Twice as nice: Islanders women join men as Southland Conference regular season champs
Less than one week after the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team celebrated claiming the Southland Conference regular season title, the women's team hoisted a trophy of its own.
A 61-53 road win at Texas A&M-Commerce gave the Islanders women a share of the Southland regular season title, along with Southeastern Louisiana.
It is the second regular season title won by the Islanders since 2020 as Royce Chadwick's team won a title, but never played in the postseason due to COVID-19 putting a halt to the season.
The Islanders were paced by Paige Allen and Alecia Westbrook, who each tallied 17 points as the team improved to 19-10 on the season and a remarkable 8-1 on the road in conference play.
A&M-Corpus Christi will be the No. 2 seed and earn a double bye into the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament next week in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Islanders will face a team to be determined at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 at the Legacy Center.
No sharing
After the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women celebrated grabbing a share of the Southland Conference title, the Islander men needed five extra minutes to ensure there would be no sharing of the men's regular season title.
Steve Lutz's squad forced overtime after trailing by as many as eight points in the second half and outscored Texas A&M-Commerce 15-10 in the extra time to snag a 93-88 win to secure the Southland Conference regular season title outright.
Terrion Murdix set a new career high with 27 points, Isaac Mushila posted 21 points and 17 rebounds and the Islanders were a sparkling 22 for 23 from the free throw line in the win against the Lions.
A&M-Commerce had beaten the Islanders in Corpus Christi six days ago, before the Islanders bounced back to beat Northwestern State in the pivotal game for the Southland Conference crown.
The Islanders finished the regular season 21-10 and earned a double bye into the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7 on ESPNU against a team to be determined.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
all games at Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana
SUNDAY, MARCH 5
Men's Opening Round
Men's Game 1 — No. 5 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 8 McNeese, 5 p.m.
Men's Game 2 — No. 6 HCU vs. No. 7 New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.
MONDAY, MARCH 6
Women's Opening Round
Women's Game 1 — No. 5 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 8 Northwestern State, 11 a.m.
Women's Game 2 — No. 6 McNeese vs. No. 7 New Orleans, 1:30 p.m.
Men's Quarterfinals
Men's Game 3 — No. 4 Nicholls vs. Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m.
Men's Game 4 — No. 3 Southeastern vs. Game 2 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, MARCH 7
Women's Quarterfinals
Women's Game 3 — No. 4 UIW vs. Game 1 Winner, 11 a.m.
Women's Game 4 — No. 3 Lamar vs. Game 2 Winner, 1:30 p.m.
Men's Semifinals
Men's Game 5 — No. 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Game 3 Winner, 5:30 p.m., ESPNU
Men's Game 6 — No. 2 Northwestern State vs. Game 4 Winner, 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8
Women's Semifinals
Women's Game 5 — No. 1 Southeastern vs. Game 3 Winner, 11 a.m.
Women's Game 6 — No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Game 4 Winner, 1:30 p.m.
Men's Championship — Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 4 p.m., ESPN2
THURSDAY, MARCH 9
Women's Championship — Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 4 p.m., ESPNU
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Islanders women join men as Southland Conference regular season champs
