STEPHENVILLE – Ikpeaku Iwobi recorded her first career 20-point game and her fourth double-double of the season to lead Tarleton past perennial NCCAA powerhouse Arlington Baptist in a 95-66 rout at Wisdom Gym Tuesday night.
 
Iwobi, who shot 10-14 from the field en route to a career-high 21 points, led the way for Tarleton on a 51-percent team shooting effort from the field. Tarleton had eight different players shoot at least 50 percent from the floor. As a team, the TexAnns also shot 35 percent from beyond the arc and 62 percent at the charity stripe.
 
Iwobi added 10 rebounds to lead the way for Tarleton, who won the battle of the boards 50-22. Iwobi (10), Averie Mack (8), and Catherine Okwilagwe (6) combined for more rebounds (24) than the entire Patriot team (22).
 
Tarleton got off to a fast start, beginning on the first possession of the game with a Bailey Wipff three pointer. The Wipff triple was the beginning of seven unanswered points to begin the game for Tarleton, who jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 1:30 of the game.
 
A pair of Nia Jackson free throws at the 3:49 mark of the opening quarter started a 10-0 TexAnn run to lift Tarleton's lead to 16 in the final minute of the first.
 
After Arlington Baptist scored six unanswered over the final minute of the first and opening 48 seconds of the second, Tarleton ultimately put the game away with 15 straight points that started with back-to-back layups from Iwobi. Over that stretch, Tarleton got six points from Travanti Downes, five from Raven McGrath, and the first four from Iwobi to take a 49-24 lead over the Patriots with 4:58 left in the opening half.
 
The Patriots pulled as close as 18 over the rest of the half but Tarleton went into the break with a 56-35 advantage after shooting 51 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Iwboi led the team with a season-high 16 points in just 16 minutes of the first half.
 
In the second half, Tarleton never led by less than 17 and stretched the lead to as many as 30.
 
Tarleton got double-figure scoring performances from four TexAnns, including two TexAnns with their first collegiate double-digit games. After Iwobi's 21 points, Meagan O'Dell scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor, including 3-6 from downtown, while Nia Jackson (11) and Tiara Tatum (10) each scored double figures for the first time as TexAnns.
 
Wipff (8), McGrath (7), Travanti Downes (6), Averie Mack (6), and Shelby Mankins (6) combined for 33 points for Tarleton. The six points by Mankins and four points from Karah Sicurella were also career highs for the freshmen TexAnns. Catherine Okwilagwe added two points to round out the scoring.
 
The TexAnns (4-2, 0-0) will return to action Saturday night at 5 p.m. with a showdown against regional rival St. Mary's in Wisdom Gym.