February 9, 2007 - The Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi women’s basketball team led by 12 at halftime but had to hold off a second-half charge for a 66-61 Southland Conference win over Nicholls State on Thursday night at Stopher Gymnasium.
With the win, the Islanders improved to 11-11 overall and 6-3 in the Southland Conference. Nicholls State falls to 5-15 on the year and 3-7 in the Southland Conference. A&M-Corpus; Christi will stay in Louisiana to play Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“Anytime you can get a conference win – especially on the road, it is big,” said Islander head coach Robert Robinson. “We did a good job of not panicking and staying after it.”
The Islanders hit 52.9 percent (18-of-34) of their shots from the floor led by Lewis, who tied her career-high with 22 points and recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, which is a new career best. The point guard connected on 6-of-7 shots from the floor in the first half en route to 13 first half points. Elisa Beagle and Jenesis Shaw had nine and eight points, respectively, in the first 20 minutes.
“In the first half, I just tried to pick and choose my spots,” said Lewis, who scored 22 at home against Central Arkansas earlier this season. “I was trying to be patient and my shots fell.”
Beagle finished with 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
Five different A&M-Corpus; Christi players scored at least two points during the first-half run. Beagle had five points in the paint, while Lewis and Shaw each had four points.
In the second half, Nicholls State, which had hit just 32.3 percent of its shots in the opening 20 minutes, came out of the locker room on fire hitting its first eight shots on layups. The Lady Colonels began the period with a 14-4 run over the first four minutes to cut the Islander advantage to 42-40. The hosts hit 17-of-34 shots in the half.
“We came out a little sluggish in the second half and they came out aggressive,” said Lewis, of the Lady Colonels surge. “We didn’t panic though and stayed with our game plan. We expected them to make a run and shoot better.”
Nicholls State would tie the game at 50-50 just past the midway point on a basket by Jamie Octave. Octave, who was scoreless in the first 20 minutes, tallied 14 in the second half to help lead the Colonels back in the game.
The senior duo of Lewis and Nicole Duncan responded with a 10-2 run. Lewis broke the tie with back-to-back baskets for a 54-50 lead with 8:37 remaining. After a basket by Dominque Washington, Duncan hit a pair of three-point baskets to give TAMUCC a 60-52 lead.
“In the first half, everyone else was scoring and I was just trying to get them the ball – especially Kirbria,” said Duncan. “In the second half, my shot came to me.
“The quick baskets down the stretch were a real difference. We didn’t get nervous and had to be patient.”
With three long-range baskets, Duncan broke her single-season mark of 55 and now has 56. Duncan is now 10 points from reaching 1,000 in her career after scoring 13 points including 11 in the second half.
The Lady Colonels made one last run pulling to within a point 60-59 on a three-point basket by Katherine Plummer who led the Lady Colonels with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Octave added 16.
A&M-Corpus; Christi returned to the inside game as Beagle sealed the win with four straight points. Lewis added a jumper for a seven-point advantage with under a minute remaining.
Plummer’s jumper with 48 seconds left were the final points of the game.
Courtesy: Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi Sports Information
Photo Courtesy: Steve Nurenberg
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