After winning five straight games the Wildcats’ streak came to a halt in Stephenville where they lost to the Tarleton State University Texans 67-52.

The loss puts the Wildcats at 14-14 on the season and 6-7 in Western Athletic Conference play, dropping to the fifth spot in the WAC standings after entering the game in fourth. 

A poor offensive performance from the Wildcats led to the loss with only two players in double-digit points: Leonardo Bettiol, junior forward from Roncade, Italy, with 12 points, and Bradyn Hubbard, junior forward from Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 11 points. 

As a team, the Wildcats shot 21-48 from the field, 4-15 on three-pointers and 6-13 from the free-throw line. Along with poor shooting, they also turned the ball over 19 times–five more than their season average. The turnovers led to 19 points for the Texans. 

Playing on the road has been a struggle for the team this season as they are now 4-10 in road games. The Wildcats will face another road game on Saturday as they travel to Arlington to take on the University of Texas-Arlington. 

“We’re gonna have to find a way to go on the road and continue to play the way we’re playing,” Head Coach Brette Tanner said. 

The team’s prior matchup against UTA was a close game that went into overtime when the Mavericks won 79-76. 

On Saturday UTA will face an ACU team that has gained a lot of confidence in the last month. 

Over the last month since the two teams last played ACU has won five of its last seven games, while UTA has won four of its last eight games. Both teams are going into Saturday’s game coming off of losses. 

Tanner said his players believe in what they’re doing and that even in a win-or-lose situation his team will still have confidence. 

With three games remaining in the regular season, each one carries a lot of weight as the Wildcats try to earn a top-five spot in the WAC tournament in March.