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Saturday, February 10, 2001
Centenary looking for a win against A&M-Corpus Christi
Isles hoping to keep Ladies winless in Saturday’s game
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball game against Centenary features two teams that are playing as well as they ever have. Of course, for at least one of those teams, that's not saying much.
When the two teams face off at 3 p.m. today at Memorial Coliseum, A&M-Corpus Christi will be flying high from its three-game winning streak.
A win against Centenary would match the longest winning streak in A&M-Corpus Christi's short history. A Centenary win would set the mark for that program's longest winning streak, as well. Of course, Centenary has never won a game.
In the past week Centenary is coming off an overtime loss at Texas-Pan American and a one-point loss against California-Riverside. Two close losses against marginal teams usually don't mean much, but when you've never won a game, they mean a ton.
"Centenary's playing teams a lot closer than they were last year, so they've definitely improved," A&M-Corpus Christi coach Sheryl Estes said. "They've had a couple close ones lately, so I'm sure they'll be coming to Corpus hungry for a win."
Actually, the Ladies should be starving for the taste of victory. A&M-Corpus Christi and Centenary launched their women's basketball programs at the same time. Since then, the Islanders have gone 26-23. Centenary is still stuck at ground zero with a miserable 0-51 record.
However, the Ladies are getting closer. Last year, they lost their 28 games by an average of 34 points per game and never had anything they could call a near-miss. This year, at least Centenary's come close a couple times.
"We definitely don't want to be the team that gives them their first win," Estes said.
A&M-Corpus Christi is playing as well as its played since the beginning of the season. The Islanders started their three-game winning streak with a 96-60 win at Centenary. Since then, they've been rolling.
A&M-Corpus Christi's resurgence can be credited to better shooting. The Islanders have struggled with their shooting from the field for most of the season, but the recent upswing in field-goal percentage has led to an upswing in wins.
The improved shooting was most obvious in A&M-Corpus Christi's 73-63 win over Belmont on Thursday. The Islanders ran away with the win by shooting 56 percent from the field in the second half. Included in the shooting barrage was Jessie Monlux, who had a team-high 24 points including five 3-pointers.
"We're shooting the ball a lot better, and that means our post players are scoring and our outside shooters are shooting with more confidence," Estes said. "I think that confidence comes from us executing on offense. We're running the offense and getting open shots, and now we're knocking those open shots down."
Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com
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