Chadwick Looks to Break SLC Career Wins Record in Regular Season Finale at UIW

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SAN ANTONIO – One win away from breaking the career Southland Conference wins record, head coach Royce Chadwick and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program will conclude the regular season Saturday in a 2 p.m. game against UIW at the McDermott Center.
 
Chadwick is currently tied for the all-time lead with James Smith who coached Northwestern State to 210 conference wins from 1987-04. Chadwick's career SLC record is 210-100 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 86 at A&M-Corpus Christi. Chadwick also reached the 700-win total in his career earlier this season and is up to 707.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (18-9, 10-3 SLC) is also playing for seeding and potentially a regular season championship if it gets help. The team is in third-place in the Southland Conference standings but only one game out of first.
 
The Islanders can win the league and earn the No. 1 seed with a win and a New Orleans loss to McNeese. A&M-Corpus Christi can move up to the No. 2 seed with a win and a Southeastern loss to Northwestern State. 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.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is coming off a Senior Night win over Nicholls where it scored the first 16 points of the fourth quarter to pull away for a 68-53. Before the game, the Islanders honored Alexandria Pollard and Diamond Wraggs. 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.
 
Senior Makinna Serrata averages a team-high 14.2 points per game, including 16.3 in conference play. She's shooting .811 from the free throw line and ranks third in the SLC in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage (.495).
 
Junior Alecia Westbrook ranks top-30 in the nation in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and averages a double-double with 13.0 points per game. She leads the SLC in rebounding and is third in steals (2.0 spg) and field goal percentage (.507).
 
Sophomore Violeta Verano leads the league in assists with 4.7 per game and is averaging 9.5 points per game in conference.
 
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).
 
UIW (9-15, 5-8 SLC) fell on the road to HBU 51-45 and McNeese 73-65 last weekend. The Cardinals are 7-5 at home.
 
UIW is locked into the No. 5 seed for the SLC Tournament. The Cardinals have the league's leading scorer in Jaaucklyn Moore who averages 17.6 points per game, including 18.8 points in conference.
 
The Islanders are going for their fourth win of the season against UIW. The two teams played a pair of non-conference games after the SLC Preseason Tipoff was canceled on the women's side. The three victories have come in three different venues, including one at the McDermott Center already.
 
NOTES
- The Islanders posted their first undefeated home season in program history with a 14-0 mark, which topped their 13-1 record in 2019-20. A&M-Corpus Christi currently holds the seventh longest active home winning-streak in the nation and has outscored the opposition 960-703 at home this year.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 16-2 all-time against UIW and have won the last six meetings.
 
- The Islanders have tripled their win total from last season when they finished 6-13.
 
- The Islanders have been stout defensively all season and have held the opposition to 60 points or less in 11 of 13 conference games.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi has won four SLC Player of the Week awards as a team. It includes three by Westbrook and one from Serrata.
 
- 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. In the two wins over HBU, A&M-Corpus Christi did not make a three-pointer in either.
 
- In the school record book, Westbrook ranks second in her career in rebounding average (7.7), third in field goal percentage (.514), third in double-doubles (17), sixth in defensive rebounds (411), seventh in free throws made (257), seventh in total rebounds (586), ninth in free throw attempts (345) and 10th in steals (121).
 
- 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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