Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Led by a career-high scoring effort from Kiara Wright, No. 17 Tarleton (14-3, 5-2) returned to the win column with an 89-71 win over Eastern New Mexico (6-10, 4-3) Saturday night in Wisdom Gym.
 
Wright, the team's senior captain, led the charge with 39 points on 13-13 shooting from the floor and a 13-20 shooting effort at the free throw line. This is the third 30-point game for Wright this season, the seventh in her career. She also paired it with 16 rebounds for her 12^th double-double of the season and the 49^th of her career.
 
This performance gives Wright 1,430 points in her career and brings her 10 points shy of tying her current coach, Misty Wilson, for sixth all-time and second all-time in Tarleton's NCAA scoring history.
 
Tarleton struggled out of the gate as the Zias opened the game on a 23-12 run over the first 6:42 but a pair of free throws by Shanae Lowrance turned the tide for the TexAnns.
 
The Lowrance free throws started a 14-3 Tarleton run, capped off by a Brianna Bledsoe layup, gave Tarleton a 27-26 lead with 8:27 left in the opening half. Eastern New Mexico responded to retake the lead but couldn't extend it beyond four.
 
Tarleton tied the game at 33-33 before a 3-ball by Meagan O'Dell gave Tarleton the lead and started a 11-8 TexAnn push to end the half and give Tarleton a 44-41 lead at the break.
 
The teams stayed in a tight battle with Tarleton holding on to its three-point lead at 55-52 at 14:59.
 
With 14:39 left in the game, Wright hit a layup to start an 8-0 TexAnn run to give Tarleton its biggest lead of the game at 63-52. Tarleton held onto the lead and extended it by as many as 18, the final margin of victory, before the buzzer sounded.
 
Bledsoe and Kathy Thomas each scored 12 while Lowrance scored seven. O'Dell (6), Karli Moore (5) and Raven McGrath (4) added scoring off the bench and Morgan Ashmore scored two to round out the scoring.
 
Tarleton won the battle in the paint, outrebounding the Zias 41-32 and outscoring ENMU down low 44-30. Tarleton also got 17 points off 13 ENMU turnovers and holding the Zias to no points off only eight Tarleton turnovers.
 
The TexAnns are off on Wednesday and return to action with a pair of games next weekend, hosting Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday at 5 p.m. and visiting Texas Woman's Sunday at 2 p.m.