Rice Women’s Basketball dipped back below .500 in AAC play, running out of stream late against Tulane at home.
Tulane struck first in a Wednesday night tilt at Tudor Fieldhouse but Rice women’s basketball would quickly fire back. Victoria Flores sparked a quick Rice rally with an 11-point first quarter, turning a deficit into a nine-point advantage for the home team which would prove difficult for the Owls to maintain.
By the end of the first quarter Tulane had pulled within one. The Green Wave led by 12 at halftime and survived a brief push by the Owls in the third, still maintaining a double-digit advantage by the time the fourth quarter arrived. That’s when the Owls’ offense finally ran out of stream.
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Already staked to a significant lead, Tulane opened the final frame on a 12-2 run, taking a commanding 21 point lead midway through the quarter. Not even a banner day from a career-best showing from Malia Fisher (32 points, 6rebounds) would be enough to get the Owls back within striking range. Flores would finish with 11 points, all scored in that first with Ennis the only other Rice players in double figures — she scored her 11th point at the buzzer.
The loss marks a staggered stretch of back-and-forth for Rice women’s basketball in the win column. The Owls haven’t won more than two games in a row since November 7 through November 17, posting four straight wins over NC A&T, South Alabama, Houston and Sam Houston, respectively
Final Box | Tulane 78, Rice 67
FINAL | Tulane 78, @RiceWBB 67 pic.twitter.com/bF1Reo8rzt
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) February 6, 2025
Key takeaway | Offensive identity
Dominique Ennis had taken zero three point attempts at halftime. She finished with four shots from long range in a game the Owls were down by a large margin for the duration of the second half. That tally is well below her average of 6.5 three-point attempts per game. She took 12 threes last time out against FAU.
How many threes Ennis or anyone else attempts in a single game isn’t going to make or break this team in the long run, but Ennis’ inconsistent usage underscores a nagging issue Rice women’s basketball has had all season: a lack of true offensive identity.
Up until this game, the plan probably could have been described as an inside-out approach in which the Owls’ bigs win in the paint to provide open shots from distance for the likes of Ennis and others. That’s not what happened here.
It feels as if the Owls are banking on Malia Fisher to carry the load while banking on someone else to provide a meaningful supporting role. Sometimes that’s been Ennis. Other times Victoria Flores. But more often than not, it’s been a sluggish result on that side of the court that’s hampered this team’s upside.
Up Next: at USF (Wed, 2/12)
