GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 | 5 p.m.

Where: Stephenville, Texas | Wisdom Gym

Records: Tarleton 4-2, 0-0 LSC | St. Mary's 5-1, 0-0 HC

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

Watch Online: TarletonSports.com/ListenLive

THE GAME
Tarleton will face arguably its stiffest test of the young season Saturday night with the TexAnns (4-2) play host to the Rattlers of St. Mary's University (5-1) in a South Central Regional showdown in Wisdom Gym at 5 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
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. Tarleton had eight different players shoot at least 50 percent from the floor. As a team, the TexAnns shot 51 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the arc and 62 percent at free throws.
 
THE OPPONENT
Led by four-year point guard Dezirae Elias, the Rattlers are off to a 5-1 start to the season. St. Mary's opened the year with 72-77 loss to Texas Woman's but have rebounded in a big way to win their next five in a row entering Saturday's contest. Three of the Rattlers' five wins this season have come against Lone Star Conference opponents, including two against Texas A&M-Kingsville by a combined score of 146-119. Elias leads the way with 17.5 points per game while Kiara Etheridge (17.0) and Arysia Porter (10.2) are also averaging double-figures.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday marks the 16th all-time meeting between the TexAnns and Rattlers and St. Mary's holds an 11-4 advantage in the 29-year history that dates back to 1986. Tarleton has won three of the last five dating back to 2010.
 
MCGRATH FROM DOWNTOWN
Raven McGrath is currently on pace to be Tarleton's all-time greatest 3-pointer shooter by percentage. The senior recently passed Misty Wilson and is 14th all-time in 3-pointers made (78) and is shooting .417 from downtown for her career. The all-time record is .413 by Peyton Adamson and Jenn Doroga.
 
GETTING ON THE BOARDS
Rebounding has been a vital key for the TexAnns this season. In their four wins, the TexAnns are outrebounding opponents by 10.8 boards per game; whereas, in the two losses, Tarleton is losing the battle of the boards by 3.0 per game. Leading the way in Tarleton wins is Ikpeaku Iwobi with 11.3 rebounds per contest in victories.
 
TEXANNS AGAINST ST. MARY'S
Morgan Ashmore, Meagan O'Dell, and Raven McGrath are the only TexAnns on the roster who have played in every meeting against the Rattlers in their careers. In the last two games, Ashmore is averaging 6.0 assists per game against STMU.
 
APPROACHING MILESTONE MARKS
Tarleton has three players on the verge of reaching personal scoring milestones in their respective careers. Raven McGrath is 12 points shy (488) of becoming the first TexAnn on this season's roster to reach 500 career points. Meanwhile, Meagan O'Dell (393) is seven points away from 400 and Bailey Wipff (283) is 17 points away from 300 in her career.
 
FAMILIAR TIME TO SEE STMU
This is the fourth consecutive season that the first South Central Regional opponent Tarleton has faced will be St. Mary's. Tarleton is 1-2 in the last three years against the Rattlers.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will take a week off for final exams and return to action on Monday, December 14 for the first game of a Tarleton doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. against Oklahoma Baptist in Wisdom Gym.