On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi women’s basketball team returned home to defeat Sam Houston State in a 57-54 victory in front of a packed crowd inside the Dugan Wellness Center.

“The game was super exciting, especially with the whole student section getting involved” said freshman Alex Campbell.

Wednesday night’s victory marked the team’s fifth consecutive win on the season, improving to 14-6 and 8-2 in the Southland Conference. Sam Houston State falls to 13-6 and 8-2 in conference action. The Islanders now lead the all-time series over the Bearkats 20-10, including a 12-3 record on their home floor. The blue and green sit in second place in the conference standings with an 8-2 record in Southland action, just one game behind first place Stephen F. Austin.

The starting five for A&M-Corpus Christi included Dae Dae Evans, Dalesia Booth, Emma Coleman-O’Bryan, Alexes Bryant and Alecia Westbrook, who made her second consecutive start.

The trio of Young (Coleman-O’Bryan), Bryant and Booth all reached double figures, as Coleman-O’Bryan led the way with 17 while Bryant added 13 and Booth scored 10.

Booth’s four blocks moved her into No. 2 all-time with 121 for her career. She is now just three away from tying the program record of 124 set back by Roberta Plaza from 2000-04. The defense has now held its opponents to under 60 points, scoring in five straight games.

“We took this win more personal,” said senior Daleisia Booth to Islander Athletics. “… Especially since it’s a rivalry, we’re playing on our own court, too. This motivation was needed to step up and get the win.”

The Islanders jumped out to a quick 11-1 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter before the Bearkats responded with eight straight points to cut the lead to 11-9. TAMU-CC held a narrow 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter before entering halftime tied at 28-28. Entering the fourth quarter with TAMU-CC leading by just six, the final 10 minutes proved to be a defensive battle. Despite SHSU outscoring the Islanders 15-12 in the final frame, the Islanders used timely defensive stops and key free throws in the final minutes to edge Sam Houston 57-54.

TAMU-CC is off to its best start through 10 games in Southland action since the 2009-10 season, when they also opened conference play with an 8-2 record.

The Islanders head back out on the road where they will face Houston Baptist University tomorrow, Feb. 1 at 2:00 p.m. in Houston, Texas. Fans can listen to the game live on 1440 KEYS.