The Teams: Tarleton Texans (9-5, 1-2 WAC) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (5-6, 1-0 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Thursday, 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the third all-time meeting between these two programs. They played twice last season, splitting their games in El Paso on Feb. 26-27. TSU won the first 62-53, NMSU the second 67-44.
• Last year against NMSU, Iyana Dorsey averaged 11.0 PPG; Marissa Escamilla averaged 9.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG; Emily Cunningham had 8.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, with a double-double.
• The Aggies are 5-6 overall, 1-0 in WAC play with four conference games postponed. They've played just twice since Dec. 18 (both wins), with six games overall postponed or canceled.

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans return home where they're 6-2 this season. With a win Thursday, they'd potentially have the tied-most home wins among WAC teams, depending on the outcome of Abilene Christian-Grand Canyon. The Wildcats host the Lopes with seven home wins.
• Tarleton has not lost consecutive games this year, posting a perfect 4-0 record following a loss.
• With a win Thursday, Tarleton would sit at 10-5 overall with a .667 winning percentage. This would be the fourth time in head coach Misty Wilson's eight seasons the Texans would have a .667+ W% at the 15-game mark (2019-20, 2018-19, 2014-15).
• Among WAC teams, Tarleton is top-5 in scoring defense (1st, 55.1 PPG), FG% defense (1st, .342), 3PT% defense (2nd, .270), rebounding (3rd, 39.9 RPG), blocks (3rd, 4.5 BPG), rebounds allowed (4th, 34.4 RPG),  and steals (5th, 8.9 SPG). Nationally, they're tied-12th in FG% defense and tied-26th in scoring defense.
• The Texans don't require a great shooting percentage to get it done, needing to shoot just 37 percent in order to get the W (8-0 in such games). TSU is 1-5 when shooting under 37 percent.
• New Mexico State averages the most fouls in the WAC at 21.0 per game. Tarleton averages the second fewest at 14.9 fouls per game. These two teams are top-two in rebounding margin in the WAC, with Tarleton No. 1 at +5.4 per, NM State No. 2 at +4.6 per.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Malaya Kendrick – Kendrick nearly achieved her third double-double of the season in the last game, recording eight points and nine rebounds. The point guard is now the team leader in rebounding (6.9 RPG), the ninth best average in the WAC.
• Marissa Escamilla – Escamilla led the team in scoring in the last game with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting. This was the first time this season the senior has led the team in scoring, after 10 such instances last year, a season that she led the Texans in scoring altogether (14.2 PPG).
• Jenna Dick – After recording just four steals over her first nine games, Dick has swiped nine steals over the last five games, improving her average from 0.4 SPG to 0.9 SPG, 1.8 SPG over the last five. She now has the fourth most steals on the team, behind Dorsey, Kendrick and Benson.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
40: The Texans, the No. 3 rebounding team in the WAC, haven't allowed an opponent to secure 40+ REBOUNDS in nine straight games. That's their longest streak since a 13-game run across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
5.4: Tarleton once again won the battle of the boards, increasing their average REBOUNDING MARGIN to +5.4. That's the best average margin in the WAC, as they pull down the third most rebounds (39.9 per) and allow the fourth fewest (34.4 per).
 
10: If Iyana Dorsey scores 10 points on Thursday, she will have scored 500 CAREER POINTS for the purple and white. The sophomore already has the second most career points by an active Tarleton player, only behind Marissa Escamilla (678).
 
7.4: Tarleton has an average positive scoring margin of +7.4, meaning across their 14 games (including losses), they AVERAGE A WIN BY 7.4 points. That's the fourth best average scoring margin in the WAC.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will remain at home to take on Grand Canyon on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The Lopes are currently 9-5 overall, 2-1 in WAC play. They are coming off of a 73-72 overtime win over Lamar, as Chloe Akin-Otiko nailed the game-winning three-pointer with five seconds remaining to give GCU their fourth win in five games. They're 1-3 on the road this year.