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KATY, Texas – What once looked to be a surprising blowout turned out to be a matter of survival for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday.
A seemingly comfortable 22-point Islander lead was challenged by furious fourth-quarter rally by fourth-seeded New Orleans before A&M-Corpus Christi finally held off the Privateers in an 88-77 victory.
The Islanders (13-17) will face top seed Central Arkansas in the first of two women’s semifinal games at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The winner will clinch a spot in Sunday’s tournament championship contest.
“We had to fight the entire 40 minutes,” said Islanders head coach Royce Chadwick.
“I thought our defensive intensity was a big difference maker for us. We created a lot of our offense with our defense. Offensively, we were able to execute the things we wanted to execute.”
Owners of a 70-48 lead with 1:28 left in the third, A&M-Corpus Christi felt the spirit and energy of a New Orleans (14-15) squad that scored 14 unanswered points to close within 70-62 on a Kayla Mundy basket with 7:54 remaining.
The Islanders pushed the lead back to 74-62, but the undeterred Privateers – who found an offensive groove behind a four-guard attack – kept up the pressure and inched to within 81-75 when First Team All-Conference guard Randi Brown hit a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left.
The Islanders finally received breathing room via four free throws from Kassie Jones and a pair from Brittany Mbamalu in the final 49 seconds to find themselves once step closer to the program’s first Southland tournament title.
Jones scored 26 points to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi while Mbamalu added 22. Dalesia Booth chipped in with 13 points. The Islanders also got a huge effort from Camesha Davis, who scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
“If we had had five more minutes, we might have been the first team on the interview stage,” said New Orleans head coach Keeshawn Davenport. “They came out strong. We finished strong.”
From the outset, the up-tempo style of the Islanders set the pace, opening with a 6-0 run that swelled to 14-2 after Mbamalu’s three-pointer with 4:34 left in the first quarter. The Privateers worked hard to get back into the contest yet found themselves down 21-10 at the end of the opening period.
Booth’s jumper with 4:30 remaining before halftime gave Texas A&M-Corpus Christi their biggest lead of the half at 33-18, which served as a wakeup call of sorts for New Orleans. Finally finding an offensive groove, the Privateers whittled the deficit down to 35-28 following a Mundy layup with 2:01 left. However, the blast of momentum was cooled off when Mbamalu uncorked a triple on the ensuing possession.
Kassie Jones added a pair of free throws before Brianna Jackson’s jumper allowed the Islanders to establish a 42-28 foundation at intermission.
Sensing a chance to blow the game wide open, A&M-Corpus Christi seized on the opportunity as a pair of baskets from Jones put them up 48-30. Booth’s three-point play was followed by Mbamalu’s third three of the day to give the Islanders a 56-34 edge with 5:58 left in the third.
New Orleans outscored A&M-Corpus Christi 8-1 over the next 2:23 to work within striking distance at 57-44 but Privateers hopes were dashed when Mbamalu and Jones combined to score the next seven points to stretch the lead back to 19.
Four free throws from Uri Jolivette preceded another Mbamalu three that gave the Islanders their largest lead of the contest at 70-48 with 1:28 left in the third.
Brown led the Privateers with 21 points, while Shania Woods had 17. Jewel Angelo had 16 points off the bench for New Orleans, with Mundy adding ten.
“UNO showed tremendous tenacity,” said Chadwick. “To be down that much and to fight back the way they did, hats off to them. They did a great job.”