STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Women's Basketball returned to the court for their first game action of 2023-24, hosting their first of two exhibition games on Wednesday.
 
It was a new look for the Texans, who played eight new players and had new coaches across the board on the bench, including new head coach Bill Brock. After taking a bit for the new team to get comfortable, the Texans had no problem dispersing of the NCAA Division III McMurry War Hawks, winning 71-33 at Wisdom Gym.
 
Tarleton pounded the glass in this one, outrebounding the War Hawks 58-30. For reference, Tarleton's season-high in rebounds across all of 2022-23 was 47. Of Tarleton's 11 players to check in, 10 of them recorded multiple rebounds, six getting at least five boards.
 
Tarleton outshot McMurry 28-of-69 (.406) to 11-of-51 (.216), not allowing a single second chance point and outscoring them in the paint 34-8.
 
To start the contest, Tarleton rolled out Nykesha Sanders at the one, Teresa Da Silva at the two, Tyler Jackson at the three, Andjela Bigovic at the four and Faith Acker at the five. Da Silva finished with seven points and a tied-team-high nine rebounds, tied with Bigovic, who chipped in six points. Acker, a true freshman, recorded eight points and five rebounds.
 
The Texan bench provided the efficiency, outscoring McMurry's bench 47-11. Karyn Sanford, a transfer from UAlbany, had a game-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from distance, to go with four rebounds and two blocks. Miannah Little tallied 12 points and five rebounds, to go with team-highs in assists (four) and steals (three). Dyamon Griggs put up eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and five rebounds, while Elise Turrubiates notched seven points and eight rebounds.
 
It took a bit for the Texans to find their groove, going the first 3:36 without a point before Sanford buried a three to open things up. McMurry then took an early 9-5 lead, but the Texans rolled from there, going on a 12-0 run and never looking back. They led 17-10 after the opening frame.
 
In the second quarter, the War Hawks made a triple with 9:19 to play, and never scored the rest of the frame. The Texans went on a 10-0 run after that make, forcing McMurry to shoot just 1-of-11 (.909) in the quarter with six turnovers. The Texans led 29-13 at the break.
 
In the third and fourth quarters, Tarleton doubled up McMurry in each frame, shooting a combined 17-of-37, including 4-of-6 from downtown. The Purple and White led by 30-plus most of the final five minutes before taking a 38-point victory.
 
The Texans will have one more opportunity to get sharp before the regular season begins on Nov. 6 at home against Howard Payne. Next up for Tarleton State is an exhibition home game on Monday against UNT Dallas at 6 p.m.