THE GAME 

Opponent: Florida 
Date: Monday, Dec. 14 at 12 p.m. CST  
Location: ExacTech Arena– Gainesville, Florida 

TELEVISION: SEC Network+ 

SECSports.com/watch 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network KXTR 100.7 FM 

Kyle Crews, Play-by-Play 

AT A GLANCE 

Tarleton gets its first crack at an SEC opponent as a member Division I school on Monday against the Gators. The Texans enter the contest with a 3-3 overall record following Saturday's record-setting 95-27 romp over Champion Christian College inside Wisdom Gym. 

The win over the Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak for the Texans, who dropped consecutive road games at Lamar (73-58) and Oral Roberts (66-56), respectively, on Dec. 5 and Dec. 10. Tarleton established a new program record for most 3-point field goals made in a single game (16) and the 68-point margin of victory was the largest-ever in the Misty Wilson era. 

Monday's matchup will be the third game in a five-day span for the Texans and fourth nonconference road game against a Division I opponent. All three of Tarleton's wins have come inside Wisdom gym by at least 25 points. The Texans are still in search of their first road victory and win over a Division I foe. 

Florida (5-1) has won four straight ballgames under third-year head coach Cam Newbauer. The Gators most recently defeated UNC Ashville 70-48 in North Carolina on Wednesday. UF is limiting opponents to an SEC-leading 18.1 percent shooting clip from 3-point range and has scored at least 80 points in three games.  

The game replaces a previously scheduled contest with Arlington Baptist, which was slated to take place inside Wisdom Gym on Monday. 

GAME COVERAGE 

Monday's game will be broadcasted on the SEC Network. Links for live stats and the video stream can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at TarletonSports.com. Kyle Crews will have the call on the new home of Tarleton women's basketball – KXTR 100.7 FM in Stephenville – and worldwide at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tipoff. 

ATTENDING THE GAME 

Florida is allowing a limited number of fans to attend home games at the ExacTech Arena (10,133). Fans can purchase tickets through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 352-375-4683 

INSIDE THE SERIES: FLORIDA 

Monday's game is the first meeting between the two schools. 

LAST TIME OUT: CHAMPION CHRISTIAN 

The Texans turned the Tigers over 32 times – a single-game high by a Wilson-coached team – and never trailed in the contest. Tarleton opened the game with a 19-0 scoring run, led 47-18 at halftime and held Champion Christian to one made field goal in the second half. 

The Texans had five players scored in double figures and set season-highs in assists (26) and 3-point field goal percentage (51.5). Junior Marissa Escamilla led Tarleton's offensive effort with 17 points off the bench while freshman Iyana Dorsey enjoyed her fourth game with 15-or-more points scored. Dorsey and fellow guards Kaitlyn Guillory and Reagan Heun drained four 3-point shots each. 

Defensively, Tarleton held Champion Christian to 14 percent shooting from the field and was paced by Callie Boyles, who blocked six shots and recorded the second double-double of her season and career. Boyles, a 6-3 forward, had 12 points and 11 rebounds in her second-career start. Lucy Benson finished with four steals, the last of which was the 115th of her Texan career.  

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON 

The Texans conclude the nonconference portion of their schedule with a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the South Point Classic. Tarleton opens the two-game tournament against North Alabama on Dec. 20 before facing Eastern Michigan a day later. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. CT. 

The team will break for 16 days before opening the conference portion of its schedule against Grand Canyon on Jan. 8-9 in Phoenix as previously announced. Tarleton's first WAC home series is scheduled for Jan. 15-16 vs. California Baptist. 

BOYLES BLOCK PARTY 

The Denton, Texas native leads the WAC in blocked shots with 16 (2.8 bpg) and has 40 blocked shots for her career. 

Boyles set a single-game high in the category with six blocked shots in the team's win over Champion Christian. She swatted five shots against Howard Payne and has blocked at least three shots in eight games since arriving in Stephenville in 2019 

HOY HEATS UP VS. ORU 

The 5-9 guard scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the first half of the Texans 66-56 loss at Oral Roberts. It was the sixth game of her Texan career in which she finished with 17 points. Hoy also shot 50 percent from the field. Hoy's scoring output kept Tarleton afloat in a game in which it collectively shot 27 percent from the field. 

DORSEY MAKES FRESHMAN OFFENSIVE HISTORY 

Her 18 points scored at North Texas were the most by a Texan in a season-opener since 2014 and the most by a freshman under coach Misty Wilson in a season-opening game. Dorsey's scoring figure was also a game-high.  

She has been in double-digit scoring by halftime in three games and is the only player to have tallied 15-or-more points on four occasions. The freshman guard also leads the team in free throws made (24) and is shooting at an 85.7 percent clip from the charity stripe. She hit 10-12 free throws against North Texas. Dorsey, who holds Birdville High School records in made 3-point shots in a single season (77) and a single game (6) leads the team in made 3-point field goals with 12. Four of her 3-pointers came in a single quarter. Dorsey went 4-7 from beyond the arc in the second quarter of the team's win over Bacone. Dorsey was one of three players to hit four 3-point against Champion Christian to help the team reset the program record for most made 3-point field goals in a game. Dorsey is currently 10th in the WAC in scoring (14 ppg) and fifth in free throw percentage. 

ESCAMILLA ATOP THE TEXAN LEADERBOARD 

She leads Tarleton's active players in career 10-point games (17), 10-rebound games (3) and double-doubles (3).  

Escamilla became the fifth different player to lead Tarleton in single-game scoring this season with a 17-point performance against Champion Christian. The junior has scored in double digits in all three games she has appeared in and is second on the team in scoring.  

The Burnet, Texas native recorded seven rebounds apiece vs. North Texas and ORal Roberts and is building off of a strong sophomore campaign. Last season, Escamilla had the most offensive rebounds of any player (67) and was tops on the team in field goal percentage (.542). 

CUNNINGHAM'S CONSISTENCY 

Junior college transfer Emily Cunningham has scored in double figures in every game and leads Tarleton in field goal percentage (.613) and 3-point field goal percentage (.571).  

Cunningham is also tops on the team in made field goals (17) and has hit at least four shots from the field in all four of the team's contest.  

The 6-0 forward put forth her best offensive performance vs. Howard Payne on Nov. 28. She connected on 6-9 shots from the field vs. Howard Payne on Saturday and was 4-6 from 3-point land. Cunningham ranks third all-time in Hill College program history in 3-point shots made. 

'IF YOU AIN'T FIRST, YOU'RE LAST' 

Through six games, the Texans have outscored opponents 114-74 in the first quarter. Tarleton also shot 53 percent from the field in the opening frame in its first three ballgames. 

Defensively, Tarleton has limited its opponents to 26 combined made field goals. The Texans held, North Texas, Howard Payne and Champion Christian below 20 percent shooting. 

NEW FACES ON THE BENCH 

Wilson tabbed former Texan men's basketball coach Nic Cantrell as her lead assistant. Cantrell spent nine years with the Tarleton men's basketball program either as a player or coach. He spent the last four seasons serving as an assistant coach. 

The seventh-year head coach also added Jaron Vierra, who directed and owned Believe You Can (BYC) Girls Basketball from 2016-2020, as an assistant coach. The Georgetown, Texas native has a background in player and skill development from his time at BYC and often works closely with the Texans' guards.