HAMMOND, Louisiana – It came down to the final seconds, but the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team was just edged by Southeastern 61-58 Thursday night at Pride Roofing Center.
It was a tense finish with neither team leading by more than eight points the whole way as the fourth quarter alone featured seven ties and seven lead changes. After getting the change in possession with minimal time on the clock, the Islanders (9-5, 2-1 SLC) trailed by three with one second remaining but the final shot just missed the mark as Southeastern (7-7, 3-0 SLC) escaped with the win.
The Islanders outrebounded the Lady Lions 42-36, including 13-8 on the offensive board.
Graduate
Alecia Westbrook led the game in both points (16) and rebounds (11) as she finally got back to finishing with a double-double. She was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line after getting fouled on nearly every field goal attempt. It is the first time in her career to be perfect from the charity strip when attempting 10+ free throws in a game.
Senior
Paige Allen also pulled down 10 rebounds including seven on the defensive end. She nearly joined Westbrook with a double-double, finishing with seven points on the night. Senior
Mireia Aguado, junior
Annukka Willstedt, and junior
Tymberlin Criswell all ended with nine points apiece.
Neither team got the offense flowing in the first quarter which proved to be a battle of the defenses. Aguado scored off the tip four seconds in for the early 2-0 lead and A&M-Corpus Christi kept a 5-2 edge off Allen's turnaround jumper at 5:28. SLU tied it at 7-7 at 1:32 but responding with the transition three was senior
Sasha Shishkina as the Islanders led it 10-7 after the low-scoring quarter.
Aguado answered SLU's driving layup with one of her own as the Islanders stayed ahead 12-9 at 8:46 in the second quarter. Criswell drained the long-range shot at 7:44 to push it to a 15-11 lead, but the Lady Lions turned it around with a 9-0 scoring run to lead it 22-17 with 4:26 in the half. Down 26-20, Aguado drew the foul to get to the free throw line, making one of two as sophomore
Bruna Anguera grabbed the offensive board and got it to Willstedt who nailed the three to complete the four-point play, though, SLU led it 28-24 at the break.
The Lady Lions extended their lead to 34-26 in the third before Willstedt cut into the led with the layup at 7:13. A pair of free throws from Westbrook made it a 34-30 game before Criswell ran the court for the driving lay-in to get within two. After getting eight points from the charity strip, Westbrook finally connected on a field goal as the Islanders trailed 37-34. SLU held the Islanders off from getting within one until the wide-open layup by Anguera finally got A&M-Corpus Christi back on top 42-41 with 1:21 left in the third. Though, SLU hit the buzzer beater three-pointer to regain a 44-42 lead going into the final quarter.
Westbrook quickly tied things up in the fourth with early jumper before getting the inside shot at 6:51 to lead 47-44. SLU reversed it before Willstedt connected on the jumper to tie it at 49-all. Allen scored off the offensive board as the Islanders led 56-53 with 2:09 to go, though, the Lady Lions responded on the next possession to get back within one. Willstedt drew the foul and sank both her free throws to pull the Islanders up 58-55, but a pair of SLU buckets reversed the lead once more with under 20 seconds to play. A&M-Corpus Christi forced the Lady Lions to the free throw line for a chance with last possession, but the final shot rounded the rim as the final 61-58 score remained.
The Islanders will look to bounce back Saturday, heading down the road to face New Orleans that day at 2 p.m. A&M-Corpus Christi is 17-3 all-time against the Privateers and have taken nine of the last ten meetings.
NOTES
- It was the 25
th all-time meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and Southeastern. The Islanders fall to 12-13 in the all-time record with the Lady Lions.
- The Islanders entered the game leading the league and ranked 15
th in the NCAA in three-point field goal defense (.247). They will improve on that mark after holding Southeastern to just a .200 clip from long-range.
- A&M-Corpus Christi has scored at least 50 points in every game this year. It is the first time since 2018-19 that the Islanders have scored at least 50 points in each of the first 14 games of the season.
- Westbrook entered the game ranked first in the conference in def. rebounds (5.8 drpg), second in rebounding (7.6 rpg), third in steals (1.0 spg), and fifth in FG% (.483). She will improve in every category after recording 11 rebounds, eight defensive rebounds, two steals, and going 3-of-5 from the field.
- Westbrook submitted just her second double-double of the season but 37
th in her career. It was her eight double figure scoring game and second 10+ rebounding game of the season. She was ranked 13
th in the NCAA in active career leaders for double-doubles prior to tonight.
- Allen registered her first 10+ rebounding game of the season and just the third time in her career. Her seven defensive rebounds match her season-high. She has grabbed at least six rebounds in every SLC game so far.
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