CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In the final home game of the season, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team had every player score for the lopsided 82-54 win over Northwestern State on Saturday at the American Bank Center.
For the second game in a row, the Islanders (18-10, 13-4 SLC) scored over 80 points to win in lopsided fashion after defeating A&M-Commerce 83-58 on Thursday. They led the Lady Demons (11-16, 7-10 SLC) 36-25 at the half after the last second layup by senior
Alecia Westbrook and never led by less than double digits the rest of the way. All 15 student-athletes put up at least one point for the Islanders who ended with a .492 shooting on the day.
A&M-Corpus Christi crashed the glass early and ended with a 45-27 rebounding advantage, the highest rebound margin against a SLC team this season. The Islanders improved to a 16-4 (12-2 SLC) record when they outrebound the opposition. In addition, the Islanders dominated the paint where they outscored the Lady Demons 44-16.
It was the final game of the year to be played at the American Bank Center for the Islanders. Prior to tip, seniors Westbrook,
Makinna Serrata,
Hayle Campbell, and
Kristen Daniels were recognized for their contributions to the program.
Westbrook and Serrata showed out in their last home game in an Islanders jersey, as both notched double figures of 14 and 12, respectively. Westbrook also grabbed 13 rebounds for the double-double.
Junior
Paige Allen joined the seniors in double digits with 14. She and Serrata each pulled down six rebounds.
Candice Parramore matched the game-high with 14 points, with eight of her points coming from the charity strip.
Northwestern State jumped out to a 5-0 lead out of the gates before Serrata knocked in back-to-back threes to get the Islanders up 6-5. The Lady Demons regained a lead and held it through a 12-10 score, though, the Islanders closed out the first quarter on a 5-0 run to reverse the advantage.
A 17-17 tie came at the 8:39 mark in the second, but Serrata on the fastbreak pushed the Islanders ahead 19-17 for a lead never relinquished. The long-range shot by sophomore
Annukka Willstedt made it 22-17. Serrata's jumper gave the Islanders a double-digit lead 34-23 with 1:09 to go in the half, and the lay-in by Westbrook kept that 11-point advantage at the break.
Out of the intermission, the Islanders extended a 12-0 scoring run from the second capped by the inside bucket by junior
Violeta Verano to lead it 46-25 at the 6:51 mark. The Lady Demons wouldn't make a shot until the clock read 2:20 to answer sophomore
Jaeda Whitner's three-pointer for the 56-35 lead. Junior
Mireia Aguado layed it in to close out the third with the Islanders up 65-37.
Daniels scored to open the fourth and give the Islanders a 30-point advantage, the largest lead of the day. Campbell then got the steal and score at the 6:38 mark to keep it 69-40. In the final five minutes, each senior took their exit as the rest of the bench finished out the 82-54 victory.
A&M-Corpus Christi remains in a first-place tie with Southeastern heading into the regular season finale, set for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Islanders must beat A&M-Commerce on Wednesday to clinch at least a share of the regular season title. That win paired with a Southeastern loss at HCU on Wednesday would make the Islanders the out-right champions. The Islanders have already clinched a first-round bye into the Southland Conference Tournament.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi now leads Northwestern State 16-5 in the all-time record and 8-3 at home. The Islanders have won the last nine meetings, including in the first meeting this season when they beat the Lady Demons 65-50 season in the conference opener.
- The Islanders have not allowed Northwestern State to score over 60 points against them since 2015-16. The Islanders improved to 16-3 (11-3 SLC) this year when they hold the opposition to under 60 points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 95-75 all-time at the American Bank Center and 225-148 at home where they have outscored the opposition 939-737 this year.
- The Islanders close out play in February with a 91-76 all-time in the month of February. Under head coach
Royce Chadwick, they are 104-84 all-time in the Southland Conference.
- The Islanders improved to 9-0 SLC when they shoot more free throws than their opponents.
- Westbrook notched her 33
rd career double-double, 14
th this season and 11
th in conference play this year. She entered the game ranked 18th nationally in defensive rebounds per game at 7.4 and will improve after grabbing 10.
- Serrata submitted her 53
rd career double figure scoring game, 21
st this season and 14
th in conference play this year. She leads the team in scoring with 13.1 ppg. She entered the game ranked second in the league in field goal percentage at .494 and will improve after going 5-of-8 from the floor. She is now shooting .526 (92-of-175) in conference play this year.
- Allen recorded her 30
th career double-digit scoring game, 14
th this season and 12
th in conference play this year. Her 14 points improved her conference season average to 10.2 ppg.
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