NEW ORLEANS, La – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team started off their road trip to Louisiana on the right foot on Thursday evening, holding off New Orleans in a tight battle and taking home the victory by a final score of 78-66.
The Islanders (9-4, 1-1 SLC) walked away with their first win in Southland Conference play, getting on the board after dropping their opener to Stephen F. Austin on December 14. The victory over the Privateers (0-11, 0-2 SLC) marked their fourth in a row since that loss, and it was their 12
th consecutive win over New Orleans dating back to March 14, 2019.
The opening period of Thursday's contest was the textbook definition of a back-and-forth affair, with both teams kicking things off by trading buckets for the first four minutes of the game. The Islanders came out with the first real momentum swing in the form of an 8-0 run keyed by four points from graduate
Paige Allen, but a 10-4 stretch by the Privateers soon after brought the score back even for the fourth different time in the quarter. It appeared that this was how the frame would end, but A&M-Corpus Christi would get a jolt of energy from graduate
Nabaweeyah McGill, who rattled home a three pointer as the buzzer sounded to put the team back in the lead once again.
This shot would prove to be a spark plug for the Islanders, as they came out in the second on fire from the field, starting things off in the quarter with a pair of triples from senior
Jaeda Whitner and graduate
Mireia Aguado and then taking a double-digit lead for the first time on a putback layup from Allen. The Privateers did manage to punch back from here by converting on four quick buckets to cut it back down to four, but the visitors managed to get back on track late in the frame, using a tough and-one from junior
Samora Watson and another late three by McGill to head to halftime with a nine-point advantage.
The roller coaster ride did not stop coming out of the break, as New Orleans instantly came out with a 9-1 run to suddenly make it a one-point game in less than three minutes of game action. Like before, though, the Islanders would answer back, scoring the next seven points on a bucket by McGill and a personal five-point run by senior
Tymberlin Criswell to stem the tide and build the lead back once again. Another McGill three-ball – her third of the game after converting on just one of her eight attempts on the year before today – brought things back up to nine, which is where it would stay after the two traded baskets heading into the final period of action.
Just as they had done all game long, the Privateers rallied yet again once the fourth got underway, pushing the pace in transition off of Islander misses and turnovers and bringing the score all the way back up to 65-63 with just 4:46 to go. From here, however, A&M-Corpus Christi played nearly flawlessly, starting with a huge three pointer from Allen followed by a layup from Criswell to stop the bleeding. Allen would pick up a steal on the other end the very next possession that would lead to a pair of converted free throws to make it a nine-point lead, which continued to expand after a smooth mid-range jumper off the dribble from junior
Monae' Duffy and a finish inside by Aguado. Criswell would cap off this outburst with a pair of makes at the line, bringing the run up to 13-0 and sealing the deal on the hard-fought victory for the Islanders.
The biggest difference for A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday was its activity on the defensive end, forcing New Orleans into 22 turnovers and converting those into 25 points on the other side. The team also found an advantage from distance, knocking down seven of its 13 three-point attempts while holding the Privateers to just 6-20 shooting on theirs.
Four different players managed to get into double figures for the Islanders by the time things wrapped up, with reigning Southland Player of the Week Aguado leading the way with 16 and Allen, McGill and Criswell coming in right behind with 15, 13 and 12 respectively. McGill managed to fill up the stat sheet in many other ways in her 18 minutes off the bench as well, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out four assists and blocking three shots in what was arguably her best all-around performance of the season in just her second game back from injury.
The Islanders will now have a quick turnaround between games, concluding their road trip to the Pelican State with a matchup against Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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