NEW ORLEANS – Storming out of the gates hot, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program put the game out of reach early in a 69-45 victory over New Orleans on Thursday at Lakefront Arena.
A&M-Corpus Christi (14-7, 6-1 SLC), which has won nine of its last 10 games, led 23-10 after the first quarter and 39-16 at the half to break away from UNO (1-14, 0-8 SLC). It was a wire-to-wire win as the lead never dropped below double-figures after the first quarter.
The Islanders shot .509 from the field and locked down defensively to hold the Privateers to a .245 mark.
Leading the attack was senior
Makinna Serrata with 16 points and six rebounds. Junior
Hayle Campbell aided the offense with 10 points.
Sophomore
Violeta Verano recorded nine points and eight assists. Senior
Diamond Wraggs turned in eight points and a career-high seven rebounds.
UNO was led by Jomyra Mathis who netted a game-high 19 points. DeArica Pryor scored 14.
The Islanders outrebounded the Privateers 44-29 and held a 34-14 advantage in points n the paint.
The Islanders took control early as a jumper and a three-pointer by Verano put them up 7-2. After the Privateers scored the next basket, A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a 12-0 run which included a pair of lay-ups by sophomore
Mireia Aguado to lead 19-4. Sophomore
Ariah Powell scored the last bucket of the quarter in transition after a steal by junior
Alecia Westbrook to make it a 23-10 game.
Campbell started the second with a three-pointer to increase it to 26-10. A&M-Corpus Christi's next bucket came in transition as Verano dropped a no-look pass behind to sophomore
Paige Allen for the score. A three-pointer by Serrata concluded the scoring as the Islanders took a 39-16 advantage into the break.
The Islanders scored the first four points of the third after a jumper by Verano and a put-back by Wraggs to lead 43-16 at the 7:36 mark. Still up 46-17, the Privateers went on an 11-0 run to cut it to 46-28 with 1:14 left. A&M-Corpus Christi carried a 48-30 lead into the fourth after senior
Alexandria Pollard hit a deep two-pointer near the end of the quarter.
A pair of jumpers by Campbell early in the fourth made it a 52-32 gap with 7:37 to go. A&M-Corpus Christi went on a 7-0 run which included five points by Serrata to lead 63-39 with 2:53 remaining. Junior
Olivia Dowden got in on the action with a pair of buckets in the closing minutes.
The Islanders will look to keep rolling Saturday when they travel to Nicholls for a 1 p.m. tip at Stopher Gym.
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 15-3 all-time against UNO and have won the last seven meetings. The Islanders are now 5-3 on the road against the Privateers.
- The Islanders have yet to allow more than 61 points in a conference game. It was the fourth time they held an SLC opponent to under 50 points.
- Head coach
Royce Chadwick is up to 206 career SLC victories and is chasing James Smith's mark of 210 wins at Northwestern State from 1987-04 to become the winningest coach in league history. Chadwick's career SLC record is 206-98 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 82 at A&M-Corpus Christi.
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked 28th in the nation in steals per game (10.6 spg) and swiped away 14. Verano and Westbrook recorded three apiece.
- The Islanders improved to 13-0 when leading at half and 13-0 when they outrebound the opposition.
- Serrata notched her 25th career double-figure scoring game, 14th this year and seventh in her last eight games. Her three long range shots were a career-best.
- Campbell etched her ninth career double-figure scoring performance and third this year. She was 3-of-5 from the field and made three free throws.
- Westbrook continued her streak of securing at least eight rebounds in every game this year.
Stay Social
Keep up with the women's basketball program via its Facebook page (
Islanders Women's Basketball) and follow the program on Twitter (
@Islanders_WBB) and Instagram (
@IslandersWBB).
#ShakasUp
