Rice Women’s Basketball went blow for blow with the UAB Blazers through four quarters before the shooting slumped for good in overtime.
Malia Fisher was the best show in town on Wednesday night as Rice Women’s Basketball slugged out a low-scoring affair in Birmingham against the UAB Blazers. Fisher’s season high 24-point fell just short of half the Owls’ game total and kept the team in the fight when everything else wasn’t going according to plan.
The teams combined for just 19 points in the first quarter, collectively before UAB took a 24-17 lead into halftime. A smatter of threes and free throws in the third quarter seemed to spark the visiting Owls who rallied from a seven point deficit to a three-point advantage, eventually entering the fourth with a two-point advantage.
More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program
Neither side did much in the last frame of regulation with UAB outscoring Rice 11-9 to set the stage for a winner-take-all overtime session. Victoria Flores got things started with a bucket, but a 9-0 run from the Blazers put the Owls too far behind to mount a comeback.
Final Box | UAB 63, Rice 56
FINAL (OT) | UAB 63, @RiceWBB 56 pic.twitter.com/amG5ERw3CD
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) January 23, 2025
Key takeaway | Shooting struggles persist
The number of subpar shooting performances has started to snow pile. Rice women’s basketball had 45 minutes of hoops on Wednesday night but only managed to come away with 56 points. More often than not a total that low isn’t going to cut it and that was the case this time around.
Through seven AAC games, Rice ranks 11th in the conference in field goal percentage and 12th in scoring. The Owls’ inability to create on that side of the ball has been a weight dragging them down all season and costing them winnable games.
That they’ve managed to tread water around the .500 mark is a testament to a tremendous defensive effort — Rice ranks third in opponent field goal percentage and scoring per game — but it’s not translated to nearly as many wins as this team expected.
Winning with defense is possible and it’s something this program has done tremendously well in the not-so-distant past, but it’s going to take something more consistent on offense. For whatever the reason, this season’s team hasn’t cracked the code on that vital component just yet.
Up Next: at Charlotte (Sat, 1/25)
