CORPUS CHRISTI (Interstat) — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi opened its season with a 76-36 victory over Our Lady of the Lake on Wednesday at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi. The Islanders improved to 1-0. Our Lady of the Lake was the visiting team and a non-divisional opponent. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the home team. Attendance was 514.

The decisive stretch came in the opening quarter, when the Islanders seized control and never let it go. Rayna Williams made a layup with 9:18 remaining, and Sille-Liis Mölder followed with a 3-pointer with 8:45 left. Our Lady of the Lake got a free throw from Paige Chauncey with 7:16 left and a layup from Mia Singstock with 6:14 left, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi answered repeatedly. Laura Frances Willis made a free throw with 6:34 left, Chelsy Singleton made two free throws with 5:13 left, Willis added a layup with 4:14 left, Andrea Chiquemba hit a 3-pointer with 3:13 left, Singleton made a layup with 2:48 left, Asha Walker made a jump shot with 51.5 seconds left, Naiya Carney made a layup with 30.6 seconds left and Walker scored off a turnover with 8.5 seconds left. The Islanders closed the first quarter with 11 unanswered points and led 22-5 after one.

The Islanders kept pulling away in the second quarter. Mölder made a layup with 8:52 left, Williams made one of two free throws with 7:50 left and later added a layup with 6:47 left, Caitlin Lord made layups with 5:27 and 3:16 left and Willis made a driving layup with 5:08 left. Our Lady of the Lake received a layup from Paige Chauncey with 7:40 left, two free throws from Chauncey with 4:19 left and a 3-pointer from Anissa Cardona with 44.7 seconds remaining before halftime, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi continued to control the pace. A hook shot by Lori Zlatoper with 2:17 left helped the Islanders carry a comfortable lead into halftime.

The third quarter followed a similar pattern. Carney made two free throws with 7:40 left and a pullup jump shot with 7:24 left, Williams made a layup with 5:32 left and two free throws with 1:10 left, and Caitlin Lord made one of two free throws with 3:46 left. Carmen Sánchez-Ramos made a layup with 4:24 left, Valeria Martínez made two free throws with 2:45 left, and Mölder made layups with 2:38 and 2:08 left. Our Lady of the Lake got a free throw from Shayla Dede with 7:34 left, a 3-pointer and free throw from Mia Singstock with 6:22 and 5:55 left, a layup from Lilah Yanover with 2:22 left, two free throws from Phalan Sigers with 1:34 left and a late 3-pointer from Eliana Burns with 21.7 seconds left. Chelsy Singleton added a jump shot with 35.2 seconds left for the Islanders. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi maintained a comfortable lead throughout the quarter.

The Islanders put the game away in the fourth quarter. Willis made a layup with 9:45 left, Sánchez-Ramos made layups with 9:14 and 8:55 left, Mölder made a layup with 8:30 left and Walker made a layup with 7:37 left. Andjela Marojevic made a tip-in layup with 5:53 left and later added layups with 3:06 and 2:32 left. Our Lady of the Lake got a 3-pointer from Phalan Sigers with 7:07 left, a three-point play from Atiana Cook with 6:18 left, two layups from Amya Miller-Singleton with 4:55 and 4:26 left, a free throw from Lilah Yanover with 1:44 left and a late free throw from Phalan Sigers with 8:43 left. Naiya Carney made two free throws with 1:28 remaining to finish the scoring.

Laura Frances Willis led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with eight points, six rebounds and eight assists in 24 minutes. The 5-foot-8 guard from Bogart, Georgia, previously attended North Oconee High School. Sille-Liis Mölder had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. The 5-foot-10 guard previously attended Audentes Sports Gymnasium. Rayna Williams posted 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 17 minutes. The 6-foot-1 forward previously attended Legion Preparatory Academy. Naiya Carney added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes. The 5-foot-6 guard previously attended Skyline High School.

Valeria Martínez had two points, five rebounds and one assist in nine minutes. The 5-foot-9 guard previously attended IES Bezmiliana. Andjela Marojevic finished with six points and three rebounds in 13 minutes. The 5-foot-11 forward previously attended Gimnasium Zarko Zrenjanin. Carmen Sánchez-Ramos had six points, one rebound and one assist in 12 minutes. The 5-foot-10 guard previously attended Colegio Peñalar. Chelsy Singleton added six points and three rebounds in 23 minutes. The 5-foot-7 guard previously attended Cypress Ranch High School. Caitlin Lord had five points, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes. The 6-foot-3 forward previously attended Willetton Senior High School. Asha Walker contributed six points and two rebounds in 16 minutes. The 5-foot-10 guard previously attended American High School.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi scored 76 points from 71 possessions, an offensive rating of 107.7. The Islanders had 11 offensive rebounds, 17 assists, five blocks and seven turnovers. Our Lady of the Lake scored 36 points in the loss.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is scheduled to visit Baylor next, followed by road games at Texas State and Houston and home contests against West Florida and St. Mary’s. The Islanders are also scheduled to play Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and Fresno State later in the schedule. No point spread, betting line, game simulator, projection or over-under information was provided.