Islanders Look to Stay Hot on the Road at UNO, Nicholls

Islanders Game Notes | Watch vs. UNO | Watch vs. NICH | Live Radio | UNO Live Stats | NICH Live Stats

NEW ORLEANS – Having won eight of its last nine games, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program will hit the road for a 5 p.m. game Thursday at New Orleans at Lakefront Arena, followed by a 1 p.m. Saturday contest at Nicholls at Stopher Gym.
 
It will be back-to-back games for A&M-Corpus Christi (13-7, 5-1 SLC) against New Orleans (1-13, 0-7 SLC) after the two met in Corpus Christi last Thursday. The Islanders won 56-46 after senior Makinna Serrata poured in a game-high 21 points and junior Alecia Westbrook notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Islanders are one game out of first-place in the Southland Conference standings behind Southeastern. A&M-Corpus Christi is 5-1 in conference for the second time in the last three years.
 
In the team's last road game, they jumped out to a 38-19 halftime lead at Northwestern State to put it out of reach early. Serrata turned in 25 points and Westbrook poured in 21 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.
 
Westbrook ranks 16th in the nation in rebounding (11.1 rpg) and averages a double-double with 13.4 points per game. She's a three-time SLC Player of the Week winner this year. Westbrook has grabbed at least eight rebounds in every game this season and also ranks second in the league in steals (2.3 spg), third in minutes (33.0 mpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.506).
 
Tied for the team lead in scoring is Serrata with 13.4 points per game, including a team-high 16.4 in conference. Serrata ranks third in the SLC in field goal percentage with a .508 clip and has scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games.
 
Sophomore Violeta Verano leads the league in assists with 4.5 per game and has dished out at least a pair of assists in every game this year. Verano is averaging 8.7 points per game in conference.
 
Sophomore Nabaweeyah McGill leads the SLC in blocks with 1.5 per game. Her season-high is seven against UIW in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The Privateers nearly pulled out a road win Saturday at UIW but fell 54-49. UNO trailed 29-7 at the end of the first quarter, but made a furious comeback attempt to cut the deficit to four in the fourth. Nahja Scott tallied 15 points and six rebounds.
 
Nicholls (4-13 (2-4 SLC) will host UIW on Thursday, a team that it just beat 47-43 on the road. Chelsea Cain is the team leader with 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, including 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing in conference.
 
NOTES
- The Islanders are 14-3 all-time against UNO and have won the last six meetings. The Islanders are 4-3 on the road against the Privateers.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 10-9 all-time against Nicholls and have won the last two meetings. The two teams did not play each other last season.
 
- The Islanders are a perfect 11-0 at home this year where they've outscored the opposition 770-545. They have the 13th longest active home winning streak in the country.
 
- Head coach Royce Chadwick reached the 700-win total in his career this season and is up to 702. Chadwick also has 205 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 205-98 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 81 at A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi ranks 28th in the nation in steals per game (10.6). The Islanders lead the SLC in assists (15.1 apg), field goal percentage defense (.360) and rebounding margin (+6.1).
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 12-0 when leading at half and 12-0 when it outrebounds the opposition.
 
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