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Saturday, January 6, 2001

Islanders dominate Ramblers
Rogers’ 21 leads team to 95-54 win
By Matt Young
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Jean Clark (right) splits two Loyola (Chicago) defenders under the basket during the Islanders’ 95-54 win on Friday.

Kristin Rogers had an easy explanation for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team's best performance of the season.
   "Sometimes you just get sick of losing," Rogers said.
   On Friday, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team played like a team hungry for a cure to its losing woes. The Islanders looked nothing like the team that had dropped six of their last nine games when they steamrolled Loyola (Chicago) 95-54 at Memorial Coliseum.
   A&M-Corpus Christi (8-8) played like a completely different team than it had for most of the season, showing a flash of intensity that had been missing.
   "We came out really intense, because we knew we hadn't been playing up to our capabilities," said Rogers, who scored a game-high 21 points. "After looking at how we had been playing, especially in our last couple games, we knew that we really had to step it up emotionally."
   The upgraded intensity paid off as the Islanders' 95 points set a school record. The 41-point win is the second-biggest blowout in the team's history. The Islanders beat Sam Houston State by 43 last season.
   The Islanders' newfound intensity really showed on defense as they swarmed to the ball. When A&M-Corpus Christi wasn't full-court pressing the Ramblers, it was catching them in half-court traps. Loyola (Chicago) finished with 31 turnovers, compared to just 10 for the Islanders. The turnovers also resulted in A&M-Corpus Christi taking 83 shots, while the Ramblers attempted just 56.
   "Our defensive pressure really fueled our offense," Islander coach Sheryl Estes said. "We put a lot of pressure on the ball and that led to a lot of fast-break opportunities. That was the best we've run the fast break all season."
   Besides the fast-break points, Rogers was a big target for the Islanders on offense. Rogers, who is the team's leading scorer with 12.9 points per game, had struggled in the last few games before playing the Ramblers.
   "I had a little talk with myself the other night, because I was frustrated," Rogers said. "I'm not sure what the problem was, but I'm just glad it's corrected."
   A&M-Corpus Christi set the tone for the game right from jump ball. After winning the tip and scoring, the Islanders snagged two straight steals which resulted in easy layups to take a 6-0 lead before the game was even 40 seconds old.
   The Ramblers hung around for a little while before the Islanders finished them off before haltime. With a 27-20 lead and 7:50 remaining in the half, the Islanders sprinted to the lockerroom on a 17-4 run to take a 20-point halftime lead. Twenty points would be as close as Loyola (Chicago) would get the rest of the way.
   The only thing undecided in the second half was whether A&M-Corpus Christi would break its record for points scored, which was 93. The Islanders sneaked past that mark by scoring eight points in the final minute.
   "I think it was pretty obvious that the team finally woke up today," Estes said. "We did a lot of things well, and we need to make sure that carries over the rest of the way."

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