STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton women's basketball team will host a pair of Lone Star Conference North Division teams with Southeastern Oklahoma Thursday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m., and East Central Saturday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m.
The TexAnns (4-0) have battled through some tough teams so far this season, but have come out unblemished. Tarleton is 3-0 at home, and 1-0 against LSC North Division opponents.
The leading scorers for Tarleton this season are Shelby Adamson, who's averaging 18.0 points per game; Morgan Stehling, who's averaging 13 points per game; and Kelsey Benford, who's averaging 9.0 points per game.
Benford is also bringing down 7.0 rebounds per game, while Kiara Wright is leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per game. Wright is coming off a dominant performance against St. Edward's, where she scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Adamson is leading the defense with 2.8 steals per game, while Benford is recording 2.0 blocks per game.
As a team, the TexAnns are scoring 66 points per game, while giving up just 52 points per game. They are shooting a 40.6 percentage from the field and 72.9 percent from the free throw line.
Southeastern Oklahoma (4-1) will be Tarleton's competition on Thursday, coming in to the game on a three-game win streak and a 3-0-road record. The Savage Storm are a dangerous team, who's not afraid to launch shots from deep, attempting 101 three-pointers so far this season and hitting 39 of them.
Bailey Welch leads the team with 11 points per game and 6.6 assists per game, while Christin Nichols has added 10.4 points per game and Jessica Hesse has added 5.2 rebounds per game.
In the all-time series, Tarleton leads 13-11, but Southeastern Oklahoma won their last meeting in a close 72-68 contest on Dec. 14, 2009.
After the Savage Storm hits Stephenville, the TexAnns will have a short time to regroup before hosting East Central Saturday.
The Lady Tigers have struggled at times this year with a 3-2 record, and lost their only road game at St. Gregory's in overtime.
Casi Rawls controls East Central offensively, scoring 16 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, while collecting 4.2 steals per game defensively. Ashley Robison patrols the post, grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game to go along with her 9.2 points per game. The Lady Tigers are shooting just 37.7 percent from the floor as a team, and commit over 22 turnovers per game.
Tarleton has predominantly had the upper hand in the all-time series, winning 11 of the 15 meetings. East Central fell to the TexAnns on Dec. 12 last season, 80-61.
Tarleton will be welcoming Faculty and Staff Thursday night, as well as hosting Toys for Tots Night. Any fan who brings an unwrapped toy to the game gains free admission for the TexAnns and Texan basketball games.
The game will be broadcast on KSTV 93.1 FM, and fans can also watch live stats and live video via TarletonSports.com.
