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Islanders women drop Southland Semifinal in overtime

Texas A&M-CC had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but couldn't get it to go and also couldn't overcome 22 turnovers.

KATY, Texas — Southeastern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi were expected to play a close, physical game in Saturday’s Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinal. 

They did not disappoint. 

Alexius Horne’s three-pointer with 1:35 left in overtime lifted third-seed Southeastern to a 59-54 win over second-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, putting the Lady Lions into the tournament final against Incarnate Word — also making its first trip to the tourney final — Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

📍Katy, Texas Made it to the Southland Conference tournament, y’all! @Islanders_WBB play Southeastern at 3:30 p.m., and @...

Posted by Ashley Gonzalez on Saturday, March 12, 2022

“There’s nothing more I can say than I’m proud,” said Southeastern head coach Ayla Guzzardo. “We knew this wouldn’t be easy. We don’t want anything easy. That’s the type of team that we have.” 

The Lady Lions (16-10) forced 22 turnovers and held their own despite losing first team All-Southland forward Caitlyn Williams when she fouled out in the fourth quarter. 

A&M-Corpus Christi outscored the Lady Lions 13-8 in the opening quarter and built as much as an eight-point lead early in the second before Southeastern slowly worked back into the contest behind a gritty defense that constantly forced the Islanders into turnovers, forcing 12 in the first 16 minutes and turning those miscues into 11 points. 

Alexius Horne brought the Lady Lions within 20-18 with a trey at the 3:13 mark before intermission before she knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the score at 20 with 2:06 left. The Islanders struggled to establish its offense late in the first half, going 4:49 without a field goal, yet were able to go into the locker owners of a 22-20 lead. 

The Lady Lions regained the lead when Taylor Bell converted a steal from Breonca Ducksworth to give Southeastern a 25-24 lead with 7:14 in the third quarter, its first since the 8:21 mark of the first quarter. The Islanders opened the second half with a 4:18 scoreless stretch and —combined with its second quarter funk — 10:09 without a field goal until All-SLC first teamer Makinna Serrata’s jumper with 4:51 left ended the drought. 

Southeastern boosted its lead to 31-27 when Ducksworth’s layup completed a run that saw the Lady Lions go 5-for-7 from the field, yet the lead was short-lived. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ripped off five straight points, with Serrata’s field goal with 2:29 left in the quarter giving the Islanders a 32-31 advantage before Horne seized it back for the Lady Lions with a basket of her own. 

A free throw from Violeta Verano tied the score at 32-all, but Williams put back a Horne miss just as the third quarter horn sounded to give the Lady Lions a 35-33 lead. 

The teams exchanged baskets at a steady clip in the fourth quarter with the Islanders hitting four straight shots to take a 43-42 lead heading into the final 3:45. 

The Lady Lions lost the services of Williams when she fouled out with 2:47 left as the lead continued to exchange hands before Serrata’s second trey of the afternoon gave the Islanders a 48-47 lead. After Morgan Davis missed a layup on the Lady Lions’ ensuing possession, Serrata calmly knocked down a jumper to extend A&M-Corpus Christi’s lead to 50-47 with :37 seconds left. 

With its season on the line, the Lady Lions turned to Hailey Giaratano, and the third-team All-Southland Conference guard delivered with a three-pointer that tied the score at 50-50 with just :13 remaining before regulation. 

“Coach drew up the play for me,” said Giaratano, who finished with 15 points. “She said, ‘you’re shooting it, and it’s going in.’” 

“I watched the work she put in, especially before we left for this tournament,” said Guzzardo when asked about giving Giaratano the opportunity. “She knew she would be put into clutch situations, so I gotta go to her.” 

Serrata, who scored 13 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth, attempted to put the game away, but her jumper glanced off the rim, forcing overtime. 

The teams were tied at 54 before Horne’s decisive trey. Verano’s attempt to tie the score fell short and opened the door for Giaratano to toss a strike downcourt to Bell for a layup that secured the win for Southeastern. 

“You could feel the emotion in the stands with the way those young ladies were battling and the heart and dedication in trying to make a play.” said Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Royce Chadwick, whose team (19-10) is expected to receive a tournament invite on Monday night.

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