The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (9-19, 6-13 WAC) at Seattle U Redhawks (6-22, 6-13 WAC)
Where: Seattle, Washington
Arena: Redhawk Center (999)
Day and Time: Saturday at 3 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Clayton Neville)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• The Texans and Redhawks are fighting for a WAC Tournament berth. The Texans clinch a berth with a win OR a UTRGV loss OR a Utah Valley loss. The Redhawks clinch a berth with a win.
• Entering Saturday, both teams are tied for seventh, with Seattle U currently owning the tiebreaker.
• The Redhawks have won three straight games, their longest winning streak since they won five straight from Jan. 22-Feb. 6, 2021. They won each game by seven or fewer points.
• The Redhawks allow the 12th most points per game in the entire country (75.6 PPG).

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans will likely clinch the No. 7 seed with a win on Saturday. On Wednesday at the WAC Tournament, the Nos. 5 and 8 seeds will open the event at 12 p.m. PT in Las Vegas. The Nos. 6 and 7 seeds will square off on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT.
• Tarleton has won four of their past five regular season finales. Last year the Texans and Redhawks played in Stephenville in the regular season finale, a game Tarleton won 74-65. Teresa Da Silva scored a game-high 22 points.
• The Texans have surpassed their win total from last season. With a win Saturday, they will set their second most wins in a season at the D1 level (10), surpassing their nine wins in 2020-21.
• With a win Saturday, 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 70.3 points over their past three games compared to their 61.7 PPG season average. They've made 76-of-169 (.450) over those three games compared to their .383 season average field goal percentage.
• The Texans just lost despite shooting 46.5 percent. This marked just their first loss when shooting 44+ percent since Nov. 29 vs. Stephen F. Austin.
• After outrebounding two opponents prior to Thursday, Tarleton just had a season-low 24 boards.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Elise Turrubiates: Turrubiates has led the team in scoring in each of the past three games, averaging 16.7 PPG on 16-of-29 (.552) shooting, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.7 SPG and 1.0 BPG. She just tied her career-high with five steals, and has a tied-career long stretch of 10+ point games at three.
• 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, Acker had six points, four rebounds and two blocks in just 17 minutes.
• Jakoriah Long: Long has scored 10+ points in three straight games, averaging 13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 3.0 APG. She's logged nine 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 three straight games, their first such stretch since Nov. 25-Dec. 2, 2020, their first three NCAA Division I games. When SHOOTING 44 PERCENT or better this season, the Texans are 7-3. 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 (66.4 PPG) and fourth in average blocks (3.5).
• 20: Tarleton made their first 20 FREE THROWS OF THE GAME on Thursday, finishing 22-of-24 (.917) from the stripe. Surprisingly, the Texans are 0-4 when shooting 90 percent or better from the free throw line this year.
• 13: The Texans just tied their season-high of 13 steals on Thursday, their MOST SINCE THE SEASON OPENER against Howard Payne on Nov. 6. It was their third 10+ steal game of the season.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will likely play in the WAC Tournament, with only one possible scenario that they don't make the conference tournament. If they clinch a berth, they would play on Wednesday in Las Vegas at either 2 p.m. CT or 4:30 p.m. CT.