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Ada, Okla. – The Tarleton TexAnn basketball team will take its season-opening perfect record above the Red River this weekend for a Lone Star Conference crossover showdown with East Central at the Kerr Center in Ada, Okla.
The TexAnns are 7-0 and off to the program's best start since the 1982-83 season. A win on Saturday will match the school's best record to start a season, just like the 1982-83 team did while opening the season at 8-0.
Tarleton is coming off consecutive home wins last week against then No. 19 Central Oklahoma (85-55) and Northeastern State (56-42). The win over UCO snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bronchos, while the win over the RiverHawks was the first one for the TexAnns since 2005.
East Central heads into Saturday's game with a 5-2 overall record after defeating Eastern New Mexico, 83-72, last Saturday in Portales, N.M. The Tigers opened the season with a loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville then posted consecutive wins in four straight games before falling to West Texas A&M in Canyon back on Dec. 3.
Tarleton leads the all-time series 10-4 and have won eight straight contests over the Tigers. Tarleton's last loss to ECU came back on Jan. 23, 2003 in Ada, Okla. The TexAnns are 5-2 overall at the Kerr Center including a 64-52 win over the Tigers two years ago.
Casi Rawls leads the Tigers offensively with a 15.6 points per game average and a .556 field goal percentage. Krista Bullis leads the Tigers from beyond the three-point line having made 12-of-34 (.353) shots from behind the arc. Danielle Cox leads ECU on the boards as she averages 5.9 rebounds per contest. Defensively the Tigers are led by Jourdan Clark who leads the team with 15 steals on the season.
JoAnne Jones leads the TexAnns averaging 10.9 points a game. Behind her is reigning LSC South Offensive Player of the Week, Morgan Stehling, who is averaging 10.0 points a game coming off the bench for the TexAnns. Kelsey Benford leads the team with a .613 shooting percentage with Jones behind her shooting .576 from the field. Sonya Sundberg leads the team in both assists (29) and steals (17). Shelby Adamson follows with 22 assists, while Tori Skarke follows defensively with 12 steals. Brittnie Haley leads the team as she averages 6.4 boards per game. Jones follows averaging 6.1 rebounds per contest.
The TexAnns are shooting .504 from the field as a team, that includes a .422 shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line. Tarleton is shooting .625 percent from the free-throw line on the season.
Tarleton is allowing opponents to just a .290 shooting percentage from the field, which is tops in the LSC. The TexAnns also lead the conference in blocks (4.9), assists (18.4) and steals (12.3)
Tip-off inside Kerr Center on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 93.1 FM KSTV where fans can listen online.