HOUSTON, Texas – Posting a 24-point fourth quarter for the second game in a row, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team completed another comeback after topping HCU 57-42 on Saturday in Sharp Gym.
The Islanders (11-7, 6-1 SLC) held a 24-23 edge after the teams battled defensively through the first half before HCU (8-10, 3-4 SLC) got up by as many as seven points in the third quarter after going 6-of-12 from the floor. Though, the Islanders regained a 38-36 lead following the long-range shot by sophomore
Annukka Willstedt and never gave it up, as the team went 10-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond-the-arc to outscore HCU 24-6 in the fourth for the win.
A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin at 4.6 and will improve after outrebounding the Huskies 32-26.
Senior
Makinna Serrata went 7-of-9 from the field to score the team-high of 15 points. The seven made field goals was a team-high this season.
Senior
Alecia Westbrook turned in a 13-point and rebound double-double performance and junior
Paige Allen joined them in double figures with 11. Westbrook and Allen entered the game both ranked in the top-five in the Southland in steals and will both improve after grabbing three steals each.
HCU was led by N'Denasija Collins who turned in the game-high 17 points after going 8-of-10 from the floor.
HCU opened the scoring, but the second-chance bucket by Serrata got the Islanders on the board. The teams remained tied 4-4 before Allen hit the three to make it 7-4 at the 6:25 mark. HCU tied it back up, but layups by freshman
Bruna Anguera and Westbrook gave the Islanders an 11-7 advantage. Another long-range sinker by Allen kept A&M-Corpus Christi ahead 16-12, but the Huskies managed two more points to end the first quarter with a 16-14 score.
The teams exchanged buckets again in the second, with the layup by junior
Mireia Aguado tying things back up 20-all at the 6:58 mark. Layups by Westbrook and Anguera got the Islanders to 24 points, giving them the one-point edge 24-23 as the teams headed to the intermission.
The third quarter seemed to go HCU's way for the majority, as the Huskies took their largest lead of the game at 34-27 lead at the 2:57 mark. Junior
Violeta Verano came off the bench and netted a jumper to bring the game within one-possession 36-33 heading to the final quarter.
The Islanders kept HCU scoreless for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to help extend to a 48-37 lead off Westbrook's shot inside the paint. Back-to-back threes from Westbrook and Verano kept the Islanders in front 54-41 with 1:29 remaining. Serrata then drew the and-one with 30 second remaining to conclude the 57-42 win after the Islanders shot 83.3 percent from the floor.
The unbeaten road week extends A&M-Corpus Christi's road-winning streak to five games. The Islanders have already posted conference wins at Northwestern State, UIW and Lamar.
The Islanders are now tied for first in the Southland rankings. They will return home next week to continue league play, welcoming Nicholls on Thursday at 5 p.m. and McNeese on Saturday at 1 p.m. both at the American Bank Center.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 14-8 all-time over HCU and now takes a 6-5 lead when the teams play in Houston.
- The Islanders are now 11-1 when they hold the opposition to under 60 points. They have held every Southland opponent to under 60 points this season, and two of them to under 50 points.
- It was the third time this season that the Islander scored 24 points in a quarter, a season-high. It was last achieved on Thursday night, as A&M-Corpus Christi also scored 24 points in the fourth quarter against Lamar for a comeback win.
- It was the first time since Feb. 27, 2019 (at Abilene Christian) that the Islanders attempted less than 10 free throws in a game.
- Westbrook submitted her 27th career double-double, ninth this season and sixth in conference play. She is now averaging a double-double of 11.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. She entered the game leading the conference in rebounding at 9.9 rpg and grabbed 13 against HCU.
- Serrata recorded her 44
th career double digit scoring game, 12
th this season and second in a row. Her seven made field goals was a season-high for the Islanders. She is averaging in double figures on the year with 10.8 per outing.
- Allen turned in 11 points for her 24
th career double-figure scoring game, eighth this season and fifth in a row. It came after netting two three-pointers which matched her career-high. She has scored in double digits in six of seven conference games, averaging 11.6 points in league play.
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