Women's Basketball Storms Back in Fourth for 61-59 Road Victory

BEAUMONT, Texas - Despite trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball powered back late to overcome the deficit and beat Lamar 61-59 in the final minutes Thursday night at Montagne Center.

The Islanders (10-7, 5-1 SLC) trailed Lamar (8-9, 2-4 SLC) since the 0:54 mark of the first quarter, including being down 52-40 with 8:11 remaining in the game. Though, A&M-Corpus Christi poured in 24 points in the final quarter while holding Lamar to just 11 to tie the game 59-all at the 0:58 mark before drawing the game-deciding foul where junior Mireia Aguado sank her two free throws to win it 61-59.

The win came for the Islanders despite Lamar shooting 43.8 percent from the floor compared to A&M-Corpus Christi's 40.9, but the Islanders shot 80.0 percent from the three in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

Junior Paige Allen recorded her season-highs of 16 points and nine rebounds in the victory. She entered the game ranked fifth in the Southland in steals per game at 1.8 and will improve after grabbing three. 

Allen was joined in double figures by seniors Makinna Serrata and Alecia Westbrook who recorded 14 and 11 points, respectively. Each also registered a block and three assists.

Lamar also had a trio score in double figures, including Portia Adams who was 6-for-11 from the field for the game-high of 17 points. R'Mani Taylor added 12 while Akasha Davis scored 11. The Islanders held Davis, who entered the game leading the Southland in field goal percentage at a .531, to a .384 shooting night.

Although Lamar got on the board first, Serrata knocked down a three to reverse the score quickly and spur an early 9-0 scoring run for the Islanders for a 9-2 lead at the 5:22 mark. The Cardinals responded with some momentum themselves, though, going up 14-10 to close out the opening quarter.
 
Junior Nabaweeyah McGill put up four points for the Islanders in the second, but Lamar extended their lead to 23-14 at the 6:02 mark. The long-range shot by junior Violeta Verano brought the Islanders back within four, but back-to-back threes by the Cardinals kept them ahead 29-19 with 2:11 remaining. Sophomore Annukka Willstedt beat the buzzer with the layup to cut the deficit to 29-21 heading to the intermission.
 
The jumper by Allen took the score to 35-30 in the third quarter, before Serrata drew the foul from the arc and netted all three to get the Islanders within two at the 5:10 mark. Despite the threat, Lamar earned its largest lead of the night at 44-33 following a 9-0 scoring run. Serrata broke A&M-Corpus Christ''s drought with a jumper at the 2:18 mark, but Lamar closed out the third with a 48-37 lead.

The final push down the stretch featured clutch three-pointers as Westbrook opened the quarter with the shot from deep before Allen and sophomore Jaeda Whitner went back-to-back from downtown. Another three by Whitner came at the 5:13 mark when the Islanders grabbed the rebound off the missed free throw to make it a three-point play instead and cut the deficit to four (55-51). The jumper by Aguado made it a one-possession game before Lamar got back to a six-point lead at 59-53. Though, A&M-Corpus Christi would keep the Cardinals scoreless for the remaining 2:45 minutes and end on an 8-0 scoring run to take the final lead 61-59 with six seconds remaining on the clock.
 

The Islanders have now won four straight road games, including garnering conference road wins at Northwestern State and UIW.

Next up, A&M-Corpus Christi will stay on the road to face HCU on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip in Sharp Gym. The game can be watched on ESPN+ and also heard live on 1440 AM KEYS with Doug Kesterson on the call.

NOTES
- The Islanders improved in the all-time record with Lamar, now only trailing 19-13 and 11-7 when playing in Beaumont. It was the first time since Feb. 20, 2021 that the teams played each other and the first win for the Islanders in Beaumont since the 2019-20 season.

- The 24 points in the fourth quarter tied for most points scored in a quarter for the Islanders this season. It was first achieved in the first quarter against St. Thomas on Dec. 12, 2022.

- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 10-1 when holding its opposition to under 60 points. The Islanders have held each conference opponent to under 60 points so far this season.

- The Islanders entered the game leading the Southland in rebounding margin (4.4) and will improve after outrebounding the Cardinals 34-26.

- Allen submitted her 23rd career double figure scoring game, seventh this season and fourth in a row. She improves to a 11.7 scoring average in conference play and has grabbed at least five rebounds in each Southland meeting this season.

- Serrata recorded her 43rd career double digit scoring game and 11th this season. She is averaging in double figures with 10.6 points per game overall and 10.2 in league play.

- Westbrook turned in her 51st career double figure scoring game, 12th this season and seventh in a row. She has scored in double digits in every conference game so far and leads the team in scoring with 11.6 per outing. She averages a double-double of 16.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game in conference play.

- It was Whitner's third straight game to knock down multiple three-pointers. She entered the game ranked third in the Southland in three-point field goal percentage at a .444 mark and improved to .449 following the game.



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