In her first year, she coached the team to a 11-19 (4-14 Big 12) finish. The Lady Raiders return their No. 3 scorer in Rhyle McKinney who totaled 235 points and averaged 7.8 per game as a redshirt freshman last year. They also brought in seven newcomers.
Monday will mark the second all-time meeting between the Islanders and the Lady Raiders. In the 2018-19 meeting, Serrata made an appearance in the game as a true freshman at the time. She will be the lone player on either team to have been a part of both meetings.
The Islanders will make a stop at Texas A&M on Thursday before playing their home opener Wednesday, Nov. 16 when they host Texas Lutheran at 7 p.m. in the Dugan Wellness Center. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at goislanders.com/tickets or by phone at 361-825-BALL (2255). The ticket office can also be reached via email at tickets@tamucc.edu.
NOTES
- The Islanders will be going for their fourth win over a Power Five program in school history and the first since 2009-10 when they beat Alabama 96-90. A&M-Corpus Christi also defeated both Indiana and West Virginia in 2004-05.
- The Islanders will go for their first-ever win against Texas Tech as the teams have only faced each other once, which was in 2018-19 where the Red Raiders won 78-61.
- This will be Serrata's second time facing the Red Raiders as she was a part of A&M-Corpus Christi's 2018-19 squad as a true freshman.
- The Islanders open the 2022-23 season against Texas Tech and Texas A&M. This is the third time the Islanders will have started their season with two Power Five opponents and first since 2011-12 when they opened with Missouri and Colorado. The first time was in 2005-06 when A&M-Corpus Christi played Vanderbilt, Baylor, LSU and Nebraska in its first four games of the season.
- The Islanders posted their first undefeated home season in program history with a 14-0 mark during the 2021-22 season. A&M-Corpus Christi currently holds the seventh longest home-winning streak in the nation.
- A&M-Corpus Christi ranked top-30 in the country in both steals per game (10.2 spg) and field goal percentage defense (.361).
- A&M-Corpus Christi will begin its 24
th season of basketball. The Islanders finished the 2021-22 year 19-10 overall and 11-3 SLC.
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