The Teams: Tarleton Texans (10-6, 2-3 WAC) at Sam Houston Bearkats (5-9, 0-3 WAC)
Where: Huntsville, Texas
Arena: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Day and Time: Monday, 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, the first in nearly 40 years. They last played on Feb. 4, 1983, an 85-58 Tarleton win at a neutral site. Tarleton has played once at Sam Houston, a 60-54 loss on Dec. 4, 1981.
• Sam Houston has lost three straight and six of their last seven. Their lone win since the beginning of December was a 132-55 win against Arlington Baptist. TSU beat that team 103-22.
• The Bearkats are 5-9 overall but 5-3 at home. Last season they were 15-8, 9-3 at home.

 
QUICK HITS

• This is a makeup game from Jan. 6, when the matchup was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bearkats' program.
• Tarleton has not lost consecutive games this year, posting a perfect 5-0 record following a loss.
• Tarleton is 3-3 on the road. With a win Monday, they'd match their road win total from last year.
• In their last game, Tarleton forced a season-high 24 turnovers, their most forced in a game since Dec. 12, 2020, vs. Champion Christian (32).
• Over the last two games this past week, Seynabou Thiam averaged 7.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 blocks. She totaled 12 blocks across the two contests, putting her at 44 blocks on the season. That's double the amount of the next closest total in the WAC (22 by SFA's Aiyana Johnson). Only seven players in NCAA Division I have more blocks.
• Among WAC teams, Tarleton is top-5 in scoring defense (1st, 54.7 PPG), FG% defense (1st, .345), 3PT% defense (2nd, .261), blocks (2nd, 5.1 BPG), rebounding (3rd, 39.1 RPG), rebounds allowed (4th, 34.6 RPG), and steals (5th, 9.3 SPG). Nationally, they're tied-16th in FG% defense, tied-22nd in scoring defense, and tied-25th in blocks per game.
• Iyana Dorsey is third in the WAC in free throw percentage at 87.0 percent. She made all eight of her attempts on Saturday, and has made 11 straight overall.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Seynabou Thiam – Thiam achieved a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks on Thursday. She added to her week with four blocks on Saturday. She has already tied the eighth most blocks in a single-season in team history at 44, the most since 2013-14 by a Texan.
• Iyana Dorsey – Dorsey led the team in scoring on Saturday with 13 points, her sixth time leading the team this season. It was her ninth double-digit scoring game of the year, also the most on the team, and the 30th 10+ point game of her 41-game career.
• Malaya Kendrick – In each of her last five games, Kendrick has posted 8+ points and 5+ rebounds, most recently recording eight points, nine rebounds and two assists. She's top-two on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. The point guard leads with her 6.9 RPG mark.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
40: The Texans, the No. 2 rebounding team in the WAC, haven't allowed an opponent to secure 40+ REBOUNDS in 11 straight games. That's their longest streak since a 13-game run across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
2-3: These are two of the top-three REBOUNDING TEAMS IN THE WAC, with Sam Houston No. 2 at 39.4 RPG, Tarleton at No. 3 with 39.1 RPG. Sam Houston cleans up the offensive glass with 16.1 offensive rebounds per game. The next closest is at 13.6 per. They allow the sixth most boards per game.
 
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 1-6 when shooting under 37 percent.
 
9: Tarleton averages 9.3 STEALS PER GAME, fifth most in the WAC, which may prove vital against this Sam Houston team that turns it over most in the conference at 20.2 TO's per game. Sam Houston also forces the third most turnovers per game at 20.8 per.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will get one more extra day off than they're used to – two – with a Thursday game at California Baptist at 8 p.m. CT. The Lancers are currently the No. 2 team in the WAC with a 3-0 conference record, 12-2 overall.