- Box Score
STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton women's basketball team won a physical contest with Midwestern State 88-57 Saturday night in Wisdom Gym.
The TexAnns were finally able to get back to action after Wednesday's contest at MSU was postponed to Feb. 21. Tarleton showed no rust though, jumping out to an early lead on the Mustangs and never looking back.
MSU was able to take the initial lead, 2-0, by the 19:08 mark. That would be the only point in the contest that the visitors would have an edge as Tarleton responded with a quick six points in the next two minutes. The tone of the game was set early with both teams getting physical defensively. The referees allowed the two teams to play though, giving the TexAnns the advantage in size on the inside.
By the 11:16 mark, Tarleton had built a 19-9 lead, getting the margin to double-digits for the first time in the game. The Mustangs would never get within 10 points for the remainder of the contest. Every basket MSU was able to score, Tarleton would turn around and score six of their own.
With the fast paced game, the TexAnns were able to gain a 42-20 lead by half, thanks in large part to their stifling defense. Tarleton held the Mustangs to just 31.8 percent from the floor, while shooting a lights-out 61.3 percent themselves.
The TexAnns were led in the first half by Morgan Stehling, who has been unstoppable since coming off the bench, and her 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Shelby Adamson added nine points while Kelsey Benford and Brittnie Haley both had four rebounds. Tarleton only committed seven turnovers in the first half, forcing MSU to commit 13 turnovers.
The Mustangs were able to keep pace with the TexAnns in the second half, but the game was already out of reach for MSU. As the clock ticked away, desperation sat in for the Mustangs who began to foul, but Tarleton was able to convert on their free throws.
After only shooting five free throws in the first 20 minutes, the TexAnns hit 15 of their 23 attempts in the second half. As a result, MSU had a number of players in foul trouble and had to go to their bench.
Tarleton won the battle of bench play, getting 56 points from subs, while the Mustangs only got 14 points from the bench.
The TexAnns extended their lead to as high as 31 points by the 9:04 mark. That would also be the difference in the final score as Tarleton won its seventh straight game, 88-57.
Overall, the TexAnns shot a season-high 59.6 percent from the floor, despite shooting 18.2 percent from behind the arc. Tarleton was able to score 88 points and only made two shots from three-point land the entire game.
The TexAnns held MSU to 32.1 percent from the floor in the game and out-rebounded the Mustangs 33-24.
In front of the biggest crowd of the season in 2,418 fans, Tarleton put on a clinic both offensively and defensively. The TexAnns forced MSU to commit 18 turnovers and out-scored the Mustangs 52-26 in the paint.
Kiara Wright finished the game with her second double-double of her career with 20 points and 12 rebounds, going 8-of-10 from the floor. Stehling added 17 points while also going 8-of-10 from the floor. Adamson contributed 11 points and two assists for Tarleton.
Benford and Haley both finished the game with five rebounds, while Sonya Sundberg led the way with four assists.
Assistant coach Misty Wilson talked about Wright's production after the game.
“Kiara had one of her stronger performances tonight,” said Wilson. “She keeps improving every day and really stepped up for us tonight.”
Bench play was a major factor for Tarleton, with 56 points coming from the reserves.
“We had really good production from our bench, especially Morgan (Stehling),” said Wilson. “She has been a real spark off the bench the last three games and provides a scoring boost for us.”
The No. 23 TexAnns take their 17-2 record to Incarnate Word next when Tarleton heads to San Antonio Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m. The TexAnns will look to improve their 7-0 conference record when they take on the Cardinals.
