NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team went down to the wire once again but this time outlasted New Orleans for a 61-54 win Saturday at Lakefront Arena to close out the road trip.
The Islanders (10-5, 3-1 SLC) trailed as late as 4:58 in the fourth quarter, but junior
Nabaweeyah McGill converted on back-to-back possessions before the defense locked down New Orleans (5-10, 2-2 SLC) to hold on for a 61-54 final decision.
A&M-Corpus Christi crashed the glass hard, outrebounding the Privateers 57-44. The 57 rebounds was a season-high for the Islanders. In addition, the Islanders were 24-of-25 from the free throw line for a 96.0 percent clip, breaking the program single-game record previously set at 94.7 percent at Centenary on Jan. 27, 2001.
McGill contributed to that historical mark, going a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity strip. It helped her get to 12 points to go with her 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Senior
Mireia Aguado also recorded double figure scoring with a game-high 15 points.
Aguado, graduate
Alecia Westbrook, and senior
Sasha Shishkina mirrored McGill in being perfect when sent to the free throw line.
UNO was backed by the 13-point performances by both Jayla Kimbrough and DeArica Pryor, as well as the 11 points contributed by Nora Francois.
Junior
Jaeda Whitner was the only one able to connect with the net in the first for the Islanders, hitting the three-pointer at 5:09. Turnovers plagued the rest of the opening 10 minutes as New Orleans led it 15-3.
The Islanders finally got the offense going in the second as Aguado drew the and-one on the takeaway at 8:52 to initiate a comeback. Senior
Paige Allen laid it in as the Islanders trailed 18-8, but it would the deficit would be chipped away as it was the front end of a 9-0 scoring run. UNO pulled back up to a 21-15 lead but McGill netted six free throws to tie things up. Another pair from the charity strip by McGill gave A&M-Corpus Christi its first lead of the game at 23-22 and Aguado got down the court for the layup in the final seconds to lead it 25-22 at the break.
Aguado and Allen both knocked down field goals to maintain a 29-24 lead in the third, but UNO utilized a 9-0 run to reverse the score once again. Sophomore
Bruna Anguera pulled down the offensive board and got it to Aguado for the lay-in as the Islanders trailed just 36-35 with 1:54 on the clock. Though, the Privateers extended to a 42-38 lead going into the fourth.
Off the takeaway, Aguado opened the fourth quarter with the bucket to begin the full-length rally. Whitner drilled the catch-and-shoot three pointer at 6:20 to bring the Islanders within 46-45. Junior
Tymberlin Criswell got fouled going up for the putback and netted both her free throws to lead it 49-48. The lead would be exchanged twice more, but McGill scored the final go-ahead points at 3:34 as the Islanders closed out the win.
After being on the road for three straight SLC games, the Islanders will return home to host McNeese and Nicholls next week at the American Bank Center.
NOTES
- The Islanders are now 18-3 all-time over the Privateers and 7-3 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 improve to 9-0 this year when they score 60 or more points and when holding the opposition to under 60 points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi has scored at least 50 points in every game this season. It is the first time since 2018-19 that the Islanders have scored at least 50 points in each of the first 15 games of the season.
- The 96.7 FT% broke the program's single-game record. It was the second time this season that the Islanders shot at least 90 percent from the charity strip after going 27-of-30 against Concordia on Dec. 30.
- McGill submitted her first career double-double. It was just the second time in her career to record at least 10 rebounds, simultaneously setting her new career-best with the 12 rebounds. It was the fifth time this year she scored at least 10 points.
- Aguado registered her seventh double figure scoring game of the season, ninth in her career, and third in the last four games. Her six made field goals matched her career-best, first set against New Orleans on Jan. 20, 2021.
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