LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program attempted to rally late, but the six-game winning-streak came to an end Thursday in a 76-65 final to McNeese at the Legacy Center.
The first-place Islanders (17-8, 9-2 SLC) cut a 16-point deficit down to five in the fourth quarter but ultimately couldn't overcome a cold shooting night against McNeese (12-13, 7-5 SLC).
A&M-Corpus Christi shot .338 from the field and were 0-for-13 from three. Conversely, the Cowgirls posted a .531 field goal percentage and made seven threes.
Senior
Makinna Serrata, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week winner, led the way with 16 points. She was one of four Islanders in double-figures. Junior
Alecia Westbrook neared a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
A strong effort came from sophomore
Paige Allen with 13 points and four steals. Sophomore
Violeta Verano posted 12 points and six assists.
McNeese garnered a game-high 23 points from Kaili Chamberlin who was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Divine Tanks ended with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Serrata hit three jumpers early, but the Islanders trailed 13-8 at the first media timeout. The Cowboys extended their lead to 19-10 at the 2:42 mark after a pair of threes. Junior
Hayle Campbell drilled a mid-range shot late in the quarter, but the Cowgirls led 24-12 at the end of one after another three.
A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first four points of the second on jumpers by Verano and Serrata, but the Cowgirls continued to use the long-range shot to their advantage and the Islanders called timeout trailing 34-19 with 3:43 left. A buzzer-beating lay-up by sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill had the team down 40-26 at the intermission.
The teams exchanged buckets for most of the third. A jumper by Allen got it down to 44-34 with 6:24 to go, but McNeese scored the next four points to again lead by 14. The Islanders trailed 56-45 at the end of the third after McGill again scored in the closing seconds.
A 6-2 run to start the fourth had A&M-Corpus Christi down just 58-51 with 6:25 remaining. A fast-break lay-up by Verano made it 63-57 with 4:18 to go. The Islanders came within five at 68-63 after a lay-in by Westbrook at the 1:16 mark. A&M-Corpus Christi had a three-point look to cut it to two with 40 seconds left but it wouldn't fall and the Islanders were forced to foul.
The Islanders will wrap-up the weekend Saturday in a big game against HBU, a team that is tied for first with A&M-Corpus Christi in the standings. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Sharp Gym on ESPN+.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 11-9 all-time against McNeese and has won four of the last five.
- Coming into the night, the Islanders had not allowed more than 61 points in a conference game.
- The Islanders pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and tallied a 19-4 edge in second chance points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked 24th in the nation in steals (10.7 spg) and swiped 13. Allen led the team with four.
- Serrata continued her hot streak with her seventh consecutive double-figure scoring game, 18th this year and 29th of her career. She made six field goals.
- Westbrook notched her 35th career double-digit scoring performance and 18th this season. She's pulled down at least eight rebounds in 23 of 25 games on the year.
- Verano entered the night leading the SLC in assists (4.6 apg) and distributed six. She registered her 10th double-figure scoring game of the year and fourth in a row.
- Allen's 13 points were the most she's scored in conference this year. It was her 16th double-figure scoring game of her career and sixth this season.
- When A&M-Corpus Christi hosts Nicholls on March 2, the Islanders will be going for their first undefeated home season in program history. They were 13-1 in 2019-20. A&M-Corpus Christi currently holds the ninth longest active home winning-streak in the nation and has outscored the opposition 892-650 at home this year.
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