A disastrous second quarter left Rice Women’s basketball in a hole, but the Owls rallied late to stave off an upset by UIW at home.
Rice women’s basketball fell behind from the opening tip, but kept things close through the first quarter, getting to the line and creating opportunities close to the basket. Still, they found themselves trailing by six points heading into the second quarter which is where things took a turn for the worse.
UIW opened the quarter on a 14-0 run, turning a modest advantage into a commanding 20-point lead. Rice would claw back a few baskets before halftime, but the offense was in complete disarray, managing just seven field goals in the half and no three-pointers.
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Trailing by 15 points at intermission, Rice mounted a modest comeback in the early portions of the third quarter, propelled by four three-pointers from Dominque Ennis to help shrink the deficit to as few as two points but the real rally would come with Rice down 12 in the fourth.
Rice opened the quarter on a staggering 15-2 run, followed soon afterward by an 11-2 run. Just like that, a double-digit deficit turned into a comfortable home team advantage. Victoria Flores knocked down some last-minute foul shots to secure the win.
Rice women’s basketball improves to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Final Box | Rice 70, UIW 62
Key takeaway | Sputtering Shooting Leaves Reason for Concern
The fast-paced, explosive offense Rice women’s basketball hoped to showcase this season has yet to materialize in any real way. Whether it’s new personnel leaning to play together, execution issues or a fundamental error in the construction of the offense, Rice needs to go back to the drawing board, asap.
The Owls shot 20 percent from the floor in the first half and 29.2 percent in the game. They missed their first 13 three-point shots, finishing just 15 percent from deep. Bad shooting days happen and had the opponent not been a 1-3 UIW squad, it probably would have cost Rice a win.
They deserve all the credit for clawing back and seizing victory on a day when they weren’t at their best. Good teams do that. But if this team wants to become a sustainable winner, better offensive outings are going to be required on a much more consistent basis.
Up Next: Discover Puerto Rice Shootout vs Illinois State (Nov. 26 at 11:30 am)
