HAMMOND, Louisiana – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team will continue conference play on the road, facing Southeastern Thursday at 6 p.m. and New Orleans Saturday at 2 p.m.
The game against SLU will be a matchup of the reigning SLC regular season champions, as the two teams co-shared the title after both hoisting a 14-4 conference record last season.
It will also be the second and third games of the three-game road stretch for the Islanders (9-4, 2-0 SLC) who are coming off a 63-61 win at UIW. It was backed by a 20-point second half for graduate
Alecia Westbrook who finished with her career-high 27 points after going 9-of-10 from the field.
Westbrook and seniors
Paige Allen and
Mireia Aguado have each scored at least 10 points in both of the opening conference games. Combined, they scored 83 of the team's 136 points between the first two SLC games.
A&M-Corpus Christi has won six in a row, the longest winning streak in the conference right now. It is the third year in a row that A&M-Corpus Christi began conference play 2-0.
Westbrook is leading the conference in defensive rebounding with 5.8 drpg, second in rebounding (7.6 rpg), third in steals (1.0 spg), and fifth in FG% (.483). Junior
Nabaweeyah McGill also ranks atop the standings with 1.8 blocks per game and fourth in off. rebounding (2.2 orpg). Junior
Jaeda Whitner is fifth in 3FG% (.409) and junior
Tymberlin Criswell is fourth in steals (1.9 spg).
The Islanders lead the Southland Conference in scoring margin (+11.5), FG% defense (.345), 3FG% defense (.247), blocked shots (4.62 bpg), assists (14.92 apg), and steals (11.62 spg).
The Islanders average 66.5 points per game, with 29.8 coming from off the bench. The team's bench points per game average ranks them 14th in the NCAA. A&M-Corpus Christi also ranks 13th nationally in FG% defense, 13th in free throw attempts her game (23.00), 15th in 3FG% defense, and 21st in steals per game.
SLU (6-7, 2-0 SLC) also got out to an undefeated start to this year's conference slate with wins over Nicholls and New Orleans. They are coming off both an SLC regular season and tournament championship and were picked first in the 2023-24 SLC Preseason Poll.
UNO (4-9, 1-1 SLC) split opening weekend, defeating Texas A&M-Commerce. The Privateers will face Nicholls on Thursday before hosting the Islanders Saturday.
Both games can be watched live with a subscription to ESPN+. They can also be heard live for free on 1440 AM K-E-Y-S with Doug Kesterson on the call.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi and Southeastern are evened at 12-12 in the all-time meeting. The Islanders will be going for their first win in Hammond since 2016-17 when they defeated the Lady Lions 69-53.
- The Islanders are 17-3 all-time over the Privateers and 6-3 when playing in New Orleans. A&M-Corpus Christi has taken nine of the last 10 meetings, last dropping to UNO in 2018-19. The Islanders have held the Privateers to under 50 points in the last four meetings.
- Last season, the Islanders were 8-1 on the road against SLC opponents, their best road conference record in program history with an 8-1 mark since joining the league in 2006-07.
- The Islanders are 7-0 this year when they outrebound their opponent and 8-0 when they score 60 or more points. They are also 8-0 when holding the opposition to under 60 points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi was picked second in the SLC Preseason Poll, coming in behind Southeastern (159) with 140 points. The Islanders received three first-place votes. Westbrook and Allen were tabbed to Preseason All-Conference teams.
- Westbrook is the sixth active player in the NCAA to reach 1,000 career rebounds. Her career total (1,021) comes right behind Angel Reese's (LSU) 1,117. She also finds her name in the active career leader list in free throw attempts (8th, 640), free throws made (8th, 478), and double-doubles (13th, 36).
- The Islanders are on a journey to defend their regular season title, the second championship in four seasons as it earned A&M-Corpus Christi an automatic bid to the WNIT for the program's third ever postseason appearance and first since 2009-10 when it went to the Women's Basketball Invitational.
Stay Social
Keep up with the women's basketball program via its Facebook page (
Islanders Women's Basketball) and follow the program on Twitter (
@Islanders_WBB) and Instagram (
@IslandersWBB).
#ShakasUp
