STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton won its fourth straight game in the first action of the 2018 calendar year by taking care of Angelo State in Wisdom Gym 72-56 Thursday night.
Tarleton put together one of its top all-around performances of the season Thursday night, which was sparked by a season-high 31-point scoring effort by the TexAnn bench. Senior
Baylee Peck poured in a career-high 11 points.
A dominant first-half showing allowed the TexAnns to jump out to a 38-23 halftime advantage. In the first half, Tarleton shot .462 as a team from the floor while holding the Rambelles to just .231 shooting in the opening half, including a 0-4 mark from downtown.
After
Katie Webster got the scoring started with the game's first bucket, Tarleton's lead bounced between two and seven over the opening quarter to send the TexAnns into the second quarter with a 21-14 lead.
Enter,
Baylee Peck.
The senior went back-to-back from downtown for Tarleton's first points of the second quarter to turn a five-point lead into an 11-point lead in 30 seconds. The Rambelles pushed back to cut Tarleton's lead to four, but a pair of Peck free throws started an 11-0 Tarleton run over the rest of the half to send the TexAnns into the break with a 38-23 lead.
Katie Webster and
McKinley Bostad opened the second half with a layup and three-ball, respectively, to give the TexAnns their first 20-point lead of the night at 43-23. The Belles pulled as close as 12 in the third quarter and the TexAnns led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter en route to their eighth win of the season.
Bostad led the TexAnns with 14 points as one of four players in double figures.
Mackenzie Hailey recorded her 17
th career double-double as the sophomore filled up the stat line with 11 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, two blocks, and an assist on the night.
Katie Webster also scored 11 while
Tiara Tatum added five to round out the scoring by the starting five. Peck's 11 led the way off the bench while
Trejouir Wilson (8) and
Nina Alvarez (7) combined for 15 points.
Lucy Benson (2) and
Shelby Mankins (3) rounded out the scoring for Tarleton.
Tarleton improved to 8-5 overall on the season and 2-3 in conference play with the win. The TexAnns will return to action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Stephenville against Texas A&M-Kingsville.