Rice women’s basketball ground out a defensive struggle to take down Temple and improve their winning streak to 13 games.
It was the defenses that took center stage on Wednesday night in an all-Owl affair at Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice women’s basketball held Temple to just eight first half field goals and 28 percent shooting, a mark which should have yielded a decent early lead had it not been for the other Owls’ equally imposing point-prevention efforts.
The difference at the break was a short sequence in the second quarter sparked by a three-pointer from Louann Battiston and continued not long after by another three from Victoria Flores. Temple had just one triple in the first 20 minutes as Rice shut walled off the perimeter and took a four-point edge into halftime.
MORE: Rice Football Winter Transfer Tracker
Shelby Hayes keyed a third quarter rally to get Rice in front by as many as 12 before Temple pulled back within seven to set up a pivotal final frame. Both sides traded baskets for a while before Dominique Ennis stepped up and delivered consecutive back-breaking threes to put the Owls back in front by double-digits once again.
Hailey Adams, who played all 40 minutes and registered a double-double, pointed towards shots like that when describing the team’s success.
“I’m surrounded by great shot makers,” she said. “Everyone on the team is a great shot makers so I just have to get the rebound and get it to them and they’re going to make the shot.”
From there, the Owls were able to clamp down on defense once again and secure their 13th consecutive victory. With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 18-3 on the season and remains a perfect 10-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse. This is the first Rice team to start 10-0 since the 2018-2019 squad that went undefeated at home that season. Still, the team is taking it one game at a time.
“It means a lot, but our motto this year is TNT, Today-Not-Tomorrow,” Shelby Hayes said, referencing the strong start at Tudor. “That’s all great, but we’ve got to focus on what’s in front of us and what’s next, and that’s UTSA. So we’re just going to focus on that.”
Final Box | Rice 65, Temple 56
What They’re Saying
Key takeaway | Making Them Brick It
Coming into Wednesday night, Temple had averaged 70.1 points per game, a number which ranked in the top five in the American Conference in scoring. They didn’t come close to that mark against Rice, a testament to the Owls’ relentless defense.
Rice held Temple to 34 percent shooting from the floor and forced 14 turnovers, preventing their visitors from ever getting into any semblance of a rhythm.
Temple made consecutive field goal attempts just three times in the duration of the contest and had extended droughts of 10 consecutive missed shots and a spurt in which they made just one of 12 from the floor.
Up Next: at UTSA (Sat. Jan. 31 at 1:00 pm)
