The Teams: Tarleton Texans (0-0, 0-0 WAC) vs. Arlington Baptist Patriots (0-1, 0-0 NCCAA)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Wednesday, 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Jimmy Christopher)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Tarleton and Arlington Baptist played last season and it was historic. The Texans won 103-22, setting their new largest margin of victory in program history at 81 points. The Texans shut out the Patriots 28-0 in the first quarter, not allowing a point until more than 13 minutes into the game. The 22 points allowed are a record in Tarleton's NCAA era (fewest allowed since 1983).
• Tarleton leads the all-time series 7-0 dating back to 2013, with all games played in Stephenville.
• The Patriots are 0-1 this year, losing 63-59 to Texas College on Halloween.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton beat Champion Christian on Thursday in their exhibition game 81-42. Seynabou Thiam logged a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), Mason Jones led in scoring at 13 points (3-5 3PT), and Nyajah Mitchels contributed 11 points (5-8 FG) and eight rebounds off the bench.
• The Texans are coming off a historic season, their first winning year at the NCAA Division I level. They had a seven-win improvement year-over-year, the most in the WAC, finishing 16-13 overall.
• For the first time this season, Tarleton is eligible to compete in the WAC Tournament. If the Texans had been eligible last year, they would have received the No. 7 seed.
• Last year, efficient shooting seemed to be the biggest factor in wins and losses for Tarleton. Whenever they shot 40+ percent, they went 11-2 in those games. They were 14-1 when outshooting their opponents, 1-12 when getting outshot.

This year, the Texans have six returners and nine new players. Seynabou Thiam returns after leading the team in rebounding (6.2 RPG) and blocks (2.3 BPG) last season. She set a new Tarleton single-season record for total blocks at 63, surpassing Kaelie Butler's 58 blocks in 1993-94. Jenna Dick also returns, Tarleton's top three-point shooter a season ago. She made 45-of-104 (.433) from long range, owning the second highest three-point percentage in the WAC and the 14th highest across all of NCAA Division I.
 
WHO'S HOT

• Mayra Caicedo – Tarleton has brought in one of the top point guards in the country, as Caicedo joins the purple and white from Arkansas-Little Rock. Her junior year, she finished the season ranked third in the nation in assists (175) and assists per game (6.7), leading the Sun Belt in both.
• Seynabou Thiam – Thiam had a monster year last season, making 25 starts in 27 games, averaging 6.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. She led the WAC in blocks per game and total blocks. She was tied for 20th nationally in blocks per game.
• Tyler Jackson – Jackson, who was voted by her teammates as a captain on this year's squad, came on late last year. Of her six 10+ point performances, five of them came over the last eight games, including the last two. Her first 10+ point game of the season came against Champion Christian on Nov. 13.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3.6: Much of the year-over-year turnaround for Tarleton can be credited to the defense, where they improved by 3.6 POINTS PER GAME, allowing 59.2 points per contest compared to 62.8 PPG the season prior. The 59.2 PPG allowed was second best in the WAC.
 
37: Led by Seynabou Thiam, Tarleton was instrumental on the glass last season, averaging 36.9 REBOUNDS PER GAME. It was Tarleton's best rebounding average in a season since 2015-16, and they finished fifth in the WAC in defensive rebounding average at 25.7.
 
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 remain in Stephenville, set for a Saturday night matchup against UNT Dallas at 7 p.m. CT.