THE GAMES 

Opponent: Grand Canyon Lopes 

Dates: Friday, Jan. 8 and Saturday, Jan. 9. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. CST. 

Location: GCU Arena – Phoenix, Arizona 

TELEVISION: GCU TV 

GCULopes.com/watch 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network KXTR 100.7 FM 

Kyle Crews, Play-by-Play 

AT A GLANCE 

Tarleton's Western Athletic Conference debut will become official when it meets Grand Canyon for the first time in program history. 

The Texans and Lopes will play consecutive games in Phoenix. The WAC previously announced that teams will play back-to-back games at the same site in an effort to reduce travel and exposure to COVID-19. 

The pair of games continue Tarleton's extended run of road trips. The Texans (3-6) will have played seven of their last eight contests away from Wisdom Gym following Saturday's matchup.  

Tarleton last played on Dec. 21 vs. Eastern Michigan in the second of two games at the South Point Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tarleton fell 65-59 but left the tournament with positives to build upon ahead of this weekend.  The team erased a 15-point first half deficit and led 58-57 with under three minutes to play. Tarleton's nine turnovers were its second fewest in a game this season and the team also shot 20-24 (87.5 percent) from the foul line. 

The Texans currently lead the WAC in free throw percentage (73.0) and are averaging the fewest turnovers per game (14.1). Tarleton gave the ball away just 11.4 times per game in its last five contests. 

The program is navigating uncharted waters ahead of the weekend slate. The Texans loss at Florida (Dec. 14) and pair of defeats at the South Point Classic gave Tarleton its first three-game losing streak in three seasons. The team has lost five-of-six since beginning its inaugural Division I campaign with two home victories and a competitive loss at North Texas. Tarleton boasts a 49-43 overall record in road and neutral site games under seventh-year head coach Misty Wilson. 

The games pit a pair of highly successful former Division II coaches against one another in Wilson and Lopes head coach Molly Miller. The duo combined for 293 victories at the Division II level while coaching for their respective alma matters. Both are in their first season as Division I coaches. 

Miller owns the best active win percentage (.918) of any Division I, II or III men's or women's head coach with at least five years of experience and led Drury University to a combined 67-1 mark from 2018-2020. Wilson guided Tarleton to three NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons and posted an overall record of 113-64. 

Grand Canyon (8-1) is one of the hottest teams in the WAC. The Lopes have won four straight and are 6-0 in home games. 

GAME COVERAGE 

A video broadcast for both games can be accessed free of charge on GCU TV at GCULopes.com/watch. Saturday's game will also air on ESPN3. 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. 

FAN POLICY FOR GCU 

Attendance is limited to a reduced capacity of on-campus students due to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines set by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Tickets are not available for purchase. 

INSIDE THE SERIES: GRAND CANYON 

The two programs have not previously met. The Lopes made the move to Division I basketball in 2013 while Tarleton is in the first of four years of its NCAA-mandated transition process. 

LAST TIME OUT: SOUTH POINT CLASSIC 

Tarleton fell to North Alabama 72-57 in its first game on Las Vegas Boulevard before battling Eastern Michigan a day later. It was Tarleton's first appearance at the South Point Classic since 2015, when it competed in the Division II edition of the tournament. 

UP NEXT 

The Texans are scheduled to host their first-ever WAC games against California Baptist on Jan. 15-16 inside Wisdom Gym. Tipoff times are 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. The matchups will be Tarleton's first home games in more than a month. The team last played in Stephenville on Dec. 12 vs. Champion Christian College. 

NET RANKINGS 

Through Jan. 6, Tarleton has faced off with three teams ranked inside the top-120 of the NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings: Florida (No. 50), North Texas (No. 103) and Eastern Michigan (No. 119).  

Grand Canyon is ranked 117th ahead of Friday and Saturday's games. California Baptist (8-0) is the highest ranked team in the WAC at No. 95. Tarleton currently is slotted at No. 302 out of a possible 340 teams.  

The NCAA released its first set of rankings on Jan. 4 and will update the list daily. NET Rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to help set the 64-team field. The NET utilizes two factors in ranking teams: Team Value Index (factors in results, quality of opponent and location) and the team's net efficiency (efficiency metrics scaled for quality of opponent and location). The rankings do not include games played against non-Division I opponents. 

TEXANS AMONG WAC STATISTICAL LEADERS 

Tarleton ranks second in blocks per game (4.2) in addition to leading the conference in free throw percentage and turnovers per game. Sophomore Callie Boyles (2.1 bpg) is second in the WAC in blocked shots with 19 and has 43 rejections for her career.  

Fellow forward and junior college transfer Emily Cunningham has proven to be one of the conference's most consistent shooters. She is third in field goal percentage (52.0) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (48.). The junior has knocked down at least 50 percent of her shots in five of the seven games she has appeared in. 

Freshman Iyana Dorsey has been lights out at the foul line. The 5-6 guard is connecting at an 86.8 percent clip on foul shots, which ranks third in the WAC, and has converted 33 attempts at the charity stripe. Dorsey is also 10th in scoring at 12.8 points per game. 

Lucy Benson is tied for sixth in steals per game (2.0) and has 115 steals for her career. The Kennedale, Texas native needs 58 more steals to enter the program's career records list in the category. 

CUTTING DOWN ON THE GIVEAWAYS 

The team has slowly shrugged off the turnover bug over its last five games. Through its first four contests, Tarleton turned the ball over 17.5 times per game, including a season-high 21 giveaways against North Texas to begin the season.  

Since then, the Texans have reduced their turnovers-per-game average to 11.4 and have 57 total turnovers. The squad, which features seven new faces, recorded 70 turnovers in its first four games. Texans' eight turnovers against Oral Roberts were a single-game low for the 2020-21 season. 

TARLETON REWRITES RECORD BOOKS VS. TIGERS 

Four records were broken in the Texans' 95-27 win over Champion Christian on Dec. 12. The team's 16 made 3-point shots were the most in a single game in program history. The Tigers' two points scored in the third quarter was the lowest scoring output allowed by Tarleton in a single quarter.  

Additionally, the 68-point margin of victory was the largest win in the Misty Wilson era. The Texans' 32 turnovers forced were also the most in a single-game by a Wilson-coached team. 

TEXANS IN WISDOM GYM 

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.