ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry University women's basketball team is headed to Alpine, Texas this weekend to face Sul Ross State for its third American Southwest Conference matchup on Saturday, Jan. 16.

With the cancellation of the Howard Payne game set for this past Thursday, the War Hawks had a few more days to mentally and physically prepare for their second matchup this season against the Lobos.

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Gallego Center.

Sul Ross will have a limited capacity of at 500 spectators with designated seats for the games on Saturday and will limit each scholar-athlete to four guests on the complimentary pass list. Gallego Center will also require temperature checks prior to entry. Social distancing and mandatory mask policy will also be enforced. 

Live stats and live video will be available for both games.

LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO

RECORDS
McM: 0-5, 0-2 ASC
SRSU: 3-8, 1-1 ASC

NOTES
LAST TIME OUT – The War Hawks had a tough East Texas road swing last week to begin conference play. McMurry opened American Southwest Conference play against undefeated East Texas Baptist last Thursday, falling 67-33 in a tough defensive matchup in Marshall. The War Hawks struggled to put points on the board, shooting 10-54 from the field. ETBU improved to 9-0 overall and have since won two more games to become 11-0 and 3-0 in ASC play. Sophomore forward Destiny Mathews and freshman guard Claire Headings led the team in scoring with eight points each.

McMurry went on to face LeTourneau on Saturday where Mathews led the offense for the fifth consecutive game, tying a game-high with 21 points while adding a team best seven rebounds. Freshman guard Taya Bridges followed up with six rebounds and contributed 13 points. Despite the War Hawks comeback efforts, the YellowJackets churned out a 62-53 win.

SCOUTING THE LOBOS – The Lobos are coming off of a 10-point loss to Hardin Simmons this past Thursday, falling to 3-8 on the season and 1-1 in ASC play.

Sophomore Vania Hampton finished with a team-high 10 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Kaylee Martinez led the Lobos in rebounds with 10 while adding seven points and four steals to the contest. The Lobos' last tasted victory back on Jan. 7 against Belhaven, recording a 64-58 victory to open conference play before dropping their next two games.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SRSU – McMurry owns a 59-31 advantage in the series dating back to 1974-75. The War Hawks have won 24 of the last 27 games, but did lose the last meeting this past December inside Kimbrell Arena, 69-59. Despite losing the last two meetings, McMurry has won 18 of the last 21 meetings dating back to February of 2008. Prior to the loss by the War Hawks on Feb. 13, 2020, the Lobos had not won a matchup since January 2017.

ASC WEST DIVISION – Entering week two of conference play, Sul Ross State, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons and Concordia have all snagged one win in the West Division. McMurry and Howard Payne are still in the hunt for their first conference win of the season.

ASC EAST DIVISION – East Texas Baptist and LeTourneau remain undefeated in ASC play at 3-0, followed by UT Dallas with two conference wins. Ozarks, Belhaven and Louisiana College are all seeking their first conference win.

MATHEWS' DESTINY – Sophomore Destiny Mathews continues to pack on the stats this season. Through seven games, Matthews currently leads the team in minutes per game (30.2), scoring average (15.2) and total rebounds (40). She is second on the team in steals (9) and is tied with Claire Headings for first in assists (11). Matthews currently sits at number six in the conference in scoring (15.2 PPG) and is tied for seventh place with Louisiana College's Kristen Breaux in rebounding (8.0 RPG).

SOPHOMORE LEADERSHIP – Sophomore Taya Bridges has emerged this season as a threat on the boards as well, averaging 10.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG through seven contests this season. Last year, Bridges averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 25 games with one start.