CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 16-0 scoring run by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program in the final 7:53 minutes secured the 65-58 win over UTRGV on Saturday in game two of the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
With the win, A&M-Corpus Christi (3-5) and UTRGV (4-4) split the yearly series in the showdown after the Vaqueros edged the Islanders 68-65 in overtime on Nov. 29. Though, UTRGV secured the attendance point after having a crowd of 2,786 in Edinburg compared to A&M-Corpus Christi's 1,448.
The Islanders were ahead 34-32 at the half, but went down by as much as nine at the 7:53 mark in the fourth quarter. The UTRGV lead wouldn't hold up, however, as A&M-Corpus Christi took control from then on to post 16 unanswered points for the come-from-behind victory.
The win extended A&M-Corpus Christi's home-winning streak to 17 games, the fifth longest streak in the nation. The Islanders have outscored the opposition 198-142 at home this season.
Similar to the first meeting between the teams, three Islanders scored in double figures with senior
Alecia Westbrook knocking in the team-high 17 points along with grabbing 16 rebounds for a double-double. Redshirt senior
Makinna Serrata scored 15 points and junior
Violeta Verano added 11, with both shooting 100 percent at the free throw line.
UTRGV also had three players score in double figures, with Iyana Dorsey leading the Vaqueros at 17 points. Charlotte O'Keefe and Halie Jones scored 13 and 11 points, respectfully.
Although the Vaqueros jumped out ahead early, Serrata hit the long-range shot to give the Islanders a 5-4 lead at the 7:11 mark in the opening quarter. Sophomore
Jaeda Whitner netted a goal from beyond-the-arc at the 5:02 mark to extend that lead to 10-6, but the teams ended even 16-16 by the end of the first.
A free throw by UTRGV started the second, but back-to-back field goals by Westbrook pulled the Islanders back ahead 20-17. A pair of jumpers by Serrata helped A&M-Corpus Christi go up 26-23 at the 6:01 mark before some shots fell for UTRGV to reverse the lead. Sophomore
Annukka Willstedt shot from deep for three at the 1:47 mark and the Islanders headed to the intermission up 34-32.
Westbrook scored eight of her points in the third with the help of a made three-pointer, but it was the only quarter where the Vaqueros outscored the Islanders, as UTRGV led 51-49 heading into the final quarter.
UTRGV scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter for a 58-49 score which ended on a three-pointer at the 7:53 mark. It gave the Vaqueros their largest lead of the game, but A&M-Corpus Christi fought out of a timeout with 10 consecutive points as the layup by junior
Paige Allen reversed the score 59-58. The fight didn't end there, as the Islanders continued powering down the stretch to tack on six more unanswered points with junior
Mireia Aguado knocking in the last bucket of the game for the 65-58 final score.
In both meetings this season, the Islanders kept the Vaqueros to under a .177 field goal percentage in the fourth quarters.
The Islanders will have some time off before next playing at home again on Dec. 12 when they host St. Thomas (TX) in the Dugan Wellness Center at 7 p.m. CT.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 28-17 all-time against UTRGV and 16-7 when the teams play in Corpus Christi.
- Saturday was the first and only non-conference game to be played at the American Bank Center this season. The Islanders improved to 218-144 all-time at home and 90-72 at the American Bank Center.
- It was the second game in a row that three Islanders scored in double figures. The Islanders scored more bench points than UTRGV in both games of the season series.
- The Islanders forced 18 UTRGV turnovers. They are 3-0 this season when they post a positive turnover margin as well as keeping the opposition to under 60 points.
- Westbrook turned in her 21st career double-double and third this season. Her 16 rebounds matched her career-high set against Schreiner on Dec. 17, 2021. Her 17 points matched her season-high, set on Nov. 20 against Western Colorado.
- Serrata went 6-of-9 from the floor to record her 37th career double figure scoring game, fifth of the season and second in a row. She continues to average double digits and improved to 11.1 points per game, the team-high.
- Despite running into foul trouble, Verano submitted her 12th double figure scoring game, second this season and second in a row. Topping her previous season-best, Verano recorded eight assists against UTRGV.
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