CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Dominating St. Thomas (TX) 80-23, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team made history as it broke the program record for fewest points allowed in a game on Monday night in the Dugan Wellness Center.
The win extended A&M-Corpus Christi's (4-5) home-winning streak to 18 games, the fourth longest in the nation, after the defense gave its record-breaking performance. The 23 points topped the previous school record of fewest points allowed in a game, which was set at 32 after the Islanders beat UTEP 69-32 in 2001-02. The offense was hot too, however, as it was the first time this season the Islanders scored 80+ points in a game and shot above 50 percent from the field (54.5).
The Islanders came out of the gates quick, going on a 17-0 scoring run to open the game. The Celts (1-8) could only net four field goals in the first half as the Islanders held their highest halftime lead of the season at 44-13. A&M-Corpus Christi didn't slow down as the defense held St. Thomas to just a .074 shooting percentage in the second half. The Islanders outrebounded the Celts 52-26 for their largest rebounding advantage of the season.
Sophomore
Jaeda Whitner came off the bench to lead the Islanders in scoring with 13 points. She was one of four Islanders to score in double figures as sophomore
Maya Ellis turned in 11 and senior
Alecia Westbrook and
Makinna Serrata both scored 10.
Junior
Nabaweeyah McGill led the team in rebounding with eight and blocked two shots, both of which were her season-highs.
St. Thomas was led by Amber Bourgeois with seven points, two rebounds and a steal. Audrey Hernandez forced three A&M-Corpus Christi turnovers and grabbed three rebounds.
The fast-paced Islanders opened the game on a 17-0 run fueled by a pair of steals by junior
Violeta Verano which both resulted in fastbreak points. St. Thomas finally broke its silence with a layup at the 3:47 mark, but A&M-Corpus Christi would hold the Celts to just three points in the opening quarter to lead 24-3.
The Celts turned in their highest scoring quarter in the second, but a second-chance bucket by Whitner extended the Islanders' lead to 30-5 with 7:38 remaining in the first half. Field goals by Ellis and senior
Hayle Campbell helped the Islanders to a comfortable 44-13 lead at the intermission.
The third quarter opened with a 12-0 scoring run by the Islanders with Verano, Westbrook, and junior
Paige Allen scoring in the paint. A big block by Serrata at the 8:31 mark kept St. Thomas quiet until the Celts headed to the free throw line at the 4:31 mark. Campbell responded quickly with the long-range shot on the fastbreak to lead it 59-14. A few more shots fell on both ends, but the game headed to the final quarter with the Islanders leading 67-19.
McGill from inside and junior
Sasha Shishkina from beyond-the-arc kept the Islanders up 72-21 in the fourth quarter. The jumper by Ellis at the 1:37 mark gave A&M-Corpus Christi its largest lead of the season at 78-21 (+57) and the layup by McGill with 0:20 remaining secured 80 points for the Islanders as the game would end with that same lead at 80-23.
Next up, the Islanders will hit the road to take on Texas State on Friday at 7 p.m. A&M-Corpus Christi will then return home for another competitive matchup against Washington State on Monday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Dugan Wellness Center.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi maintained its perfect record against the Celts, improving to 5-0 all-time. Each meeting has been played in Corpus Christi and the Islanders now average 76.8 ppg against St. Thomas.
- The Islanders are 4-0 when holding the opposition to under 70 points and posting a positive turnover margin.
- All available student-athletes saw at least 10 minutes of playing time, as the Islanders had 49 points off the bench. It was the fourth time this season that at least 14 Islanders played in a single game.
- Whitner came off the bench for her career-high 13 points. It was her second double-figure scoring game and fourth to have scored multiple three-pointers this season.
- Ellis went 4-of-5 from the field to match her season-high of 11 points. It was her second double digit scoring game of the season.
- Serrata was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for 10 points to turn in her 38
th career double figure scoring game, sixth of the season and second in a row. She is the only Islander to average in double digits with 11.0 ppg.
- Westbrook submitted her 44
th career double digit scoring game, fifth of the season and second in a row.
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