HOUSTON – Trailing at the half, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball program came out hot in the third quarter, but Rice responded with a big fourth to prevail 69-61 Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Islanders (4-4) were down 33-30 at the intermission when they used a 13-0 run to build a 45-35 lead. They were still up by 10 with 2:05 to go in the third when Rice (4-3) began chipping away, and outscored A&M-Corpus Christi 26-14 in the fourth.
Junior
Alecia Westbrook tallied team-highs of 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals. She was 5-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Senior
Makinna Serrata registered 14 points and four rebounds, while sophomore
Violeta Verano recorded 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
The teams had very similar shooting and turnover numbers, but Rice hit six more three-pointers including a trio in the fourth quarter.
The Islanders scored the first bucket of the game on a driving layup by sophomore
Nabaweeyah McGill. They led 10-7 near the midway point after a lay-in by Westbrook. Though, the Owls used a 7-0 sput to go up 17-12, but a pair of free throws by senior
Alexandria Pollard made it 17-14 after one quarter.
Rice extended its lead to 26-18 in the second when A&M-Corpus Christi answered with two field goals from Serrata and of pair free throws by sophomore
Paige Allen to trail 26-24. An even quarter ended with each team grabbing a bucket in the final 30 seconds as Rice was up 33-30.
The Owls scored the first basket in the third before the Islanders stormed back with a 13-0 run. It started with a transition lay-up by freshman
Annukka Willstedt and was capped with a jumper by Serrata to go up 45-35 with 4:01 remaining. Though, Rice ended the quarter strong and got the deficit down to 47-43.
In the fourth, the Owls were able to get back in front 50-49 with 8:03 left and the Islanders were trying to play catch-up the rest of the way. After Rice led 60-55 with 3:34 to go, A&M-Corpus Christi got it down to 61-59 after a free throw by sophomore
Ariah Powell, but the Owls scored the next five points to lead 66-59 with under a minute left.
Next up, A&M-Corpus Christi will head to UTRGV for a rematch at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union. The Islanders won the first meeting 66-57 at home on Nov. 14.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game leading the Southland Conference in field goal percentage (.409) and were right near par after going 22-55 (.400) from the floor.
- The Islanders dominated inside and held a 36-22 scoring edge in the paint.
- Westbrook, the league's leading rebounder, registered her fifth consecutive double-figure scoring game and 21st of her career. Her four steals matched a career-high.
- Serrata notched her 16th career double-digit scoring performance and fifth this season. She was 7-of-11 from the field.
- Verano entered the contest ranked first in the conference in assists (4.9 apg) and will increase her average after distributing seven, which matched her career-high. Verano has dished out at least three assists in every game this year. It was her second double-figure scoring outing in the last three games.
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