Women's Basketball 12/31/2021 3:27:00 PM

Texans Ring in the New Year at Wisdom Gym on Saturday Against Utah Valley

The Teams: Tarleton Texans (8-4, 0-1 WAC) vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (5-7, 0-1 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Saturday, 2 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

This is the third ever meeting between the Texans and Wolverines. The two teams played on back-to-back days last season on March 2-3, with Utah Valley winning 60-58 and 67-54.
Utah Valley has lost four straight games, their longest skid since Jan. 23-Feb. 8, 2020. They haven't lost five in a row since Feb. 23-March 13, 2019.
Both teams lost their WAC opener, with Utah Valley losing 69-63 at Abilene Christian.
Josie Williams leads UVU in scoring (16.5 PPG), shooting (.544 FG%) and rebounding (12.2 RPG).

QUICK HITS

The Texans just had a three-game winning streak snapped in their last game. They haven't lost consecutive games this year, going 3-0 after losses thus far.
With a win Saturday, Tarleton will have already matched their win total from last season at nine.
Marissa Escamilla made her return from injury in the last game, seeing her first game action since Dec. 4. She poured in six points on 3-of-5 shooting. Last season vs. Utah Valley, Escamilla had a double-double and scored 15+ in each game, averaging 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
In the last game, Tarleton tied its season-low in turnovers at 10 (Dec. 4 vs. Arlington Baptist).
In the last game, Tarleton forced yet another poor shooting night of their opponent, allowing just a 39.1 percent performance from Dixie State. It's the fourth straight game teams have shot under 40 percent against the Texans and 10th time overall this year in 12 games.
Tarleton leads the WAC in several defensive categories, including points allowed (54.2 PPG) and FG% allowed (.334). They're second in 3PT% allowed (.265) and blocks (4.9 BPG).
Utah Valley has attempted the fewest free throws in the WAC (121), which bodes well for Tarleton, who is averaging the fewest amount of fouls per game in the conference (14.8 per).
Despite being outrebounded in two straight games, Tarleton still has the best rebounding margin average in the WAC at +5.9. Tarleton is 1-3 when outrebounded, 7-1 when outrebounding.

WHO'S HOT

Seynabou Thiam – Thiam just missed out on a double-double in the last game, recording a team-high 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds. She has two 10+ point games over her last three (12.0 PPG), and over her last four games, has averaged 10.5 rebounds.
Malaya Kendrick – Kendrick has back-to-back double-digit scoring games for the second time this season (Nov. 23-27). She has six 10+ point games on the year, tied for most on the team (Iyana Dorsey). She's played 30+ minutes in four of the last five games, six of the last eight.
Iyana Dorsey – Dorsey has scored 10+ points in two straight and four times over her last five games. She has recorded at least one steal in every single game this season, owning the seventh most total steals in the WAC at 22. She's 11th in steals per game at 1.8 SPG.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
30: For the first time in nine games, Seynabou Thiam did not record a block in Tarleton's last game vs. Dixie State. Thiam still leads the WAC in total blocks by 10 with 30, already the MOST BLOCKS by a Texan in a season since 2018-19, with 17 games to go. Only 13 players have more blocks nationwide.

33: Teams are having no luck getting the ball in the basket at an efficient rate against Tarleton. The Texans are forcing a 33.4 OPPOSING FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE. That would be the tied-10th best mark in NCAA Division I, if not for Tarleton's reclassification period.

9: Tarleton has started off games consistently well, LEADING AFTER THE FIRST QUARTER nine times in 12 games. In first halves, they have an average margin of difference of +9.7 points. TSU's average margin of victory is +9.9, owning a +0.2 average margin of difference in second halves.

60: Expect a low scoring game on Saturday, as Tarleton and Utah Valley allow the fewest and third fewest points in the WAC per game, respectively. They are two of four teams allowing under 60 POINTS PER GAME in the conference, with Tarleton at 54.2 PPG, Utah Valley at 59.3 PPG.

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will play their first road WAC games of the season with a pair against Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, beginning Thursday. Tarleton will start in Huntsville, Texas, at the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. CT, taking on a 5-6 Bearkat squad. Sam Houston hasn't played since Dec. 20, due to COVID-19 protocols within the program.

Print Friendly Version