No. 1 Lady Texans, No. 7 Texans travel to New Mexico Junior College Thursday

LEVELLAND — With four games remaining in the regular season, the South Plains College men's and women's basketball teams will travel to Hobbs on Thursday for a pair of conference matchups with New Mexico Junior College.

The Lady Texans will tip at 5:45 p.m. MST, followed by the men's game to follow at 7:30. Both games will be streaming live at spctexans.com and Michael Wiiest of KLVT Radio Levelland will call the courtside action with pregame slated for 5:30 p.m.

Leading the country in field goal percentage with a 49.7 percent clip on the season, the top-ranked Lady Texans are averaging 74.1 points per game in conference play, and sit atop the WJCAC standings with a 10-0 mark to date. Holding a two-game lead over No. 15 New Mexico Junior College heading into Thursday, South Plains ousted NMJC 66-51 on Jan. 14 in their first matchup at the Texan Dome.

Freshman Sarah Shematsi led the Lady Texans with 20 points and eight boards, knocking down six 3s in the contest and was 7 of 12 from the field. Gabbie Green recorded 16 points, four rebounds and three assists over 36 minutes while Caroline Germond netted 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Averaging 77.4 points per game this season and shooting 48.3 percent from the floor, the third-best mark in the country, the Lady Thunderbirds are 8-1 on their home court and are 6-1 in their last seven outings. Currently 7-2 in league play, NMJC is led by sophomore center Eternati Willock who leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game.

Ranked seventh in the latest NJCAA national poll, the Texans bring a 10-2 mark in the WJCAC into Thursday night after defeating New Mexico Military Institute 103-52 Monday. Averaging 83.6 points per game and shooting over 48 percent from the field on the year, South Plains has won four straight in league play and are tied with Odessa for the conference lead.

In their first meeting with the Thunderbirds at the Dome, sophomore Jonah Antonio led the Texans with 21 points and four boards, bucketing six 3s as the Texans downed NMJC 77-50. Gaige Prim recorded 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, bucketing 7 of 8 attempts from the floor as the Texans poured in 11 3s and four players scored in double figures.

Currently in fourth place in league play with a 7-4 mark, the Thunderbirds are 8-3 at home this season and have won five of their last six in conference play. NMJC is averaging 74.1 points per game and shooting over 44 percent from the field on the year.