STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Women’s Basketball made one more memory at Wisdom Gym, defeating California Baptist 75-44 in its final game at the historic venue in front of a Division I Era program record 2,750 fans on Thursday night.
The win lifts the Texans into second place in the WAC standings, giving Tarleton State the opportunity to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament in Las Vegas next week with a victory on Saturday.
Tarleton State capped off the Farewell Tour of Wisdom Gym with its 13th win on its home floor, the most in the Division I Era and the most since the 2018-19 season. The Texans extended its Division I Era season wins record with their 19th victory, also picking up their 10th WAC win of 2025.
Honoring its eight seniors pregame (Jakoriah Long, Miannah Little, Arieona Rosborough, Niki Van Wyk, Elise Turrubiates, Tyler Jackson, Alani Fluker and Andjela Bigović), Tarleton State’s senior class accounted for 80% of the Texans’ scoring on Thursday night. Senior guard Long tallied a season-high 26 points to go with nine rebounds and seven 3-pointers, matching her Division I single game program record set a month ago. Long’s 70% shooting from beyond the arc is the second-highest 3-point percentage in a single game by a Texan in the Division I Era.
Fellow senior guard Rosborough added 14 points to go with six assists. Senior guard Little added 11 points and five assists with three steals in the Texans’ win.
“I’m really proud of this team. I’m so proud of the seniors and how they were able to have success on their Senior Night,” head coach Bill Brock said. “I’m very proud of how we competed in the last game at Wisdom Gym. (CBU) is so hard to defend and we did a good job on them. It was a great night.”
Fueled by the capacity crowd from the opening tip, the Texans jumped out in front in the first quarter. CBU weathered the Texans’ early storm, scoring five unanswered points to take a one-point lead with under four minutes left to play in the first quarter. Tying the game 18 seconds later off a free throw, the Texans continued its offensive attack.
After a bucket by Rosborough, senior guard Van Wyk hit nothing but the bottom of the net to give the Texans a spark off the bench. The Texans ended the first quarter on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 19-11 advantage.
A jumper by sophomore center Acker allowed the Texans to stretch its lead to double digits, with a pair of 3-pointers by Long continuing the Tarleton State momentum in the second quarter. The Texans only allowed one CBU basket for the final four minutes of the first half to remain ahead by double digits. The Lancers were held to just 27.3% from the floor in the second quarter, giving the Texans a 34-23 lead into the locker room.
The Texans’ shooting continued to catch fire in the second half, scoring on nine of their first 10 offensive possessions in the third quarter. With the senior class igniting the offensive run, the Texans moved ahead by 23 after a jump shot by Rosborough and a 3-pointer from Little. Long continued to keep the seniors’ party going, draining another beyond the arc basket to make it a 56-30 game.
CBU looked to tame the Texans with its offense, but Tarleton State’s smothering defense forced the Lancers to just 18.2% shooting from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Tarleton State outscored CBU 26-12 in the third quarter to take a 25-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
Little and Long continued to help keep the Texans red-hot shooting going in the fourth quarter, each knocking down a 3-pointer to make it a 68-37 game. The Texans made four of its final six 3-pointers and held CBU to just 21.4% shooting in the fourth quarter to cap off the Farewell Tour with victory.
Tarleton State closes the regular season at Utah Valley on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Postgame Notes
- Tarleton State defeated California Baptist 77-45 on Thursday in its final game at Wisdom Gym. The Texans won its 19th game of the season and 10th game in conference play.
- The Texans finished their final season at Wisdom Gym with a 13-2 record. It is the Texans’ most wins on their home floor since the 2018-19 season.
- The win lifted Tarleton State into second place in the WAC standings. Tarleton State secures the No. 2 seed for the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas next week with a win on Saturday or an Abilene Christian loss.
- Thursday’s game at Wisdom Gym was the highest-attended women’s basketball game in the Division I Era, with 2,750 fans joining the Texans’ Farewell Tour. It was the highest-attended women’s basketball game at Wisdom Gym since Jan. 21, 2015 (2,843 vs. West Texas A&M).
- Senior guard Long scored a season-high 26 points and had seven 3-pointers off 10 attempts. Her seven 3-pointers matched the Division I single game program record that was set by the senior guard a month ago.
- Long’s 70% shooting from beyond the arc is the second-highest 3-point percentage by a Texan in a single game in the Division I Era. She is just the second Texan in the Division I Era to hit 70% of her 3-pointers off a minimum of seven attempts.
- Tarleton State’s seniors combined for 60 points to account for 80% of the Texans’ scoring on Thursday night. Senior guard Rosborough added 14 points while fellow senior Little had 11 points. Thursday night marked Senior Night for Tarleton State’s eight seniors (Long, Little, Rosborough, Van Wyk, Turrubiates, Jackson, Fluker and Bigović).
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