LUBBOCK, Texas – Despite possessing a 10-point advantage in the first quarter, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball couldn't hold on as Texas Tech powered back to win 69-49 Monday night at the United Markets Center in the 2022-23 season opener.
The Islanders (0-1) got off to a hot start against the Lady Raiders (1-0) and led 16-9 after the first quarter of play. Though, Texas Tech responded with a 21-3 run in the second quarter to build a lead and never look back. The key stat from the night was Texas Tech scoring 35 points off the bench compared to A&M-Corpus Christi's 13.
Freshman
Maya Ellis led the Islanders with 11 points, two shy of her career-high. Ellis scored four field-goals, three of which were from long-range. It marked the first game in her career where she knocked down multiple three-pointers.
Senior
Alecia Westbrook, a Preseason All-Conference First-Team selection, was a bucket away from double-digit points, turning in eight on the night along with four rebounds. She led the team in steals with three. Senior
Makinna Serrata and junior
Violeta Verano each turned in six points, while Verano and junior
Justis Odom matched Westbrook with four rebounds each.
The Lady Raiders were led by Jazmaine Lewis who scored the game-high 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
The first bucket of the season came from a jumper by the lone freshman for the Islanders,
Bruna Anguera, for a 2-0 lead. The layup by Serrata extended that lead to 4-0 before Texas Tech got on the board at the 6:53 mark. A pair of threes by Verano gave the Islanders its largest lead at 16-6, and A&M-Corpus Christi held an advantage through the remainder of the first quarter.
Texas Tech began a 6-0 run before the free throw by Westbrook kept the Islanders ahead by a bucket 17-15. Serrata would score at the 3:22 mark, but the Lady Raiders would go on to shoot 7-11 from the field to take a 30-19 lead into the half.
The third quarter was highlighted by a three-pointer and a layup by senior
Hayle Campbell, but Texas Tech would extend its lead to 48-30. The fourth quarter saw a final push by the Islanders, who scored 19 of their points here. Ellis made all of her three-pointers in the final three minutes of the game, but the effort fell short as Texas Tech closed out the 69-49 win.
Up next, A&M-Corpus Christi will continue on the road to face Texas A&M Thursday night at 7 p.m. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi began its 24
th season of basketball. The Islanders finished the 2021-22 year 19-10 overall and 11-3 SLC.
- The 2022-23 season marks the third time the Islanders will have opened their season against 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 were picked to finish first out of ten in the SLC Preseason Poll for the first time in program history.
-
Royce Chadwick began his 11
th season at the helm and 39
th year overall as a head coach. He is the winningest coach in SLC history.
- Ellis made three three-pointers in the game for the first time in her career. Her previous high was one against Incarnate Word on March 5, 2022.
- Verano downed two three-point field goals, the first time since February 19 she hit multiple threes in a game.
- The Islanders outshot Texas Tech 7-4 from behind the three-point line.
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