Rice Women’s Basketball came out strong but faltered late in another disappointing road loss to a team at the bottom of the AAC standings.
A pair of threes from Dominique Ennis and a stout presence inside from Sussy Ngulefac got Rice women’s basketball out to a strong start on the road against Wichita State on Saturday afternoon. The visiting Owls seemed to be in control of the contest before the offense evaporated in the second quarter.
Rice had been leading by six to that point but Wichita State would open the frame on a dominant 17-4 run, seizing the advantage and putting the Owls on notice that the hosting Shockers wouldn’t be going down without a fight.
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The teams traded jabs in the third quarter and the early portions of the fourth before finding themselves all tied up at 50 points apiece with 2:07 to go. Wichita State would seize the moment, scoring twice in a row to put Rice on their heels.
The Owls would manage to cut the deficit to one on a three from Dominque Ennis with five seconds to play but went to the rim with one second left, running out of time and dropping their fourth game in a row.
Final Box | Wichita State 60, Rice 57
FINAL | WSU 60, @RiceWBB 57 pic.twitter.com/U9MQUb3pSq
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) February 15, 2025
Key takeaway | Avoiding a repeat spring swoon
The enduring memory from the 2023-2024 Rice women’s basketball season will forever be a dominant run through the AAC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament berth that run subsequently earned. But that great March masked a terrible ending to the regular season with five consecutive conference losses that saw the Owls plummet in the standings.
One year late, Rice finds itself on a four-game losing streak, including defeats against Florida Atlantic and Wichita State, the current bottom dwellers in the league’s standings. The 2025 Owls have five more games, which—optimistically—could suggest a chance to right the ship. However, the current iteration of this team finds itself in a rut with not clear answers.
Wins are the most surefire cure. Starting that next Tuesday when they return to Tudor Fieldhouse for a three-game homestand is an absolute must if they want any chance of avoiding a repeat fall down the conference ranks.
Up Next: vs Florida Atlantic (Tues, 2/18)
