• Live Stats
• Live Video
• Audio
• Notes
• Tickets
STEPHENVILLE - Tarleton will hit the hardwood for the first time in 10 days as they host Texas-Permian Basin Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
In the eighth game of the 2012-13 season, the TexAnns go for their fourth straight win as they welcome UTPB into town.
Tarleton owns the all-time record against the Falcons 7-2, but UTPB has won the last two meetings by a combined six points. The last meeting came Nov. 20 when UTPB pulled out a 3-point overtime win.
Tarleton is a perfect 6-0 against the Falcons in Stephenville and 2-0 against the Falcons in December. Since joining the NCAA in 1994, Tarleton is 9-9 in its game before Christmas and 6-3 in those games under Hearne.
AT A GLANCE
Records: Tarleton TexAnns 5-2 (3-0 LSC), Texas-Permian Basin 6-3 (0-0 Heartland)
Video: The Tarleton TexAnn game can be seen through the Tarleton All-Access link on TarletonSports.com
Radio: KSTV 93.1 FM The Mighty 93 in Stephenville has the call for the TexAnns with Mike Young (play-by-play) on air. An online link to the audio feed can be found at TarletonSports.com.
Last Time Out
Tarleton dominated from the get-go en route to a 78-60 blowout of Abilene Christian in Wisdom Gym Dec. 8. Despite a 23-point effort from Peyton Adamson, it was the career night of Brianna Bledsoe and Kiara Wright who highlighted the night. Bledsoe scored a career-best 16 points while Wright snagged a personal-best 19 rebounds. The TexAnns shot 50 percent from the floor while holding the Wildcats to just 26 percent shooting.
Last month's meeting
Tarleton and UTPB met in Odessa on Nov. 20 and the Falcons survived an overtime thriller. The TexAnns struggled with foul trouble in the first meeting as Cheyenne Berry fouled out and Kiara Wright was forced to play careful with four fouls. Peyton Adamson also had four fouls in the game. Despite the fouls, all three of the TexAnns cracked double figures in points. UTPB was led in scoring by the Heartland conference's leading scorer Teisha King, who posted 40 points.
Coming off a career night
Brianna Bledsoe and Kiara Wright are both coming off big career nights against Abilene Christian when the TexAnns last took the court. Bledsoe, a junior from Stephenville, posted 16 points in addition to playing strong defense on the LSC Preseason Player of the Year while Wright, a junior from Pittsburg, grabbed 19 defensive rebounds for a career best. Also setting career highs on the night were Keyra Johnson with seven points and Cheyenne Berry with four assists.
LSC Players of the Week
Last week, Tarleton boasted two of the LSC's Players of the Week as Peyton Adamson earned Co-Offensive PoW honors and Kiara Wright was named the Defensive PoW. Adamson earned the honor with a 23-point effort against ACU and a 12-point effort - including six of those points in the first two minutes of overtime against Angelo State - while Wright set a career high in rebounds against ACU with 19 defensive boards en route to the defensive honor. For Adamson, it is the second PoW honor of the season and the fourth of her career and for Wright it is the first of the season and the sixth of her career.
Conference's top 2 scorers
Tarleton comes into the game with the top two scorers in the Lone Star Conference for the third straight week. After her 23-point effort against ACU, Peyton Adamson regained the conference scoring lead from teammate Kiara Wright by averaging 17.1 points per contest. Wright is second in the LSC with 16.3 points per game.
Wright becoming one of Tarleton's best
Kiara Wright continues her climb up the Tarleton rebounding record list after posting her sixth double-double of the season. She now leads the LSC in rebounding this season at 13.6 boards per game. She is rapidly climbing up the indivdual rebounding lists. Her 363 career defensive rebounds have her currently in fourth place all-time while her 173 offensive boards are good for 10th place all-time, so far. After seven games, she has 95 rebounds to give her 536 for her Tarleton career and is now 9 rebounds shy of passing Becky Bates for 14th and 11 boards shy of passing Helena Smith for 13th on the all-time TexAnn rebounding list. Wright has 19 career double-doubles in regular season and postseason contests and had scored 20 points five times.
UTPB in the Heartland Conference
The Falcons have been a member of the Heartland Conference since 2006. Since the 2009-10 season, UTPB has been a conference power. In 09-10, the Falcons recorded their highest conference finish at the time in third while boasting their first Conference Player of the Year - Tammy Acosta. In each of the past two seasons, the Falcons finished second in the Heartland standings and won the HC Championship Tournament in 2011. They advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the first time in 2011.
Last Time Out for the Falcons
After starting the season 4-0, the Falcons have dropped three of their last five including their last game at Midwestern State 76-61. UTPB led game at the 4:52 mark but MSU answered with a 12-1 run to take a 10-point lead. The Mustangs led the rest of the way en route to a 15-point win. Taniqua Ards led the Falcons with 20 points while Teisha King (16) and Briannah Matthews (12) cracked double figures as well.
Looking Ahead for Tarleton
The TexAnns will take a break for Christmas and return to action Dec. 29 when they host Wayland Baptist.
