Tarleton State Women’s Basketball hosts Kansas State in first-ever EECU Center game Monday

STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State faces Kansas State, a 2025 Sweet 16 team, in its first-ever game at the EECU Center on Monday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition contest. 

Kansas State is currently ranked No. 25 in the Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll and receiving votes in the Associated Press Poll. In addition to a fun night of basketball, Monday’s halftime show will feature Xpogo, the world’s top extreme pogo entertainment team. Xpogo has been featured on America’s Got Talent, ESPN, and NBA All-Star Weekend and holds 19 Guinness World Records. 

Single game tickets are available now starting at just $9. 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. 

K-State, a 2025 Sweet 16 team, will be the highest nationally-ranked team to play at Tarleton State. The Wildcats are the first women’s basketball team from a Power 4 conference to visit Stephenville. The exhibition game sponsored by Barefoot Campus Outfitter is the first meeting between the two schools in program history. 

NEW YEAR, NEW ARENA

• The Texans will play 15 games in its brand new two-story, $120 million arena: the EECU Center. 
• The EECU Center will seat up to 8,000 fans for basketball games. 
• The two-story multipurpose arena will host NCAA Division I competition, conferences, concerts, conventions and community events, serving as a new hub for the university and the region. 
• In 2023, Tarleton State and the Texas A&M system announced plans for a 110 million, 148,000 sq-foot facility.
• Tarleton State broke ground on the building in August 2023 and officially opened in August 2025. 

LETTING LONG LOOSE

• Tarleton State Women’s Basketball senior guard Jakoriah Long is a scoring threat for the Texans, averaging over 13 points per game in conference play and over 10 points per game overall last year. She was named to the All-WAC Second Team in 2024-25.  
• Long had back-to-back 25-point outings Feb. 6-8, being named WAC Player of the Week in the process.  
• The senior guard set a new Division I Era single game program record with seven made 3-pointers twice last season, most recently doing so against CBU (3/6). 
• Long’s 70% shooting from beyond the arc against CBU (3/6) was 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. 
• Long is the first Texan in the Division I Era to post two consecutive 25-point games. She is the first Texan since the 2013-14 season to post back-to-back games with at least 25 points (Kiara Wright, Feb. 5-8, 2014). 
• She also became the first Texan in the Division I Era to have back-to-back games with six or more 3-pointers. She is the first Texan since the 2011-12 season to have two consecutive games with six or more 3-pointers (Peyton Adamson, Jan. 11-14, 2012). 

PEAK PERFORMER

• Tarleton State signed former All-WAC First Team player Gia Adams this past season. Adams, the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, has averaged 13.8 points per game over her college career. She was named to the 2023-24 All-WAC First Team at UT Arlington before transferring to North Texas. The Cypress, Texas, native was the Texans’ first transfer to sign with the Texans. 
• Averaging 14.5 points per game in her junior season at UT Arlington, Adams led the Lady Mavs in scoring and was the third-leading scorer in the WAC during the 2023-24 season. The Dave Campbell’s Honorable Mention All-Texas guard won four straight WAC Newcomer of the Week honors and registered six 20-point games in a UTA uniform. She dropped a season-high 30 points at CBU, the eventual 2024 WAC Champions.
• Prior to joining UTA, Adams spent her first two seasons at Tennessee State. Adams had one of the best seasons by a Tennessee State freshman in the program’s history, averaging 12.9 points per game en route to winning the OVC Freshman of the Year award. Dropping a career-high 33 points against SIUE on Feb. 17, 2022, Adams became just the third TSU freshman to score at least 30 points and became the first player in the program to accomplish that feat since 2012.
• Leading TSU in 3-point field goals (42) and assists (81) as a freshman, Adams scored 14.1 points per game as a sophomore during the 2022-23 season. She scored in double figures 20 times and had five 20-point games in her second year of college basketball. Adams capped off her TSU career by scoring in double figures in 13 of her final 14 games.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

• Tarleton State Women’s Basketball welcomes 12 newcomers on its 15-player roster in 2025-26. The Texans have the seventh-most newcomers in all NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball. 
• The Texans have four Division I transfers, one Division II transfer, a pair of junior college transfers and four freshmen. 
• Tarleton State replaced eight seniors from 2024-25. Five transfers (Tessa Engelman, Jailynn Brill, Gia Adams, Shadasia Brackens, and Caroline Lyles) all have previous experience in Division I.