STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton women’s basketball cruised to its fourth straight victory by topping rival Midwestern State 78-64 on Thursday in Wisdom Gym.
The Texans improve to 16-5 overall and 10-5 in the Lone Star Conference as they continue the race for a top-4 seed in the LSC tournament. It’s the third time this season the Texans have won at least four games in a row, with the season high being six. Tarleton closed out the Division II rivalry with the Mustangs having won five straight to even the all-time series record to 37 wins and 37 losses since they first played in 1975.
Marissa Escamilla was one of five Texans to score in double figures in a balanced offensive attack, as the sophomore scored a team-high 13 points. Alex Hoy followed with 12 points, while Kylie Collins, Kandyn Faurie, and Lucy Benson each added 10 points with Benson recording a game-high three steals. The Texans executed at a high level on both ends of the court as they shot 53 percent and held the Mustangs to just 36 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers.
Photos by DAVID SWEARINGEN
A 15-0 first-quarter run paved the way for the rest of the game for the Texans. Early on, they trailed 7-2, but back-to-back layups from Hoy and Collins jumpstarted the offense and the Texans never looked back or trailed again. Faurie drilled a 3-pointer for Tarleton’s first lead at 9-7 that they would never give up again. The 15-0 run lasted seven minutes until the Mustangs scored in the final seconds of the quarter as the Texans led 17-9 after one.
The first-half lead grew to as much as 17 on a layup by Callie Boyles with 2:57 left in the half. Boyles had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting off the bench and a team-high two blocks. The Texans would lead by double digits at the break, 35-23.
In the third quarter, the Texans used an 8-0 run powered by layups from Escamilla, Boyles, and Hoy for the game’s first 20-point lead at 49-29. Tarleton outscored MSU 17-15 in the third quarter to lead 52-38 heading to the final frame. The Texan lead would never fall under nine the rest of the way in the final meeting between two longtime LSC rivals.
In addition to five double-digit scorers for the Texans, two others had eight points from Mackenzie Hailey and Boyles. Hailey, Tarleton’s third all-time leading scorer, wasn’t needed to provide the offensive production tonight but the senior stepped up in other roles as she tied a career high with seven assists and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Jasmine Bailey added four points and Kaitlyn Guillory contributed with three points.
Tarleton will look to run the winning streak to five when they host Cameron on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.
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