SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team overcame a seven-point deficit at the half to beat UIW 65-58 for the second time this week and complete the season sweep on Saturday in McDermott Center.
It marked the second year in a row that the Islanders (8-6, 3-0 SLC) opened conference play 3-0, which hasn't been done since the first two seasons that A&M-Corpus Christi joined the Southland in 2006-07 and 2007-08.Â
The win was fueled by a second-half comeback after UIW (5-8, 0-3 SLC) held a 37-30 lead at the break. The Islanders outscored UIW 21-14 in the third quarter to take their first major lead of the game 51-49 heading to the fourth. The Cardinals would tie things up at the start of the fourth, but clutch defensive plays by A&M-Corpus Christi kept UIW scoreless for nearly five minutes to help pull out the 63-58 final win.Â
The Islanders entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin at 3.5 and combined opponent rebounds at 33.8 per game, and will improve in both after outrebounding the Cardinals 40-25.Â
Senior Alecia Westbrook turned in a team-high 15 points and matched that with 15 rebounds to record her third straight double-double. She was one of four Islanders to score in double figures as senior Makinna Serrata and junior Paige Allen each scored 12 points, a season-high by Allen, while junior Violeta Verano added 10.Â
Destiny Terrell turned in the game-high 18 points for the Cardinals after making eight field goals. UIW shot .435 in the first half but just .259 in the second.
After winning the tip, freshman Bruna Anguera got the scoring started in the paint for the Islanders but was quickly answered with a layup that spurred an 11-2 run by UIW. The long-range shot by Allen put the Islanders back within one at 11-10 with 2:52 remaining, though the Cardinals maintained an 18-15 lead at the end of the first.
Sophomore Jaeda Whitner netted a three-pointer to start the second and make it a one-possession game at 20-18. It went back-and-forth before Westbrook finally tied things up 23-all from the charity line but the shot continued falling for the Cardinals as they extended their lead to 35-25 at the 2:23 mark. Serrata drew the foul from beyond-the-arc and blocked a UIW buzzer beater to help cut the deficit to 37-30 at the intermission.
Verano hit back-to-back shots from beyond-the-arc to open the third and begin the start of a rally for the Islanders. Down four with 2:51 remaining, A&M-Corpus Christi kept UIW scoreless and scored the final six points of the quarter to finally take a 51-49 lead heading to the fourth.
The three-pointer by Serrata at the 8:37 mark extended the Islanders' lead to 56-51 and both teams went scoreless for the next 2:30 minutes. A pair of free throws by Westbrook broke the drought as the Islanders went up 58-51. UIW would threaten within one at the 2:49 mark, but A&M-Corpus Christi's defensive effort down the stretch kept the Cardinals scoreless to secure the 65-58 win.
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A&M-Corpus Christi kept UIW to under 60 points in both meetings this week. The Islanders improved to 8-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 60 points.Â
The Islanders will continue with SLC play next week at home as they welcome Southeastern and New Orleans at the American Bank Center.Â
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 19-2 in the all-time record over UIW and 9-2 when playing in San Antonio. It was the ninth straight win over the Cardinals for A&M-Corpus Christi, who beat them four times last season.
- The Islanders improved to 6-0 this season when they outblock the opposition and score more second chance points.
- It was the first win this season for the Islanders when they trailed at the half.
- Westbrook submitted her 24th career double-double, sixth this season and third straight. She has recorded a double-double in every conference game and now averages a double-double of 11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
- Serrata turned in her 41st career double figure scoring game and ninth this season. She has scored 10+ points in three of her last five outings.
- Allen shot 50 percent from the floor to record her 20th career double digit scoring game and fourth this season.Â
- Verano recorded her 14th career double figure scoring game and fourth this season. It was her fourth game this season to record multiple three-pointers.
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