Tarleton State Women’s Basketball preps for tough test against Arkansas State in annual Education Day game Friday

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Women's Basketball will face its second opponent from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, challenging Arkansas State Friday at 11 a.m. at the EECU Center.

The Texans will host its annual Education Day game, with hundreds of kids from local elementary and middle schools expected to pack the EECU Center.

The Texans defeated the Sun Belt Conference champions last year, winning 78-68 in Jonesboro. Arkansas State, who is ranked No. 19 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, won the SBC Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They lost to eventual national champions UConn.

Home games in the debut basketball season at the EECU Center start at just $7 for kids and $10 for adults. Fans can purchase single game tickets by going to TarletonSports.com/Tickets or by calling the Tarleton State Ticket Office at 254-968-1832. Fans may also purchase in-person at the Tarleton State Ticket Office located on the west side entrance of Memorial Stadium Monday through Friday.

Season tickets are on sale now and start at just $50. Combination season ticket packages for both Men's and Women's Basketball begin at $125 and are available for purchase by calling the Tarleton State Ticket Office at 254-968-1832.

DYNAMITE DUO

Tarleton State junior forwards Shadasia Brackens and Allie Myers dominate the glass for the Texans.
Both players got double-digit rebounds in the season opener against Schreiner (11/3), with Brackens getting 11 rebounds while Myers tallied 10 boards.
The duo is the first pair of Texans to grab 10+ rebounds each in the Division I era and the first since 1996.
Brackens (North Texas) and Myers (Seward CC) were rebounding forces at their previous schools before transferring to Tarleton State.

FANTASTIC FREEBIES

Tarleton State made great use of its opportunities from the charity strike last season, hitting 75.8% of their free throws as a team. The Texans were in the top 55 in the nation in free throw percentage and led the WAC in that category.
The Texans continued their red-hot free throw shooting this season. Tarleton State shot 88.2% from the charity strike in the opener against Schreiner (11/3), hitting 15-of-17 free throws.
Tarleton State went undefeated in WAC play when it shot 90% or better from the free throw line this season. The Texans most recently hit 14-of-16 free throws against Utah Valley (2/8).

MAKING IT RAIN

Tarleton State shot lights out from 3-point range last season. In their regular season home finale against CBU (3/6), the Texans shot a season-high 52.4% from beyond the arc.
The Texans went undefeated with a 7-0 mark when they knocked down at least 40% of their 3-pointers.
Sophomore guard Mar'Cyah Willis made four 3-pointers en route to 16 points, shooting 66.7% from beyond the arc against Schreiner (11/3) in the 2025-26 season opener.
Senior guard Jakoriah Long currently has the Division I program record for most 3-pointers in a game with seven. She hit that mark twice last season. Long shot 70% from 3-point range against CBU last year.

REUNITED AGAIN

Senior guard Luka Malinka, who played college basketball in the United States at Roosevelt, Northern Colorado and Winthrop, earned All-Conference honors last season.
The Rungsted, Denmark, native will reunite with Associate Head Coach Geoff Golden, who was on Northern Colorado's coaching staff when Malinka played for the Bears in 2022-23.
Malinka was a second-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection in 2024-25. Finishing second in the league in scoring at 15.4 points per game, Malinka had seven 20-point performances.

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