Women's Basketball Shuts Down Texas State for Big Road Win

SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball won its third game in a row and garnered its first road win of the 2022-23 season after defeating Texas State 56-47 on Friday night in Strahan Arena.

Despite a slow start, the Islanders (5-5) turned in a big second quarter to reverse the game and go up 24-16 at the half. Texas State (6-3) managed to tie things up in the third quarter, but A&M-Corpus Christi shot over 50 percent from the floor in the fourth to maintain its advantage and pull away with the 56-47 win. The difference maker was A&M-Corpus Christi taking 26 more shots than Texas State and 18 points coming from Bobcat turnovers.

Driving the Islanders offense was junior Violeta Verano who exploded in the second half to end as the game's leading scorer with 18 points, her season-high. She netted a pair of three-pointers, another season-high, to aid in her effort while also dishing out six assists and getting five steals, her career-high.

Verano was one of three Islanders to score in double figures. Redshirt senior Makinna Serrata turned in 14 points while freshman Bruna Anguera notched her career-high of 12 points. Senior Alecia Westbrook led the defense with 14 rebounds.

Texas State also had a trio in double figures, with Lauryn Thompson going 6-of-9 from the field to submit 13 points. The Bobcats shot a 45.2 field goal percent but was crippled with 20 turnovers.

Both teams experienced a scoring drought out of the gates, with a 2-2 score holding through a 4:10 mark in the opening quarter. The layup by junior Paige Allen was met with a pair of free throws by Verano, but the Bobcats would go up 10-4 to close out the first.

The second quarter opened with the fastbreak bucket by junior Mireia Aguado to spur a 7-0 scoring run by the Islanders. Texas State scored at the 6:10 mark to break the run and stay ahead 13-11, but Serrata and Anguera combined for 13 more points for A&M-Corpus Christi for the largest lead of the game at 24-14. The Bobcats added two points from the free throw line, but the Islanders led it 24-16 at the intermission.
 

The teams began exchanging buckets in the third quarter and Texas State managed to cut into A&M-Corpus Christi's lead to tie it 31-31 at the 1:19 mark. Junior Sasha Shishkina came off the bench to knock in a goal from beyond-the-arc with 0:24 remaining and the game headed to the final quarter with the Islanders leading it 36-33.

The three-pointer from Verano was met by Texas State's lone long-range shot on the night to make the score 39-38 within the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Islanders began pulling away 48-40 after Verano drew the and-one at the 5:31 mark for the three-point play. The Bobcats would make it a one-possession game, but Verano and Serrata connected on transition to make it 55-47 with 1:29 remaining and help the Islanders to the 56-47 final score. 
 

Up next, the Islanders will return home to fight for its 19th consecutive home win as they welcome Power Five Washington State on Monday at 7 p.m. CT in the Dugan Wellness Center. 

NOTES
- It was A&M-Corpus Christi's first win over Texas State since the 2013-14 season, when the Islanders won it 68-60 in San Marcos. 

- A&M-Corpus Christi is 4-0 this season when using this starting lineup. 

- The Islanders improved to 5-0 when holding the opposition to under 60 points and posting a positive turnover margin. Texas State entered the game ranked top-20 in the nation in turnover margin but the Islanders forced 20 Bobcat turnovers while only giving up 12. 

- The Islanders outrebounded Texas State 42-31. 22 of A&M-Corpus Christi's total were offensive rebounds, a season-high. 

- Verano entered the game ranked third in the Southland in assists per game and in assists:turnover ratio. She will improve in both, after recording six assists and only two turnovers. She also submitted her season-high 18 points for her 13th career double figure scoring game and third this season.

- Serrata turned in her 39th career double figure scoring game, seventh this season and third in a row. She entered the game averaging 11.0 ppg and will improve after her 14 points against Texas State.

- Anguera recorded her career-high 12 points for her first ever double figure scoring game. She also matched her career-best of blocks (1) and assists (2).

- Westbrook entered the game leading the Southland in rebounding at 9.0 and improved to 9.5 after grabbing 14 rebounds. It was her 31st career double digit rebounding game and fifth of the season

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