The Teams: Tarleton Texans (1-0, 0-0 WAC) vs. UNT Dallas Trailblazers (2-0, 0-0 SAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Jimmy Christopher)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This will be the third season the UNT Dallas women's basketball program has existed. The Trailblazers went 12-18 last season.
• These programs have matched up once before, playing in the 2020-21 COVID-19 season. Tarleton won that in Stephenville 71-46, part of the Texans' season-long four-game winning streak.
• The Trailblazers beat Dallas Christian by 40 in their homecoming game, the season-opener. They played an exhibition game at Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday, losing 96-51.

 
QUICK HITS

• For the first time in their NCAA Division I era, the Texans took the win in their season-opener. With a win Saturday, they would, of course, be 2-0 for the first time. Before turning D1, Tarleton had started 2-0 for three straight years, from 2017-20.
• Tarleton drilled Arlington Baptist in the season opener on Wednesday 90-40. The 50-point win marked Tarleton's largest season-opening win in 18 years, when Tarleton beat Hillsdale FW Baptist by 67 points in 2004, 101-34.
• All 13 healthy Texans played on Wednesday, with 11 of them logging at least 10 minutes.
• In the season opener, Teresa Da Silva recorded game-highs in points (20, 7-10 FG, 4-7 3PT), rebounds (seven) and assists (six), adding two steals and two blocks. It was the most points scored in a Tarleton season-opener since Kiara Wright dropped 32 points on St. Mary's in 2013.
• In the last game, Tarleton made 32-of-62 (.516) from the floor and 10-of-28 (.357) from downtown. They've now won nine straight games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field. It marked the second time in two years TAR made 10+ three-pointers, both against ABU.
• Defensively on Wednesday, the Texans forced 27 turnovers with 21 steals, the most steals by Tarleton in a game in at least the past 10 years. The Texans had 46 points off of turnovers to ABU's seven off of their 16 takeaways. They also forced a 16-of-54 (.296) clip from the floor.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Teresa Da Silva – Da Silva did it all in the season opener, totaling 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Her 20-point game is the fifth highest scoring game in the WAC this season. She led the team in all three major categories.
• Viktoria Ivanova – Ivanova played in just 13 minutes in the season opener, and she made the most of it. She had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and two steals. She was the team's second leading scorer, playing the 10th most minutes.
• Tyler Jackson – With Jackson's 10 points in the season opener, she has now scored in double figures in three straight games, and six of her past nine games, dating back to last season. Jackson added four rebounds, three assists and four steals. The latter was a career-high.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
21: Tarleton had 21 steals in the season opener, their most in a game in AT LEAST THE PAST 10 YEARS. Across all of NCAA Division I so far, that's the tied-ninth most steals in a game this season.
 
50: After one game, Tarleton's scoring margin is +50, the tied-27th largest scoring margin across all of NCAA Division I. Across the WAC, it's the fourth LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY so far this year.
 
7: Tarleton's 2022-23 roster has a lot of international flavor, with seven PLAYERS BORN AND RAISED OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. on the team this year. Seven of those players each represent a different country; the U.K., Canada, Colombia, Senegal, Sweden, Bulgaria and Poland.
 
11: Like last year, Tarleton was once again voted to finish 11th (tied) in the PRESEASON WAC COACHES' POLL. They were picked to finish ahead of Seattle U, tied with Utah Tech. Last year Tarleton proved the coaches wrong by finishing seventh in the WAC and just 2.0 games from fourth.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will play their first road game of the season at the SEC's Vanderbilt on Tuesday at 11 a.m. CT. Ironically, Vanderbilt's basketball arena is called Memorial Gymnasium.