SAN MARCOS, Texas — After splitting the first two games of the current three-game road swing, Texas State women's basketball will wrap up the stint on the road with its first ever matchup against Old Dominion on Thursday at Chartway Arena. Tip-off is set for 5:30 pm CT/6:30 pm ET.
 
The Bobcats (13-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) enter the week in a tie for fourth in the Sun Belt standings with ODU, Georgia Southern and Louisiana. Thursday's matchup against the Monarchs represents the first of three straight games against teams in the top-four of the Sun Belt standings.
 
Despite the loss on the road last Saturday at South Alabama, Texas State has won three of its last four games. ODU, meanwhile, has won five of its last six – including three of those victories being at home. The Monarchs are a perfect 9-0 at home this year.
 
Thursday's game can be watched on ESPN+, with Chip Tarkenton and Kim Aston on the call.

BOUNCEBACK SEASON

• Tianna Eaton has scored double-digits in 7 of the 8 conference games this season, including a team-high 14 points last Saturday at South Alabama.
• The graduate student is averaging 10.9 points per conference game.
• She had 7 double-digit scoring efforts in her first 11 games of the year.
• After coming back from injury and appearing off the bench in her first two seasons at Texas State, when she averaged 3.2 points across the two campaigns, she has started all 19 games this year and is averaging 11.0 points. She is also averaging 28.4 minutes per game, which is more than double her 11.7 minute-per-game average last season.
• Eaton leads the team this year with 209 field goal attempts (83 in conference-only games).

 
AIMING FOR 700

• Fifth-year senior Kennedy Taylor is inching closer to becoming the Sun Belt's all-time leader in assists.
• Taylor, who is already Texas State's career leader in assists, is 43 assists away from matching Clemette Haskins (Western Kentucky) for the conference record for career assists. Haskins had 731 from 1983-87.
• Taylor is the only Sun Belt player with 500+ career assists in the last 11 years. She is 12 assists shy of becoming only the second Sun Belt payer in conference history to have 700+ career assists.

 
Sun Belt Conference
Career Assists, All-Time
1. Clemette Haskins, WKU           731                1983-87
2. Kennedy Taylor, TXST             688                2018-Present
3. Amy McNear, WKU                 677                2008-11
4. Ivelina Vrancheva, FIU             631                1999-04
5. Stephanie Richardson, USA      605                1987-91
 
HOOD'S CAREER

• Da'Nasia Hood enters this week as the team's leading scorer with 15.3 points per game. She is averaging 11.2 points in conference-only games.
• Hood, who missed the first two games of this current three-game road swing, has double-digit points in 9 of her 11 games played this season.
• In her last game played, against Arkansas State on Jan. 14, she had 10 points and 8 rebounds in 27 minutes.
• Out of San Antonio, Hood has 1,580 points in five seasons of her Texas State career. She currently ranks 8th on the program's all-time career points list.
• Hood needs 15 points to match Becky Steinmeyer (1971-75) for 7th on the all-time list.
• With 20 more points, Hood would become only the 7th Bobcat in program history to have 1,600 career points and first since Diamond Ford score 1,906 from 2009 to 2013.

 
GETTING DEFENSIVE

• Despite the loss last Saturday, Texas State held South Alabama to 45 points, which was the fewest points scored a Division I opponent since Feb. 12, 2021 (in a 66-45 win over UT Arlington).
• The Bobcats are 2nd in the Sun Belt and 36th in the nation in scoring defense (57.0 points/game).
• Texas State has held 4 straight opponents to under 60 points.
• In the last 4 games, the Bobcats have held opponents to 51.3 points per contest.
• In 8 Sun Belt games so far, Texas State has held opponents to under 60 points 5 times. Conference teams are averaging 60.5 points per game against the Bobcats.

 
HALFWAY POINT

• Thursday represents Texas State's 9th game of the 18-game conference slate this season.
• The Bobcats are aiming to be 6-3 through the first 9 games of a conference slate for the first time since 2017-18.
• In 2017-18, Texas State finished 14-4 in conference play and 2nd in the Sun Belt standings.

 
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WEEK(E)ND

• In the Sun Belt's Thursday-Saturday format of the conference schedule, Texas State finds itself more successful in the opening game of the week versus the second one.
• On Thursdays in conference play, Texas State is 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 10.8 points.
• On Saturdays in Sun Belt action, the Bobcats are 1-3 with an average margin of defeat of 1.0 point.
• Texas State is averaging 69.3 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting (99-231) on Thursdays in conference play. On Saturdays in such games, the Bobcats average 61.5 points on 37.3 percent from the field (84-225).
• The Bobcats also average 17.8 turnovers in Saturday conference games versus 12.8 in Thursdays.

 
Thursday vs. Saturday
Conference Games this Season
Stat                                      Thursday                      Saturday
Points                                  69.3                              61.5
Opponent Points                  58.5                              62.5
FG%                                     42.9%                           37.3%
Opponent FG%                     37.4%                           37.8%
3FG%                                   31.3%                           31.1%
Opponent 3FG%                   33.3%                           27.6%
Rebounds                             38.5                              39.5
Rebounding Margin              +3.0                              -4.8
Assists                                  15.3                              13.8
Turnovers                             12.8                              17.8