- Box Score
STEPHENVILLE – The TexAnns cruised to their third straight double-digit victory with an 81-51 thumping of Incarnate Word Wednesday night in Wisdom Gym.
In front of 2,116 fans, Tarleton put on a clinic, posting their second highest margin of victory for the season. Earlier this year, the TexAnns defeated East Central by 45 points.
The Cardinals took an initial lead in the game on a couple of easy lay-ups in the lane, but Tarleton made adjustments and began to clog the paint. The TexAnns were able to hang with Incarnate Word through the first five minutes, tying the game up at 9-9 with 14:44 on the clock.
From then on, it was the Tarleton show as the TexAnns led the rest of the first half and game. The first double-digit lead was courtesy of a 10-0 Tarleton run from the 12:15 mark to the 5:44 mark. That would be all the TexAnns would need to coast through the contest with little struggle from the Cardinals.
The first half ended with Tarleton leading 40-24, while 30 of the TexAnns' points came in the paint.
The senior post players dominated the first half as Brittnie Haley recorded eight points, two rebounds and two assists, and Kelsey Benford recorded eight points and five rebounds. Shelby Adamson added seven points, while six other TexAnns put points on the board.
Tarleton shot an astonishing 55.2 percent from the floor and held UIW to just 41.7 percent from the field. The TexAnns also out-rebounded the Cardinals and forced 13 turnovers through the first 20 minutes.
The second half began with Tarleton extending their lead to as high as 34 points, putting the game out of reach for the desperate Cardinals. The closest UIW was able to get to the TexAnns was 17 points and that was at the 19:19 mark.
For the third straight game, Tarleton won by double-digits, taking an 81-51 final from the Cardinals.
Morgan Stehling caught fire in the second half and finished the game as the leading scorer with 15 points to go along with her three steals. Benford added 12 points and five rebounds, while Adamson contributed 10 points, four assists and three steals. Tarleton recorded 14 steals as a team and forced 29 Incarnate Word turnovers.
Overall, the TexAnns shot 50.9 percent from the field, their best percentage so far this season, and hit 23 of their 28 free throws. UIW shot a respectable 42.9 percent from the field, but shot just 61.9 percent from the charity stripe.
The major factor in the game was Tarleton's ability to score in the paint, outscoring the Cardinals 44-22 on the inside. The TexAnns also out-played UIW on fast breaks with a 14-0 differential.
Tarleton head coach Ronnie Hearne discussed his team's effectiveness in the paint after the game.
“It was a big surprise that we were able to win by that much,” said Hearne. “They have some athletic players, but our senior post players really came to play. Kelsey (Benford) and Brittnie (Haley) both had outstanding performances for us.”
Hearne also talked about the Tarleton's slow start defensively.
“We gave up a couple of quick lay-ups, and your half-court defense should never give up uncontested lay-ups,” said Hearne. “But once we got into our full-court man-to-man, we were able to take back control of the game.”
The TexAnns will have two days of practice to prepare for the long road-trip this weekend to Portales, New Mexico as Tarleton will take on Eastern New Mexico Saturday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. Check out TarletonSports.com later this week for more details.
