CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team dropped their third consecutive conference game on Saturday afternoon, falling to UTRGV by a final of 61-53 in the first South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union of the season.
The matchup was the first ever South Texas Showdown between the two teams as members of the same conference, and the loss for the Islanders (9-7, 1-4 SLC) decreased their lead in this year's standings down to 13-7. It was also their first loss against the Vaqueros (9-8, 4-2 SLC) since November 29, 2022, snapping their winning streak in the series at three games.
After scoring just two points in the first quarter of their game against Northwestern State on Thursday, the Islanders looked much better to start on Saturday, scoring on four of their first six possessions out of the gate to jump out ahead right away. Their defense also looked sharp in the opening period, holding UTRGV to just three makes on 12 shots and keeping their three-point favoring opponents from converting on a single shot behind the arc. While this was going on, A&M-Corpus Christi reached another gear near the end of the period as well, ripping off a 9-0 run punctuated by a buzzer-beating scoop shot by senior
Annukka Willstedt to head into the first quarter up nine points.
This momentum would not carry over for A&M-Corpus Christi, though, as the team's offensive woes started to reappear once again in the second. The Islanders tallied just five total points in the quarter, including a nearly six-minute stretch at the beginning where they scored just one on a lone free throw made by senior
Tymberlin Criswell. This cold spell allowed UTRGV to climb right back into things, with the visitors waking up for 16 points in the frame to take a narrow two-point lead into halftime.
The break did not help the Islanders get things rolling either, as after Criswell got them on the board with a three, they went on another scoring drought of nearly four minutes while missing each of their next five shots. Junior
Monae' Duffy helped to stem the tide with a made bucket with two minutes left in the third, but after a made triple by the Vaqueros with just 46 seconds left on the clock, A&M-Corpus Christi found itself in a nine-point hole with just 10 minutes to play.
These issues were compounded even further in the fourth quarter when UTRGV finally found its stroke from downtown after knocking down just four of 17 triples in the first three quarters. This included three in a span of just five possessions, a stretch that saw the Islanders' deficit reach a game-high 12. This was the start of what would become a 21-point period for the Vaqueros, which ended up burying the home team despite their best efforts to hang in and play the foul game down the stretch.
The three-point figures for both teams ended being up the main turning point in the game, with UTRGV converting on eight on 25 attempts as opposed to just four on 15 tries from the Islanders. A&M-Corpus Christi did not make up this deficit in the paint like they normally do either, outscoring the Vaqueros down low by just two points, which was not enough to close the gap on the 12-point difference they surrendered from behind the arc.
The only Islander to get into double figures on the offensive end ended up being Criswell, who ended her day at 12 points on 4-11 shooting while also grabbing three rebounds, dishing out two assists and tallying a pair of steals. Beyond her, the team had a quartet of players all finish at eight points, with those being Duffy, Willstedt
and graduates
Paige Allen and
Mireia Aguado. Willstedt also led the team with six rebounds, with the other three coming in right behind with five each.
The Islanders will now hit the road again next week looking to turn things back around, first traveling to take on Houston Christian on Thursday at 6 p.m. before then squaring off against UIW two days later in San Antonio at 1 p.m.
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