The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (9-18, 6-12 WAC) at Utah Valley Wolverines (9-18, 4-14 WAC)
Where: Orem, Utah
Arena: UCCU Center (8,500)
Day and Time: Thursday at 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Clayton Neville)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Entering Thursday, Tarleton is seventh in the WAC standings at 6-12, and Utah Valley is 11th at 4-14 with two games to play. Only eight teams make the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
• This is the seventh all-time meeting, all since 2021, but just the second in Orem, which was played on Feb. 16, 2022. The Texans won the first meeting this year in Stephenville 60-55 on Feb. 8.
• In the first meeting, Jakoriah Long and Miannah Little each scored a game-high 15 points.
• Utah Valley has lost four straight games. The Wolverines are 7-5 at home and 2-13 on the road.

 
QUICK HITS

• With a win Thursday, the Texans would also need losses by UTRGV and Seattle U to clinch a WAC Tournament berth. UTRGV plays at Utah Tech at 7 p.m. CT, and Seattle U hosts Abilene Christian at 8 p.m. CT. With two games to play, the Texans control their own destiny.
• The Texans have surpassed their number of wins from last season. With a win Thursday, they will set their second most wins in a single-season at the D1 level at 10, surpassing their nine-win total in 2020-21. The Texans need two wins to tie their most WAC wins in a season.
• The Texans have won consecutive games for the first time this season, their first single-season winning streak since Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2022 (they won the 2022-23 season finale and the 2023-24 season opener). Tarleton State hasn't won three consecutive games since Dec. 13-22, 2021.
• With a win Thursday, the Texans will set their second most road wins at the D1 level with five.
• True freshman center Faith Acker is the reigning WAC Newcomer of the Week.
• Tarleton's offense is clicking, as the Texans have averaged 72.5 points over their past two games compared to their 61.6 PPG season average. They've made 56-of-126 (.444) over those two games compared to their .381 season average field goal percentage.
• For the first time this season, Tyler Jackson did not start in Tarleton's last game. Tarleton's lone senior Teresa Da Silva was re-inserted to the starting lineup on Senior Day.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Elise Turrubiates: Turrubiates has led the team in scoring in each of the past two games, averaging 19.0 PPG on 14-of-25 (.560) shooting, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG. This is her second stretch of 10+ point games of the season (Feb. 1-3). She scored a season-high 22 on Thursday.
• Faith Acker: Acker is the reigning WAC Newcomer of the Week, her third WAC award. In the week, she had 15.0 PPG on 15-of-26 (.577) shooting and 8.5 RPG. On Thursday she had her second double-double, the first TSU freshman with 2+ double-doubles since Ikpeaku Iwobi (2013-14).
• Jakoriah Long: During the 2-0 week, Long scored 10+ points in each game, averaging 13.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 2.5 APG. She's logged eight 10+ point games on the year and is the lone Texan averaging double-digit scoring at 10.9 PPG. She also leads the team in assists with 2.3 APG.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 44: The Texans have shot 44+ percent in back-to-back games, their first such stretch since Nov. 29-Dec. 2. When SHOOTING 44 PERCENT or better this season, the Texans are 7-2. When shooting under 44 percent, they're 2-16.
• 3: The Texans are a TOP-THREE TEAM DEFENSIVELY in the WAC this season. Tarleton is third in scoring defense (66.2 PPG), third in three-point percentage defense (.300) and fourth in average blocks (3.5).
• 2: The Texans have OUTREBOUNDED THEIR OPPONENT in each of the past two games. Over the past six games that the Texans won the rebounding battle, they won the game five times, and are now 7-5 overall when outrebounding their opponent, 2-13 when getting outrebounded.
• 16: The Texans have only committed 16 turnovers over the past two games combined. On Thursday they only had six, their FEWEST NUMBER OF TURNOVERS in three years, tied for their second fewest number of turnovers in their NCAA Division I era (lowest was five on March 6, 2021, vs. UTRGV).

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will play their regular season finale at Seattle U on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT before a potential WAC Tournament run next week.