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DURANT, Okla. - The Tarleton TexAnns will travel to Oklahoma for just the second time this season in as many days to take on No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma, Monday night at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant, Okla.
Both teams head into Monday's contest as the only two squads in the Lone Star Conference with perfect 8-0 records and just one team will come out with a 9-0 mark. If the TexAnns come out on top, it will be Tarleton's best record to open the season in school history.
Tarleton has already matched the school's best record to open a season following Saturday's 81-60 win over East Central in Ada, Okla. SOSU meanwhile heads into Monday's contest with a perfect 8-0 record as well following a 73-61 home win over Midwestern State on Saturday.
The TexAnns' 8-0 mark matches the 1982-83 team that began the season with the same record before falling to Howard Payne on the road that year.
The TexAnns are 13-10 against SOSU in the all-time series despite losing four of the last five contests against the Savage Storm. Tarleton dropped a home game to SOSU last season, 76-73, and fell 59-42 to the Savage Storm in Durant, Okla. two seasons ago. The TexAnns' last win over SOSU came back on Jan. 8, 2007, when Tarleton defeated SOSU, 83-63, in Stephenville. Tarleton's last win at Bloomer Sullivan Arena came back on Feb. 17, 2005.
SOSU ranks second in the LSC with 82.4 points per game average, while the TexAnns rank third overall averaging 79.6 points per contest. Tarleton's defense is allowing opponents to a league low 46.1 points per game while SOSU allows opponents to 61.1 points a game – which is fourth best in the conference.
The TexAnns are second-best in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting .495 percent from the floor, behind SOSU that is shooting .500 percent from the floor. Tarleton's defense is allowing opponents to shoot .304 from the field and SOSU is allowing teams to shoot .355 from the floor.
Both team's rank first and second respectably in blocked shots (Tarleton, 5.3; SOSU 4.5) and assists (Tarleton 18.1, SOSU 17.3), while Tarleton leads both teams in steals, 12.0 to 8.8 steals per game.
Destiny Brown, the season's north division player of the year, leads the Savage Storm in scoring as she averages 12.0 points a contest. She leads the team in rebounds as well averaging 6.8 boards a game. Nikki Nester leads the team with 32 assists and Kacey Russell leads with nine steals.
JoAnne Jones leads the TexAnns in scoring with 11.1 points per game. Brittnie Haley follows averaging 10.8 points and leads the team with a 6.8 rebounds per game average. Sonya Sundberg leads the team with 38 assists and 18 steals on the season. Morgan Stehling leads the team off the bench with 10.4 points per game.
Tip-off on Monday is set for 6 p.m. and can be heard live online at KSTVFM.com. The Sports Doctor, Dr. Ron Newsome, will call the play-by-play action. The TexAnns will return home on Saturday, Dec. 19, against Southwestern Oklahoma.
