CORPUS CHRISTI – A late layup by Tiani Ellison and a defensive stop on the other end snapped a four-game losing streak for the East Texas A&M University women's basketball team and booked a spot into the postseason with a 56-55 win over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Thursday night at the Hilliard Center.
 
The Lions found themselves trailing by as much as nine in the game and seven in the fourth quarter, but have won back-to-back games over the Islanders, their only two wins in the series and are now 13-14 on the season and 9-11 in Southland Conference play. The Islanders fall to 5-22 overall and 4-16 against SLC opponents.
 
The win clinches a spot into the eight-team conference tournament for East Texas A&M, returning to the postseason for the first time since 2023-24. The Lions can finish in either seventh or eighth place following the final two regular season games.
 
The 2026 Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament is on March 9-12 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
 
The Lions closed out the first half by holding the Islanders scoreless for the final 3:29 of the first half, climbing back from being down nine to tie at 28 at halftime.
 
With 6:31 left in the fourth, the Lions trailed 48-41 as the Islanders had scored seven in a row. Following a timeout, the Lions went on a 9-0 run to re-take the lead.
 
In the final minute of the game, the Lions trailed 55-54, but Ellison (Durant, Okla.) drilled a layup with 30 seconds to go. She came up with the rebound following the missed field goal on the other end by the Islanders to secure the win.
 
Cora Horvath (Oberwart, Austria) led the way with 11 points and eight rebounds, being the only Lion to score in double digits. Reza Po (San Bruno, Calif.) added nine, while Alva Hedrich (Muecke, Germany) totaled eight points and eight rebounds.
 
For the Islanders, K'Nari Holliday scored 14 along with 11 rebounds.
 

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The Lions continue the road trip at UTRGV on Saturday at 2 p.m.