What to know for Friday's game between the Texas A&M Corpus Christi women and Wyoming
The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team will make its second appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament when it faces the University of Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming.
It will be the first time the Islanders will play in a WNIT game as members of the Southland Conference and first matchup against the Cowgirls since 2001.
Before joining the Southland Conference in 2006, Texas A&M Corpus Christi made its other appearance in the WNIT in 2005 as a Division I Independent.
Wyoming finished the regular season as the runner up in the Mountain West Conference after a 71-60 loss to No. 21 UNLV last week.
Here are some key storylines and players to watch ahead of Friday's matchup between Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Wyoming.
Key storylines
Riding some momentum
Head coach Royce Chadwick and his squad are back in the WNIT after earning the automatic bid from the Southland Conference.
The Islanders (19-11) clinched their share of the Southland Conference championship with a 61-53 win at Texas A&M Commerce in the team's regular season finale.
The win marked the second conference championship in four seasons for Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Battle-tested
The Islanders finished 14-4 in Southland Conference play and outscored their opponents 360-277 during that stretch.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi owns the best record on the road (9-4) in the Southland Conference and finished the season 3-3 against conference teams with records above .500.
Both teams carry similar records with Wyoming sporting a 22-10 record entering Friday's game.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi begins the WNIT tournament with some momentum after winning five of its last six games and features several players with NCAA Tournament experience.
Why not us?
The Texas A&M Corpus Christi men's team made history after capturing its first NCAA tournament win on Tuesday.
Now, it's the women's turn to showcase why they're still playing two weeks into March.
The Islanders carry more than enough motivation after last season's Southland Conference Tournament semifinal loss to Southeastern Louisiana.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi players to watch
Alecia Westbrook, F/C
The versatile Westbrook has established herself as one of the team's leaders during her four years as an Islander. The senior forward/center has been a double-double machine throughout her college career and is currently tied for first on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and leads Texas A&M Corpus Christi in rebounds with 10.1 a contest.
Makinna Serrata, G
Serrata is no stranger to playing basketball in Texas after her success at McMullen County quickly carried over into her playing career with the Islanders. The 6-foot Tilden product has been another go-to player for Texas A&M Corpus Christi throughout the years. Serrata is tied for first in scoring (12.6 ppg) and grabs four rebounds a contest.
Paige Allen, G
When it comes to an all-around game, Allen has carried that torch all season. The 5-foot-8 shooting guard from Kansas City, Missouri, is averaging 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.8 assists in her junior season.
What's next?
The winner of the Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Wyoming game will advance to the second round of the WNIT, scheduled for March 18-21. The championship game is Saturday, April 1 at 4:30 p.m. and will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: What to know for WNIT game between Texas A&M Corpus Christi & Wyoming
