SAN MARCOS, Texas — The Texas State women's basketball program will open up the Sun Belt Conference portion of its 2020-21 regular season schedule when the Bobcats play ULM on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.

Thursday night's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) calling the contest's action. 

LOOKING AT THE BOBCATS

• Texas State enters Thursday night's contest at ULM with a 7-1 all-time record in the first Sun Belt Conference game of the season under head coach Zenarae Antoine. Under Antoine, the Bobcats have knocked off six different teams (Little Rock, Troy, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and Louisiana) to start conference play following last season's win over the Ragin' Cajuns in San Marcos.
• In last season's Sun Belt Conference opener against Louisiana, Lauryn Thompson and Da'Nasia Hood became the first pair of Bobcat teammates to score 20-or-more points in the same game since Taeler Deer and Toshua Leavitt went for 21 and 20, respectively, against Louisiana on March 10, 2018. Against the Ragin' Cajuns, Thompson, in her first SBC contest, went for a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Hood scored 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting. 
• Now nearing the 500-career assist mark, in last season's conference-opening game, Texas state senior guard Kennedy Taylor surpassed 300 career assists when she finished with nine assists and eight points in the Bobcats' 71-63 win over Louisiana in San Marcos. 

SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS

• ULM will enter Thursday night's contest on a three-game skid following a 73-72 loss to Mississippi Valley State on Monday, Dec., 20, despite a career-high 21-point, 16-rebound performance from sophomore Linda van Schaik, who played a career-high 43 minutes for the Warhawks. 
• Since joining the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 2006-07 season, ULM is 4-11 in its conference-opening games. When the Warhawks and Bobcats link up Thursday night, it will mark the first time in six seasons ULM has opened SBC play at home. 
• ULM (4-10) has lost nine straight Sun Belt Conference openers. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Texas State enters Thursday's matchup at ULM on a five-game winning streak over the Warhawks dating back to a 59-53 win in Monroe, La., on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The current five-game winning streak for the Bobcats is the longest since Texas State won four straight games from Jan. 26, 1995 to Feb. 17, 1996. 
• A win for Texas State on Thursday would give the Bobcats the longest winning streak by either team in the series history since ULM won six straight from Feb. 16, 2005 to Jan. 11, 2014. During that near nine-year span, the two teams played only three times from 2007 to 2014: Nov. 17, 2007, Nov. 17, 2009 and Jan. 11, 2014. 
• Under head coach Zenarae Antoine, Texas State is 12-5 against ULM. Since the last time the Bobcats dropped back-to-back games (March 7, 2015; Jan. 30, 2016) Antoine has won 10 of the last 12 matchups against the Warhawks. 
• Thursday night will mark the first time Texas State has opened Sun Belt Conference action against ULM. 

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