HOUSTON – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team concluded the 2025-26 season on a high note on Monday evening, going on the road and hanging on in crunch time to take down Houston Christian by a final score of 46-42.
The victory was the Islanders' (6-23, 5-17 SLC) second in their last three games away from home, showcasing some resilience in reversing their fortunes after they did not have a road win on the year prior to this stretch. It also helped them earn the series split against the Huskies (8-21, 6-16 SLC), avenging their previous loss in Corpus Christi back on January 31.
After a back-and-forth start to the contest on Monday in which the lead changed hands three times in just the first four minutes, it was the Islanders that put together the first sustained run of the day, ripping off a 9-0 stretch that helped them secure a lead after the first quarter. Kicking this off was senior
Marissa Shelton, who got to the paint for two before knocking down a transition three on the very next trip down the floor to make it five quick points off the bench. Redshirt sophomore
Torie Sevier then followed this up with a bucket of her own, and capping things off was a layup from sophomore
Rayna Williams after she secured a rebound on the other end.
While it was its offense that led the way in the opening frame, A&M-Corpus Christi leaned on its defense over the next two, surrendering only 20 points to HCU over the next two periods combined to help retain its lead despite going cold offensively itself at the same time. The Islanders held the Huskies to just 9-32 shooting during this time and perhaps more importantly forced nine turnovers, which kept the hosts from being able to fully close the gap despite at one point drawing even at 27 halfway through the third.
Heading into the final quarter of the season up by just two, it was senior
Samora Watson that managed to take the Islanders home offensively, first turning up the aggressiveness and drawing two shooting fouls to open the fourth to add four big points to the ledger. She then knifed into the paint for two more after a quick HCU response, and following a stretch of defense in which the two teams managed just one made field goal apiece over the next four minutes, the guard hit the dagger shot with just 44 seconds left, dribbling to her left and rising up over two defenders to bury a midrange shot to put the team up by four. A Huskies three the next time down would necessitate some made free throws by A&M-Corpus Christi, but graduate
Chelsea Wooten took care of business, knocking down three of four attempts in the waning seconds to ice the game away.
In her final collegiate game, Watson led all players on the day in total scoring, pouring in 13 points while saving her best for last with eight in the fourth quarter when the team needed them the most. Shelton joined her fellow guard in double figures with 11 while knocking down three triples, and elsewhere on the stat sheet, Williams secured 13 rebounds to finish just one off her career high set just a few weeks ago against SFA.
The Islanders also saw one other notable milestone reached at the conclusion of Monday's game, as it became official that Sevier set the new program record for field goal percentage in a single season. Sevier finished her year with 74 made field goals in 124 attempts, good for a mark of 59.7 percent that easily surpassed the previous top mark of 55.9 percent set by ShaKayla Hawkins all the way back in the 2001-02 season. She accomplished this milestone in her third year with the program, a season in which she returned from injury to play in all 29 games after appearing in just 19 combined over her first two.
#ShakasUp
