STEPHENVILLE - No. 21 Tarleton will head to San Antonio Wednesday, Feb. 9 to take on the Cardinals of Incarnate Word.  UIW is 7-12 on the year and just 3-4 in the Lone Star Conference.  The Cardinals are 3-6 at home in the McDermott Center while the TexAnns are 7-1 on the road.

INTO THE RANKINGS
    Tarleton was ranked No. 21 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II poll, in accordance with the American Basketball Coaches Association.  This marks the highest ranking for TexAnn program since moving to Division II.  The TexAnns were ranked No. 23 and have been in the Top 25 for the past five weeks.
    The TexAnns were also ranked No. 2 in the most recent South Central regional poll released last Wednesday.  They trail only Northeastern State in the region.  This also marks the highest ever regional ranking in the program's history.

LEADING THE PACK
    The TexAnns are on top of the LSC South standings with a perfect 7-0 record.  Tarleton holds wins over ACU, ASU, UIW, ENMU, WTAMU, TAMUK and MSU.  The TexAnns are entering the second round of games with those teams, starting with the Cardinals Wednesday.

TOPPING 20
    Junior Shelby Adamson is Tarleton's top scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game.  She has topped the 20-point mark on eight different occasions, including a career-high 29 points against Abilene Christian on Jan. 11.  Morgan Stehling also topped the 20-point mark with 21 against UCO, while Kiara Wright most recently scored 20 against Midwestern State.

LEADING THE TEXANNS
    Adamson is Tarleton's leading scorer with 16.8 points per game, while Stehling adds 10.8 per game and Brittnie Haley adds 9.1 per game.
    Wright is the TexAnns' leading rebounder with 7.3 per contest, with Kelsey Benford adding 6.1 and Haley adding 5.1 boards per game.

TEXANN SHOOTING
    Tarleton is averaging .423 from the floor, .318 from the three-point arc and .684 from the charity stripe.  In conference play, the TexAnns are shooting .438 from the floor, .320 from deep, and .685 from the line.

SHOOTING DEFENSE
    The TexAnns are holding opponents to .381 from the field, .332 from behind the arc and .622 from the line

OUTING THE OPPONENTS
    Tarleton is outscoring foes 72.4 to 58.2 and outrebounding them 37.6 to 35.6 this season.

NOW ON SPECIAL
    Tarleton is currently amidst a seven-game win streak, breaking their previous season high of six set between Dec. 4 and Jan. 6.  Both streaks have come after losses to Southeastern Oklahoma (Dec. 2) and Northeastern State (Jan. 8).

FRESHMAN PHENOM
    Tarleton freshman center Kiara Wright was named the Lone Star Conference South Division Defensive Player of the Week this week after her career performance against Midwestern State Saturday.
    Wright scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help out on the offensive end, but it was her stifling defense in the paint that helped lead Tarleton to victory.  Wright assisted in holding MSU's posts to a combined 5-of-22 from the floor.  She also helped Tarleton hold Midwestern State to just 32.1 percent from the floor, its second lowest mark of the season and  contributed to the TexAnns' 52 points in the paint
    This marks the third time this season that Wright has been named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
    Tarleton senior center Kelsey Benford was named the LSC South Division Defensive Player of the Week last week.  It marked Benford's second LSC POW after being named Offensive POW on Nov. 29.
    Benford joined Shelby Adamson and Wright, who have both been named Players of the Week on multiple occasions this year.

IN THE CONFERENCE
    The TexAnns are No. 2 in the Lone Star Conference in scoring defense (58.3) behind Northeastern State (55.3).  The TexAnns are No. 1 in the LSC in scoring margin (+14.2) and are No. 3 in the league in scoring offense (72.4) behind Central Oklahoma (77.2).
    Tarleton is No. 1 in turnover margin (+5.68) after being No. 1 with 9.8 steals per game.  The TexAnns are tied for No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (0.9).
    The TexAnns are also No. 1 in offensive rebound percentage (.376), and No. 5 in blocks (3.4).

INDIVIDUALS IN THE LSC
    Shelby Adamson is No. 5 in the Lone Star Conference in scoring (16.8) while Kiara Wright is tied at No. 9 in rebounding (7.3) and Kelsey Benford is No. 20 (6.1).
    Adamson is No. 1 in steals per game (2.4) and No. 7 in assists (3.8), while Sonya Sundberg is No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio (1.9) and No. 11 in assists (3.5).  Benford is also No. 5 in blocks per game (1.6). 


SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
    Incarnate Word is 7-12 on the season and 3-4 in LSC play.  The Cardinals are 3-6 at home and just 1-2 in home LSC contests
    As a team, UIW is averaging 59.8 points per game and shooting 38.5 percent from the floor, 30.0 percent from three-point range and 66.8 percent from the free throw line.  They also allow opponents to score 67.2 points per game.
    The Cardinals are led offensively by Chloe Wallace, who averages 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.  Katy Cooke is contributing 10.5 points each contest while Ifunanya Mora is adding 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.

UIW IN THE LSC
    Incarnate Word is 13th in the LSC in scoring margin (-7.4), due to their 59.8 points per game, second to last in the conference.
    The Cardinals rank towards the bottom in the conference in the majority of statistical categories, but are No. 7 in assist/turnover ratio (0.7).
    Individually, Chloe Wallace is No. 25 in scoring with 11.4 points per game and No. 9 in rebounding (7.3) right behind No. 8 Ifunanya Mora (7.4).

ALL-TIME SERIES
    Tarleton leads the all-time series 12-8 after picking up the win in the first meeting this season 81-51 in Stephenville.
    The TexAnns have picked up seven of their victories at home against the Cardinals, and are just 4-4 at UIW.