CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas A&M Corpus Christi women's basketball team emerged victorious once again against Northwestern State with a 68-52 offensive flurry Thursday night at the American Bank Center.
The Islanders (16-7, 9-3 SLC) outscored the Lady Demons (9-15, 5-8 SLC) in every quarter, holding a lead from two minutes into the game all the way to the end. The Islanders also created 28 Northwestern state turnovers, converting 23 points off those mistakes.
Another credit to its defense, A&M-Corpus Christi remains undefeated in conference play when holding Southland teams to under 60 points. The Islanders are now 13-0 overall this year when holding the opposition to under 60 points.
Five Islanders finished in double figures for the second time this season, four of which were in the starting lineup. Senior Mireia Aguado led all scorers with 15 points. Graduate Alecia Westbrook and senior Violeta Verano each added 11 points while senior Paige Allen and junior Nabaweeyah McGill contributed 10 apiece.
They all aided the free throw shooting, as the Islanders shot 81.8 percent (18-22) from the stripe, the team's highest free throw percentage on the year.
Despite Northwestern State striking first with the long-range shot, Verano responded off a pair of free throws from Aguado to nail a three of her own, pulling the Islanders ahead 5-3 as the team never relented from there. Aguado converted on her own takeaway to push it to 7-3 at 6:10 before she sank the three-pointer in the next opportunity. McGill did damage on both ends, denying the Lady Demons as the Islanders scored in transition on the play before she got the putback at 2:33 for an Islanders' 16-8 lead at the end of the first.
The Islanders gained more offensive momentum and extended their lead in the second off a quick four points from Westbrook. Aguado once again completed a steal-and-score at 8:34, drawing the and-one in the process for a 23-12 lead. Junior Tymberlin Criswell converted the second-chance with the inside jumper at 6:42 and Aguado hit another shot from downtown to help the Islanders to a 33-23 cushion at the break.
McGill got the offensive board and the bucket at 8:47 in the third before adding a block and defensive rebound in the sequence as Allen then drew an and-one on the play for a 40-26 advantage. Westbrook then hit the contested lay-in at 1:12 to up it to a 53-38 game.
Verano went deep again in the fourth, pushing A&M-Corpus Christi's lead to 60-45 with 7:33 remaining. The Lady Demons attempted a spark but the Islanders would shut down any rally as Criswell closed out the night with the inside jumper to cap the +16 win.
The Islanders will close the home weekend Saturday at 1 p.m. against Texas A&M-Commerce.