The Teams: Tarleton Texans (10-5, 2-2 WAC) vs. Grand Canyon Antelopes (10-5, 3-1 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 all-time meeting between these two programs. They played twice last season, with the Lopes winning both in back-to-back days Feb. 1-2, 64-55 and 71-54.
• Last year against GCU, Marissa Escamilla averaged 18.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 2.5 SPG; Iyana Dorsey averaged 14.0 PPG; Lucy Benson averaged 7.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG.
• The Lopes are 10-5 overall, 3-1 in WAC play, winners of two straight and five out of their last six.
• Amara Graham leads GCU in scoring (12.1 PPG) and assists (2.5 APG).

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans are 7-2 (.778 W%) at home this season. They have the tied-most home wins in the WAC, with the potential at the most outright with a win Saturday, as SFA (7-0) hosts Sam Houston and Abilene Christian (7-3) hosts New Mexico State. The Texans are 76-29 (.724) at home in eight seasons under head coach Misty Wilson.
• In their last game, the Texans recorded 13 blocks, eight by Seynabou Thiam. They are both the highest marks in the program in at least the last 15 years. Thiam's eight swats are the tied-fifth most in a game across all of D-I this season, and the tied-second most by a WAC player this year. Tarleton's 13 blocks are the tied-seventh most across Division I, the most by a WAC team..
• Tarleton has not lost consecutive games this year, posting a perfect 5-0 record following a loss.
• This is a matchup between two 10-5 teams. In the WAC standings, they are No. 3 (GCU at 3-1) and No. 6 (Tarleton at 2-2). This is the fourth time in head coach Misty Wilson's eight seasons the Texans 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, 55.2 PPG), FG% defense (1st, .346), 3PT% defense (2nd, .270), rebounding (2nd, 39.5 RPG), blocks (2nd, 5.1 BPG), rebounds allowed (4th, 34.7 RPG),  and steals (5th, 9.1 SPG). Nationally, they're tied-21st in FG% defense and tied-24th in scoring defense.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Seynabou Thiam – Thiam just achieved her second double-double of the year with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks. The sophomore, playing her first season at TSU, has 40 blocks, the 13th most in a single-season in program history and the most since 2013-14, with 14 games to go.
• Iyana Dorsey – Dorsey scored 16 points in the last game, posting her eighth double-digit scoring outing of the season. In the process she scored her 500th career point. She's now the second leading Tarleton scorer among active players, behind Marissa Escamilla (678 career points).
• Malaya Kendrick – Kendrick just recorded 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and four assists. In games she's shot 50 percent or better from the field, the Texans are 7-1 (3-4 when she shoots under 50 percent). She's the ninth leading rebounder in the WAC at 6.8 RPG – as a point guard..

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
40: The Texans, the No. 2 rebounding team in the WAC, haven't allowed an opponent to secure 40+ REBOUNDS in 10 straight games. That's their longest streak since a 13-game run across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
5.4: Tarleton averages 5.4 MORE REBOUNDS PER GAME than GCU, with Tarleton second best in the WAC, GCU second worst. Surprisingly, GCU cleans up the offensive glass, second in offensive rebounds at 13.6 per game, but they're dead last in defensive rebounding average (20.5 per).
 
37: 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 (9-0 in such games). TSU is 1-5 when shooting under 37 percent.
 
14: GCU relies on turnovers to hamper the opposition. They are first in the WAC at 14.3 STEALS PER GAME and second in turnovers forced (23.8 per). They're just eighth in scoring defense though, allowing the third highest field goal percentage (.434), the second highest from deep (.336).
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will play their third game in five days with a Monday meeting at Sam Houston in Huntsville at 2 p.m. CT. This is a make-up game from the original Jan. 6 matchup that was postponed because of COVID-19 protocols within the Bearkats' program. Sam Houston is 5-8 overall, 0-2 in the WAC. They've lost two straight and five of their last six.