GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015 | 7 p.m.

Where: Denton, Texas | Kitty Magee Arena

Records: Tarleton 6-4, 0-0 LSC | Texas Woman's 10-2, 0-0 LSC

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Follow the Action: Live Stats | Game Notes

Tarleton Sports Network: Pregame Show at 5:15 p.m. | Listen Online

Watch Online: TWUAthletics.com

THE GAME
Tarleton will end the 2015 calendar year and begin the Lone Star Conference schedule Thursday night with a New Year's Eve showdown in Denton against Texas Woman's at 7 p.m.
 
THE BROADCAST
The game will have a live radio broadcast presented by the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The Voice of the TexAnns, Keltin Wiens, will serve as the play-by-play this season. The radio broadcast can be heard on KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The TexAnns couldn't overcome a double-digit deficit to Montana State-Billings and dropped the final game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic 74-62. Raven McGrath finished with a season-high 16 points to lead the TexAnns. Bailey Wipff scored 15 points, while Morgan Ashmore finished with 10 points and season-high seven assists.
 
THE OPPONENT
Texas Woman's is off to its best start in school history, winning 10 of its first 12 games for the first time. The Pioneers have four players who have already topped the 100-point plateau for this season, led by Erin Maxwell's 143 points and 11.9 points per game average. Kenesha Saygo (9.1), Morgan Easley (8.6), and Kara Mitchell (8.3) have also scored at least 100 points for Texas Woman's in the first 12 games of the season.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday marks the 42nd all-time meeting between the Pioneers and TexAnns, who hold the lead in the series 28-13 since the inaugural meeting in 1983. Tarleton trails, however, in 18 previous trips to Denton in which the Pioneers lead 10-8.
 
TARLETON IN LSC OPENERS
Since joining the NCAA in 1994, Tarleton is 11-10 in Lone Star Conference openers - which includes and 8-2 mark since 2005. In the 21 previous LSC openers, Tarleton has squared off with Texas Woman's six times, including each of the past three seasons. Tarleton is 2-4 against TWU all-time in LSC openers.

TARLETON ON NEW YEAR'S EVE
Tarleton has played in five games on New Year's Eve since 1979, all of which coming since 1998. The TexAnns are 4-1 in games on the final day of the calendar year, including four straight wins - the last of which coming against McMurry to close out 2011. Tarleton has one New Year's Eve game against Texas Woman's in the record book when the TexAnns played their first NYE game in Denton to close out 1998. Tarleton fell to the Pioneers 44-49 in that 1998 game.
 
APPROACHING MILESTONE MARK
Tarleton's Ikpeaku Iwobi (483) is 17 points away from becoming the second TexAnn this season to eclipse 500 career points - joining Raven McGrath, who enters Thursday's game with 520 points.
 
WILSON IN DECEMBER
Since Misty Wilson joined the program as a player in 1998, Tarleton is 57-31 in December games, including 5-3 as the head coach over the last two seasons.
 
ASHMORE, MCGRATH VS TWU
Seniors Morgan Ashmore and Raven McGrath have the most games played against Texas Woman's among any TexAnns on the roster - with six games versus the Pioneers on their resumes. Ashmore is averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 assists per game in her career against TWU while McGrath is averaging 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game against TWU.
 
IWOBI'S LAST TWO AGAINST TWU
Ikpeaku Iwobi has topped double figures in each of her last two games against the Pioneers, including a 17-point, 11-rebound effort in the last meeting against Texas Woman's.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will have a short turnaround before returning home Saturday afternoon to host Cameron at 5 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.