The source for Rice sports news

  • Football
    • Recruiting
    • Offer Tracker
    • Roster
    • Schedule
    • NFL Owls
  • Premium
    • Patreon
    • Season Preview
    • Join / FAQ
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Store
    • News
    • Basketball
    • Baseball
    • About
    • Contact
  • Login

Rice Women’s Basketball surges past UAB at AAC Tournament

March 9, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Women’s Basketball finished off an early lead with a dominant fourth quarter run to extend their season and defeat UAB in the American Conference Tournament.

UAB got out of the gates in a hurry in the first game of a full four-game Sunday slate at Dickies Arena, the hosting venue for the bulk of the 2025 American Conference Tournament. The eight-seed Blazers took a 10-3 over Rice Women’s Basketball as the Owls struggled to get their shots to fall in the opening minutes of the contest.

Rice would close the quarter on a 7-0 run to bring the score even at 15 apiece before building themselves a modest lead at halftime, furthered by a buzzer-beating three from Malia Fisher as the clock expired before the break. Fisher’s three put Rice up by eight and while UAB would inch closer in the third quarter, Rice was able to maintain a healthy lead and enter the final frame up by nine.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

UTSA scored the first four points in the fourth quarter to get back within five but that was the moment Rice women’s basketball seized control and never looked back. Rice scored 12 unanswered points, turning a close game into a relatively comfortable win to survive an advance to the next round of the American Conference Tournament.

Final Box | Rice 76, UAB 63

FINAL | @RiceWBB 76, UAB 63

Owls earn a rematch with UTSA tomorrow. #GoOwls pic.twitter.com/ENVox2S9mA

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 9, 2025

What They’re Saying

I’m just incredibly proud of our group. Grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Conference Tournament. Grateful to get the first win. I thought we had a very well balanced attack and it was everything that we needed to make sure that we get this first win. – Rice women’s Basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Finding that fourth quarter fight

Closing out games has been the Achilles heel for Rice women’s basketball this season. So many fourth quarter leads have evaporated in the matter of minutes dropping the Owls down the standings all the way to the No. 9 seed.

There was a moment on Sunday afternoon when it felt like that nagging pain would resurface for one final, fateful time. UAB opened the fourth quarter on a quick 4-0 run, cutting a nine-point deficit down to five to get back within striking distance with a full quarter remaining.

Rather than fold, Rice rallied. The Owls rattled off 12 unanswered points, catapulting themselves to a 17-point lead, their largest of the game. That furious rally is what this team has been missing all too often this season. If they can showcase that fight just a few more times they’ll have a real chance to keep their season alive a few more days and replicate last year’s historic run.

“We start the year saying that are season is three seasons, non-conference, conference and then the conference tournament is our third season. It was 0-0 before today, the wins and the losses didn’t matter. We wanted to come out and be the best team that we could be today and get the first win. We talked about last year. We talked about the run that we had,” Edmonds said.

“Last year was incredible and we want to feel that again, but nobody is going to hand it to us. We got to make sure that we go and take it every single day. We need to be hungry for the wins that we need here.”

The task doesn’t get any easier, though. Rice draws No. 1 Seed UTSA in their next game. The Roadrunners edged the Owls’ 57-55 a few weeks ago on Senior Day.

Up Next: AAC Tournament (vs 1-Seed UTSA | Monday, March 10 at 12:00 PM CT)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • “So Many Things to Address”: Rice Baseball and David Pierce Embark on Crucial Offseason
  • Rice Baseball season ends with AAC Tournament loss to FAU
  • Rice Baseball falls to UTSA in AAC Tournament Opener
  • 2025 AAC Baseball Tournament: Preview, schedule, how to watch

Filed Under: Archive, Basketball, Women's Athletics Tagged With: game recap, Rice Women's basketball

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3
  4. Item 4
  5. Item 5
  • Jack Ben-Shoshan, Rice Baseball
  • Rice Football
  • Rice Baseball, David Pierce
  • Rice Football
  • “He’s a Bulldog”: Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace
Become a patron at Patreon!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter