Rice women’s basketball fell behind and couldn’t recover, dropping their Saturday home tilt against Southern Miss.
Fresh off their first conference win of the season, Rice women’s basketball opened Saturday’s contest with Southern Miss the same way they’ve begun the majority of their recent games, with a strong first-quarter run.
Rice jumped out to a 9-2 lead, propelled by a set of layups and a three-pointer from Maya Bokunewicz. Then they powered through a run from Southern Miss that ate up the seven-point advantage and turned into a three-point deficit by the time the opening quarter was through. Then things started to spiral.
The Owls shot 36.4 percent from the field in the second quarter but it was the seven turnovers that paralyzed the team and handed too many extra opportunities to the visiting team. Southern Miss scored 15 of their 17 second-quarter points off Rice turnovers, opening up a 12-point halftime advantage.
Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball holds off LA Tech for first C-USA win
Southern Miss would only heat up from there, dominating Rice on the boards in the second half 18 to 10 and shooting at a blistering 60.9 percent clip in the final 20 minutes of action. Try as they might, Rice could not keep up defensively and was unable to slow down the league’s top shooting offense.
The loss drops Rice women’s basketball’s record to 6-9 and 1-6 in Conference USA play. Five of the seven teams in the West Division currently have losing conference records.
Player Spotlight | Destiny Jackson
Jackson was one of three Owls who reached double-digit points in Saturday’s loss. She was one of the most accurate shooters on the team, converting 4-of-7 attempts and her lone three-point try. She also contributed seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Everyone on the team is being asked to do a variety of things. Jackson played well in several facets despite the loss.
Final Box | Southern Miss 78 – Rice 55
FINAL | USM 78 – @RiceWBB 55 pic.twitter.com/26199ZXD4M
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) January 29, 2022
Up Next | Full Schedule
Rice women’s basketball will play their next three games on the road starting next weekend with a Thursday trip to UTSA and a Saturday visit to UTEP. They’ll finish the road trip the following Thursday, Feb. 10, at North Texas.
