Overtime Thriller Ends with Islanders Over Southeastern

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas- The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team delivered a stunning 79-73 victory against the Southeastern Lady Lions, a nail-biter that stretched into overtime Saturday at the American Bank Center in front of an electric Homecoming crowd.
 
Getting the start they needed, the Islanders (20-9, 1204 SLC) took a 19-9 lead after the first into a dogfight the rest of the way as Southeastern (17-11, 13-4 SLC) managed to claw back and force overtime. Through the extra five, A&M-Corpus Christi finally knocked down shots from three-point range to guide the Islanders over the Lady Lions in a thrilling victory on Homecoming and Senior Day.
 
It gets the Islanders to 20 wins on the year with at least two games remaining on the schedule. It is A&M-Corpus Christi's first 20+ win season since 2019-20 when the program won 23 games.
 
The Islanders displayed an offensive onslaught, with five players reaching double digits for the third time this season. Prior to this year, the program hadn't seen five players all score 10+ points in a game since 2014. McGill led all scorers 18 points, closely followed by senior Paige Allen who tallied 16 points along with 10 rebounds for the double-double performance through over 40 minutes of playing time.
 
Senior Mireia Aguado and junior Annukka Willstedt both finished with 12 points while graduate Alecia Westbrook contributed 10 before foul trouble caught up to her in the fourth.
 

That homecoming feeling is just differnet #ShakasUp pic.twitter.com/izAzpnbEee

— Islanders Women's Basketball (@Islanders_WBB) March 2, 2024

 
Westbrook's early four points helped the Islanders to their blistering start as her putback pushed it to a 10-2 lead at 6:00.  From there, the Islanders surged ahead with a dominant inside game with 14 of their 19 points in the first 10 minutes coming from the paint, not including McGill's triple at 3:22, which extended the lead to 15-4. 
 
The Lady Lions hit a stride in the second quarter, nailing three consecutive three-pointers to narrow the gap to 24-20. Though, Aguado stayed composed and jumped in for the takeaway before getting it to Allen who converted with the jumper. Free throws took over for the Islanders from there until McGill got inside for the lay-in at 1:20 for a 35-27 lead ahead of the break.
 
In the third quarter, both teams battled fiercely with the Islanders refusing to relent within four. Senior Violeta Verano knocked down a crucial three-pointer at 1:44 to cushion their lead to 52-45 but Southeastern pushed within a possession by the end of the third as the team headed to what they thought was the final 10 minutes of the game separated by a 52-49 score.
 
Verano began the fourth like she ended the third, sinking the long-range shot to push the Islanders back up 55-49. Though, Southeastern responded with a 7-0 run to gain their first lead of the whole game at 56-55 with 5:12 on the clock. However, a steal by Aguado at 2:40 helped enable a 59-58 reclaim of the lead. The Lady Lions retaliated with a layup, tying the game at 61-61 with one minute remaining. A vital and-one by McGill lit up the crowd and extended the Islanders' lead to 64-61, prompting the Lions to call a timeout with 31 seconds left which proved timely as they managed to get the three points needed to push the game past regulation.
 
McGill drew the early foul to begin extras, giving the Islanders the 66-64 start. Willstedt then went deep the next two times she got the ball in her hand and sank both to propel the Islanders to a four-point lead with 1:50 to go. The contested layup from Allen kept it at a 74-70 A&M-Corpus Christi advantage and the Islanders closed out down the more-than-bargained for stretch with five made free throws to secure an extra reason to celebrate.
 

WILLSTEDT AGAIN.

SHE'S 3-3 FROM 3. ISLANDERS BY 4.

📺 https://t.co/ugzNC113Ku#EarnedEveryDay x @Islanders_WBB pic.twitter.com/2zi9GikoPT

— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) March 2, 2024

 
It finally breaks A&M-Corpus Christi's skid to Lady Lions, beating them for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Funnily enough, the first game in that four-game losing streak to Southeastern came in overtime to start and end the skid in extra minutes of basketball.
 
The Islanders will look to take that momentum into the final game of the regular schedule set for Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the American Bank Center as part of a season finale doubleheader with the men's team.
 
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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