THE GAMES 

Opponent: North Alabama Lions 

Date: Sunday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. CST 

Location: South Point Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada 

 

Opponent: Eastern Michigan Eagles 

Date: Monday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. CST 

Location: South Point Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada 

 

TELEVISION ($): South Point Hotel 

PlayStreamingVideoProvider.com 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network KXTR 100.7 FM 

Kyle Crews, Play-by-Play 

AT A GLANCE 

Tarleton returns to Las Vegas for the South Point Classic for the first time in five years when it meets UNA and EMU inside the South Point Arena.  

The Texans competed in the Division II edition of the tournament in 2015 in head coach Misty Wilson's second year at the helm. Tarleton defeated Stonehill College in its opening game and fell to Montana State-Billings a day later.  

Tarleton is 12-9 in neutral site games under Wilson and is searching for its first win away from Wisdom Gym in the 2020-21 season. The Texans (3-4) enter the two-game tournament off a loss at Florida and are one week removed from a record-setting 95-27 win over Champion Christian, in which the team forced the most turnovers in a single game (32) and posted the largest margin of victory in the Wilson era. 

UNA (0-6) is winless on the season, though three of its losses have come against 'Power Five Conference' opponents in Missouri, Purdue and West Virginia. The Lions are in the third year of their transition to the Division I ranks and compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference. UNA finished with a 21-9 overall record last season. 

The Eagles open the South Point Classic against Gonzaga and are 3-2 on the season. EMU returns nine letter winners from a 2019-20 squad that went 16-15.  

GAME COVERAGE 

The South Point Hotel will provide a live stream for both games. A $10 subscription fee is required to access the video broadcast for each game. 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 for both games 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. 

The South Point Arena is not allowing in-person attendance at the tournament following the extension of a 'statewide pause' through Jan. 15 by Governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak. The increased restrictions include a ban on large events and limit public gatherings to no more than 50 people. 

INSIDE THE SERIES: NORTH ALABAMA  

Sunday marks the first meeting between the two programs, both of whom are transitioning to NCAA Division I basketball. 

INSIDE THE SERIES: EASTERN MICHIGAN 

The Texans' game against the Eagles will be its first against EMU and a Mid-American Conference opponent. 

LAST TIME OUT: FLORIDA 

Tarleton got its first taste of the national spotlight as a member Division I school on Monday when it squared off with the Gators in Gainesville. 

Florida won the game 84-52, using a 15-0 scoring burst to begin the game and 22-3 run out of halftime to separate from the Texans. Tarleton played the Gators close to even the rest of the way, however. 

The Texans led for more than eight minutes in the second quarter and were outscored by just one point in the final frame. Tarleton shot 40 percent from the field over the game's final 30 minutes and the Texans' bench outscored the Gators' 30-26. Defensively, Tarleton limited the Gators to six made 3-point shots – four of which came in the third quarter. 

The Gators used a noticeable size advantage to out-rebound the Texans 53-28 and had 28 fast break points to the Texans' four. Emily Cunningham was responsible for all three of Tarleton's made 3-point shots. The Texans shot 3-17 from behind the arc one game after breaking the program record for made 3-point shots in a single game with 16 vs. Champion Christian. 

Marissa Escamilla became the Tarleton's leading scorer (13.3 ppg) and rebounder (6 rpg) following a 13-point, 5-rebound effort to lead the team in both categories.  

The Texans also received an offensive boost with the return of Cunningham from a two-game injury absence. Cunningham, 6-0, scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench. Cunningham currently leads the Western Athletic Conference in field goal percentage (60.5) and is third in 3-point field goal percentage (57.1). 

Guards Iyana Dorsey and Kandyn Faurie each finished with four rebounds while Dorsey and senior Alexa Hoy had two steals apiece. 

UP NEXT 

The Texans will break for the holidays and have an 18-day gap between games before opening WAC play at Grand Canyon on Jan. 8-9 in Phoenix. Monday's game against the Eagles' is Tarleton's last scheduled nonconference game. The Texans are slated to play their first-ever WAC home games vs. California Baptist on Jan. 15-16. 

TEXANS AMONG WAC STATISTICAL LEADERS 

Cunningham is 14th in scoring (11.8 ppg) in addition to leading the conference in field goal percentage and ranking third in 3-point field goal percentage. Sophomore Callie Boyles sits atop the conference in blocked shots with 16. Dorsey has connected on 26-30 attempts from the foul line and ranks second in free throw percentage (86.7). 

Lucy Benson's team-high 18 steals are the fourth-most in the WAC. Escamilla is 10th in the conference in scoring and tied for seventh in rebounds per game. Dorsey (12.9 ppg) ranks 12th in scoring while Hoy is eighth in field goal percentage (47.9). 

As a team, Tarleton is second in blocks per game (4.4) and free throw percentage (72.0). The Texans rank fourth in field goal percentage (41.7), 3-point field goal percentage (32.7) and turnovers per game (15.40). 

HOME COOKIN' 

Tarleton boasts a 130-25 overall record in Wisdom Gym since 2009 and has averaged more than 10.5 home victories in each of the last six seasons. The Texans have never lost more than five games in Stephenville in six years under coach Misty Wilson.  

The team is 38-10 at home dating back to the 2017-2018 campaign. This season, Tarleton is averaging 83.7 points per game at home, won all three of its home contests by at least 25 points, and has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 50 points. 

Tarleton's victory over Howard Payne on Nov. 28 was its fourth consecutive home-opening victory and 13th in the last 14 years. The team's win over Bacone on Dec. 2 marked the Texans' fourth straight 3-0 start to its home schedule. 

ESCAMILLA ATOP THE TEXAN LEADERBOARD 

She leads Tarleton's active players in career 10-point games (19), 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 four games she has appeared in and ranks 10th in the WAC 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). 

BOYLES' BLOCK PARTY 

The Denton, Texas native leads the WAC in blocked shots per game with 2.3 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. 

CUNNINGHAM'S CONSISTENCY 

Cunningham, 6-0 has scored in double figures and shot above 50 percent in every game she's appeared in. A native of Italy, Texas, Cunningham returned from a two-game injury absence with an 11-point effort against Florida on Dec. 14. Nine of her points came in the first half - all of which came on made 3-point shots.  

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 

DORSEY MAKES 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 (26) and is shooting at an 86.7 percent clip from the charity stripe, which ranks second in the WAC. 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. 

HOY HEATS UP AGAINST ORAL ROBERTS 

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. 

LUCY LOOKING TOWARD THE TEXAN TOP-15 

Benson leads the team in steals with 18 and has 115 for her career. She needs 58 more to enter the top-15 of the program's records list for career steals.