WOMEN HOSTING "ADOPT A TORNADO EVENT" VS. McMURRY

Austin, Texas – After registering road wins over Texas Lutheran and Schreiner, and leading from wire-to-wire in all four games, the Concordia University Texas basketball programs will look to continue building momentum when they host McMurry on Thursday, Jan. 20 and Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, Jan. 22. Forever Video Productions is slated to webcast all of the games.

Head coach Rusty Rainbolt, who was an assistant for two seasons at McMurry, has the Concordia's women's team (8-6, ASC 7-4) riding a record-breaking five-game winning streak, its first ever as an NCAA Division III program. The last time Concordia won five games in a row was when it kicked off the 1994-95 season with six straight victories, the school's last year competing at the NAIA level. The Tornados have successfully been able to wear opponents down with their depth to catapult themselves into a tie for second place in the West Division. Eleven of the 13 student-athletes in uniform are averaging at least 10 minutes of playing time, and the bench is contributing 35.0 points over the last two games. Shamika Singleton, who has five double-doubles this season, was named the ASC West Division Co-Player of the Week on Monday and leads the squad in scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 pg). The junior center has averaged 17.4 points on 56.1 percent shooting as well as 9.4 rebounds during the team's current winning streak. Sophomore center Skylar Lott has added 5.2 points and 6.0 boards during the same span, which included a nine-point, seven-rebound effort against Schreiner. Margaret Milling, a sophomore guard, has been a spark off the bench and currently leads the league in steals (2.9 pg) while scoring at a 6.1 clip. She had a season-high seven swipes in the win over Texas-Dallas and has averaged four picks during the winning streak. Junior Alex O'Neal has stepped up her game as the team's starting floor general. She is accounting for 7.6 points and 4.2 assists this month.

The Concordia men (9-6, ASC 7-4) continue to lead the league in scoring offense (88.9 ppg) and have netted at least 100 points in three of their last four games. After averaging 27 points in the last two home contests, sophomore Tayler Jacobs has emerged as the team's new leading scorer (13.3 pg) while continuing to rank first on the squad in assists (4.3 pg). His assists mark as well as his free throw percentage of .883 both rank second in the conference. Josh Johnson, a junior transfer who has netted as many as 25 points in a game this season, ranks fourth in the league in blocked shots (1.3 pg) and scores at an 11.1 clip. Nick Haynes, a sophomore guard, is second on the team in points (11.5 pg) behind Jacobs. Freshman guard Darius Anderson came alive during the recent road trip. He set career highs for points (20) and steals (5) in the win over Texas Lutheran before adding an additional 13 points off the bench against Schreiner ... Anderson averages 8.2 points per contest and leads the team in steals (1.5 pg). Sophomore Hunter Martin, a Dallas Baptist transfer who made his Tornado debut against Texas-Dallas earlier this month, has added more depth to the team's point guard position. He has the best assist/turnover ratio among the five Tornado point guards and recently contributed 11 points and three assists in just 13 minutes of action against Schreiner last Saturday.

McMurry's women's team (8-6, ASC 6-4), which was predicted to finish fourth in the American Southwest Conference West Division, finds itself in fourth place and just one game back of first-place Hardin-Simmons following a convincing 78-46 victory over Sul Ross State last Saturday ... The squad opened eyes around the conference when it defeated Mississippi College and Louisiana College in consecutive games to gain momentum earlier this month ... Both opponents were nationally ranked and undefeated at the time ... McMurry has relied on a balanced scoring attack and only has one player who averages double-digit points ... Senior center Anna Berthel will be the player the Tornados need to shut down ... She leads the team in points (10.7 pg) rebounds (5.9) and blocked shots (3.2 pg) ... Her blocks mark ranks third in the league ... Other major contributors include freshman forward Keshia Collins (9.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.7 spg) and sophomore guard Rikeita Thomas (9.6 ppg).

The McMurry men (9-5, ASC 7-3) were predicted to finish third in the American Southwest Conference West Division. The team enters tonight's game in third place, just half a game ahead of Concordia, and has won two straight and three of its last four games. McMurry has been led by forwards Steven Jones and Teddy Chambers. Jones leads five players who average double-digit points, scoring at a 13.7 clip. He recently contributed 20 points and 10 boards in two wins this past week. Chambers averages 12.6 points and ranks first in the league for grabbing 9.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jared Isler is tops in the ASC in assists per game, dishing out 5.1 per contest, and adds 10.4 points. Other players who score in double figures include seniors Derick Sumpter and Steven Johunkin, who average 12.1 and 10.7 points, respectively. 

The Hardin-Simmons women (10-3, ASC 7-3) sit in first place in the West Division for tournament hosting rights, but the squad enters the week just half a game ahead of Howard Payne and Concordia. The Cowgirls, who recently suffered a 84-66 setback against Howard Payne, are led by the Newcombe sisters. Lindsey Newcombe, a senior center who is the reigning ASC West Division Player of the Year, leads the league in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (14.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (.604) while ranking second in blocked shots (3.3 pg). Angela Newcombe is third in the league in rebounding (9.5 pg) and scores at a 6.4 clip. Jasmine Lewis and Alex Popelar average 12.9 and 11.8 points, respectively, while Coco Cartwright contributes 9.4 points and 3.1 assists.

Hardin Simmons' men's program (9-5, ASC 8-2) has won four straight games and is also in first place heading into the week's action despite being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. The Cowboys have been paced by junior guard Matt Addison, who was named the West Division Player of the Week on Monday. Addison contributed 27.5 points, 4.0 steals, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over two conference wins last week. In 10 appearances this season, he is averaging 22.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.7 steals per contest. Veteran guards Terrance Booker and Casey Riddle also score in double figures, adding 10.9 and 10.7, respectively, while freshman guard Derrick Jefferson ranks fourth in the ASC with 2.1 steals per game.

Game Information (Thursday, Jan. 20)
5:20 p.m. Pregame Show
5:30 p.m. Concordia vs. McMurry (Women)
7:30 p.m. Concordia vs. McMurry (Men)

Game Information (Saturday, Jan. 22)
12:50 p.m. Pregame Show
1:00 p.m. Concordia vs. Hardin-Simmons (Women)
3:00 p.m. Concordia vs. Hardin-Simmons (Men)

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*Note: The men's and women's basketball doubleheaders will be webcasted at separate links. If you decide to watch both games, you will need to exit out of the system after the women's game is over and sign in again to view the men's contest.