Women's Basketball 1/6/2022 4:24:00 PM

Texans Face Second Straight NCAA Tournament Team with Saturday Bout at SFA

The Teams: Tarleton Texans (9-4, 1-1 WAC) at Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (10-3, 1-0 WAC)
Where: Nacogdoches, Texas
Arena: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Day and Time: Saturday, 2 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Byron Anderson)

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

This is the first ever meeting in the programs' histories. The Ladyjacks were members of the Southland Conference for 34 years (since 1987-88) before joining the WAC this season.
SFA won the Southland Conference last season with an undefeated conference record (14-0), going 24-3 overall. The Ladyjacks were a 12-seed in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament, losing a heartbreaker in overtime 54-52 to 5-seed Georgia Tech in the first round.
SFA is 10-3 this year, 1-0 in the WAC. They haven't played since Dec. 30, a 65-50 win at UTRGV.

QUICK HITS

The Texans are coming off of a 61-48 win over Utah Valley, a Wolverines team that played in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament last season.
Tarleton has won four of their last five games and are perfect following a loss (4-0) this year.
Thursday's game at Sam Houston was postponed to Jan. 17 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bearkats' program..
Through 13 games, Tarleton has already matched their win total from the entirety of last season (25 games) at nine. With a win Saturday, Jan. 8 would mark the earliest the Texans have won their 10th game since 2013-14 (Jan. 4), the season before Misty Wilson took over as head coach.
Tarleton is fourth in the WAC, behind Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon. With a win Saturday, they'll have their first WAC winning record since joining the conference.
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 1-4 when shooting under 37 percent.
The Texans are allowing the fewest points in the conference at just 53.7 points per game. Behind them at No. 2 is Stephen F. Austin, allowing 55.9 points on average.
Iyana Dorsey powered the Texans in their last win with 20 points (12-12 FT), including 10 in the fourth quarter. She leads the team in scoring with 11.0 PPG, tied-21st in the WAC.

WHO'S HOT

Iyana Dorsey – Dorsey just scored 20 points in the last game, nailing all 12 free throw attempts. It marked her second 20+ point game of the year and the fourth of her career. In the WAC, she's tied-21st in scoring (11.0 PPG), first in free throw percentage (.885) and fourth in FTM per (3.5).
Malaya Kendrick – In the last game, Kendrick poured in 13 points (5-10 FG). It's the seventh time she's shot 50 percent from the field, games the Texans are 6-1 in (3-3 when under 50 percent). It was her third straight 10+ point game, a season-long streak, and seventh such game overall.
Marissa Escamilla – Escamilla has returned from injury well, averaging 7.5 points on 7-of-9 shooting (.778) in just 13.0 minutes per game in two games. In the win vs. Utah Valley, she had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in 11 minutes. She's played in eight of 13 games this season, averaging 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
40: For the fifth straight game, Tarleton opponents have shot under 40 PERCENT FROM THE FIELD. It's the 11th time overall in Tarleton's 13 games. The purple and white are 9-2 when allowing a less than 40 percent clip. They allow the lowest field goal percentage in the WAC at .334.

5.2: Tarleton has a +5.2 REBOUNDING MARGIN this season, tops in the WAC, as they pull down the third most rebounds (39.9 per), allowing the fourth fewest (34.7 per). SFA averages the fourth most boards (38.7 per), but they allow the fifth most (38.6 per), owning just a +0.1 RPG margin.

10: Tarleton has started off games consistently well, LEADING AFTER THE FIRST QUARTER 10 times in 13 games. In first halves, they have an average margin of difference of +9.7 points. TSU's average margin of victory is +10.2, owning a +1.1 average margin of difference in second halves.

1-2: Tarleton and Stephen F. Austin are 1-2 in AVERAGE POINTS ALLOWED (Tarleton 53.7, SFA 55.9) and OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (Tarleton .334, SFA .349). Where they differ is TSU doesn't allow second chance opportunities, and SFA takes the ball away (most per game in the WAC at 25.4).

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will head back home where they are 6-2 this season. On Thursday, the Texans will take on New Mexico State at 6 p.m. CT at Wisdom Gym. The Aggies are 4-7 this season, losing four of their last five games. They've only played five games since Dec. 1, last taking the court on Dec. 28.

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