COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program hung with Texas A&M team through four quarters but ultimately fell 73-50 Thursday night at Reed Arena.
An early jump had the Islanders (1-1) out in front 9-8 over the Aggies (1-0) at the first media timeout, however, Texas A&M took over out of the break with a 12-0 scoring run and didn't look bad. Though, a fourth-quarter surge by A&M-Corpus Christi got them back within a 56-43 score following a 9-0 run but Texas A&M built its lead back and finished the 73-50 win.
Overall, the Islanders shot 35.4 percent from the field comparable to Texas A&M's 43.8 shooting. A&M-Corpus Christi shot better than the Aggies from distance, shooting 21.4 percent while holding Texas A&M to just 19.0 percent beyond-the-arc.
With all 14 student-athletes seeing time on the court, the Islanders also outscored the Aggies in bench points 28-19.
Two Islanders came away scoring in double figures. Senior
Mireia Aguado came off the bench to post the team-high 12 points while fellow senior
Paige Allen added 11 after both made four field goals.
Graduate
Alecia Westbrook got into foul trouble early, but still came away with a five-point, five-rebound performance. She trailed sophomore
Bruna Anguera who grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Both registered a block against the Aggies.
Texas A&M was led by a trio of double figure scorers, with game-leader Aicha Coulibaly scoring 17 points. Lauren Ware registered the only double-double of the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Allen nailed a three in response to give the Islanders a 3-2 up in the opening quarter. The teams traded buckets as Allen got to the board for the lay-in and 7-6 lead at 5:47. Sophomore
Annukka Willstedt also got inside the paint to make it 9-8 Islanders before the media timeout, though, the Aggies regrouped and came back to take a 20-13 lead after the first.
Aguado opened the second with an inside layup to get the Islanders back within five. The Aggies extended their lead before a pair of successful free throws from senior
Sasha Shishkina had the Islanders trailing just 29-21 with 4:24 to go. The jumper by Aguado capped the first half as Texas A&M held a 37-23 advantage at the break.
Sophomore
Jaeda Whitner sank a shot from long range to start the Islanders off in the third, though, most of their scoring would come from the charity strip as the Aggies led it 53-34 going into the final 10 minutes.
A pair of quick buckets from Aguado and junior
Nabaweeyah McGill spurred a bit of a scoring spree for the Islanders, as the shot by junior
Tymberlin Criswell forced a Texas A&M timeout at the 7:33 mark. Criswell made it a 56-43 game with the three to try and keep a rally going, but the Aggies extinguished it and closed out the game on top 73-50.
The Islanders will return home for a pair of games at the Dugan Wellness Center next week. A matchup with Schreiner is on tap first, set for Monday at 5 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team. They will then host UTSA Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tip.
NOTES
- It was the first time the Islanders scored 50 points against a Power Five opponent since the 2021-22 season, when they scored 54 points against Texas A&M.
- The 23-point margin is the lowest between the two teams since the 2004-05 season when the Aggies won just 65-59.
- It marked the eighth overall meeting between the Islanders and the Aggies. It was the second year in a row that A&M-Corpus Christi played its second game of the season at Texas A&M.
- All 14 student-athletes saw time on the court for the second game in a row.
- It marked Aguado's second straight double figure scoring game and fourth in her career. It is the first time in her career to post back-to-back 10+ scoring games.
- Allen submitted her first double digit scoring game of the year and 32
nd in her career. Her 11 points were an improvement from last year's meeting with the Aggies where she scored six.
- Anguera matched her career-high of seven rounds, first set at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 23, 2023. She was one assist shy of matching her career-best of four which came against Power Five Washington State last year on Dec. 19.
- The Islanders opened the season Tuesday night against St. Thomas and posted a 79-41 victory at home. It was the third meeting in a row with St. Thomas that A&M-Corpus Christi led by at least 30 points at half time (42-12).
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