A&M-Corpus Christi Eyes Undefeated Home Season against Nicholls on Senior Night

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Going for the first undefeated home season in program history, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team will host Nicholls at 5 p.m. Wednesday on Senior Night at the American Bank Center.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (17-9, 9-3 SLC) is 13-0 at home, where it has outscored the opposition 892-650 this season. The Islanders were 13-1 at home in 2019-20, which stands as the best home record in program history. A&M-Corpus Christi currently holds the seventh longest active home winning-streak in the nation.
 
Prior to the game, A&M-Corpus Christi will honor Alexandria Pollard and Diamond Wraggs on Senior Night. Pollard is a two-year letterwinner that transferred from Bossier Parish CC, while Wraggs is a grad transfer playing her final year after coming from Mississippi Valley State.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is in third-place in the Southland Conference standings but only one game out of first. The Islanders are a half-game out of second behind Southeastern which has played one more game. The top-two teams in the final standings earn a double bye to the semifinals of the conference tournament, while the third and fourth seeds earn a single bye to the quarterfinals. The Islanders have already clinched a top-four seed.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi split the season series with the top-two teams in the standings, HBU and Southeastern. The Islanders won the home meetings and also beat the Huskies in a non-conference game at the Dugan Wellness Center after the SLC Preseason Tipoff was canceled on the women's side.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi has won four SLC Player of the Week awards as a team. It includes three by junior Alecia Westbrook and one from senior Makinna Serrata.
 
Serrata averages a team-high 14.2 points per game, including 16.5 in conference play. She's shooting .807 from the free throw line and ranks third in the SLC in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage (.491).
 
Westbrook ranks top-30 in the nation in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and averages a double-double with 12.7 points per game. She leads the SLC in rebounding and is third in steals (2.0 spg) and field goal percentage (.493).
 
As a team, A&M-Corpus Christi ranks 23rd in the country in steals per game (10.6 spg) and top-30 in field goal percentage defense (.360). In addition to those categories, the Islanders lead the SLC in assists (15.1 apg).
 
The Islanders have been stout defensively all season and have held the opposition to 60 points or less in 10 of 12 conference games.
 
Nicholls (4-19, 2-10 SLC) is looking to snap a six-game skid. Most recently, it dropped a pair of road games 73-60 at Northwestern State and 71-45 at Southeastern. Chelsea Cain leads the team with 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per outing.
 
The game can be watched live on ESPN+ with Doug Kesterson on the call.
 
NOTES
- Head coach Royce Chadwick has 209 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 209-100 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 85 at A&M-Corpus Christi. Chadwick also reached the 700-win total in his career earlier this season and is up to 706.
 
- The Islanders are 11-9 all-time against Nicholls and 7-2 at home. A&M-Corpus Christi has won the last three meetings overall including a 64-60 road win earlier this year. Sophomore Violeta Verano turned in 17 points and five assists in the victory.
 
- The Islanders are one win away from tripling their win total from last season when they finished 6-13.
 
- The Islanders went on a six-game winning-streak in conference play. It included road wins at Northwestern State, Nicholls and New Orleans.
 
- In the school record book, Westbrook ranks second in her career in rebounding average (7.7), third in field goal percentage (.508), third in double-doubles (16), sixth in defensive rebounds (403), seventh in free throws made (253), seventh in total rebounds (573), ninth in free throw attempts (341) and 10th in steals (121).
 
- Verano leads the league in assists with 4.7 per game and has dished out at least a pair of assists in every game this year. Verano is averaging 10.0 points per game in conference.
 
- Sophomore Nabaweeyah McGill ranks third in the SLC in blocks with 1.2 per game. Her season-high is seven against UIW in the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
- There are only four current student-athletes in the entire Southland Conference that have won an SLC championship, and all four are on A&M-Corpus Christi: Westbrook, Serrata, Hayle Campbell and Olivia Dowden.
 
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