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Monday, January 29, 2001
A&M-Corpus Christi face limping Sam Houston State
Hampered with injuries, Bearkats limited to seven-player rotation
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
HUNTSVILLE - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team has been bitten by the injury bug a bit this season, but Sam Houston State isn't in the mood to hear the Islanders' complaints.
Going into the game between A&M-Corpus Christi (10-11) and Sam Houston State (4-12) at 5:30 p.m. today at Johnson Coliseum, the Bearkats will be limited to playing a seven-player rotation while the rest of their players sit on the bench with injuries.
"I know they're injured up and down the roster, so they're going to be pretty limited," A&M-Corpus Christi coach Sheryl Estes said. "I thought we've had a lot of injuries, but at least all of ours hasn't come at one time."
A&M-Corpus Christi will be without reserve guard Stephanie Gutierrez, who is out for the season with a fractured ankle, and starting guard Rocky Grayson, who will miss her sixth straight game after suffering a concussion Jan. 5.
Grayson, who also missed some games early in the season with a knee injury, is someone on whom the Islanders have counted for a spark the last two seasons.
"Rocky plays with a lot of emotion and does a lot of hustle things for us, so we've really missed her," Estes said. "You can see on the court that we struggle without Rocky, so her missing so many games has been really tough for us this season."
Bearkats' main threat
Because the Bearkats are so limited due to injuries, they've turned to 6-foot post player Brenda Abakwue to carry most of the load. Abakwue is averaging 16.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game this season, but she has really come on since the rash of injuries. In Sam Houston State's last four games, Abakwue is averaging 24.5 points and 16.8 rebounds per game.
"Brenda is real athletic, so we're going to have focus a lot of attention on stopping her," Estes said. "They go to her a lot, because their bench is so thin right now. Hopefully, depth will play a factor in the game if they're only going to be able to use seven players."
A&M-Corpus Christi should enter the game with plenty of confidence considering what the Islanders did to the Bearkats last season. Sam Houston State holds the dubious distinction for being the team with the largest margin of defeat in A&M-Corpus Christi history. The Islanders walloped Sam Houston State, 93-51, last season at Memorial Coliseum.
The Islanders should also be feeling good about themselves after demoralizing Centenary, 96-60, Saturday in Shreveport, La.
"Any time you win, you gain confidence, so it should definitely help us," said A&M-Corpus Christi forward Kristin Rogers, who scored 22 points against Centenary. "It should especially help because we beat Centenary by so much, and we played so well. We just have to make sure that carries over for the rest of the season."
Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com
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