A dagger three from Dominique Ennis and a block from Hailey Adams lifted Rice Women’s Basketball over East Carolina, their 19th straight win.
East Carolina put Rice Women’s Basketball in an unfamiliar position when they took an early lead in the Saturday matchup between the American Conference’s top two teams. The Pirates never led by more than five points, but they did manage to stay at least one possession or two in front of the Owls for much of the contest.
Rice took minor leads of their own throughout the close game, which featured eight ties and 13lead changes. Rice led by two after the first quarter. East Carolina was up two at half, then up three after thie third quarter.
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For a moment it looked as if East Carolina would hold serve in the final frame, amassing a six point advantage and forcing Rice to take a timeout. From there, the Owls scored nine straight to retake their lead, their first edge since the middle of the third quarter.
East Carolina went back in front before Rice got a stop and possession, trailing by one with the shot clock off. That was when Dominique Ennis drained a corner three to silence the crowd. Hailey Adams blocked the Pirates’ final shot and Rice won, yet again.
With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 24-3 on the season, 14-0 in league play. They’ve won 19 games in a row.
Final Box | Rice 79, South Florida 72
Key takeaway | Bye, Bye, Bye
The American Conference drastically altered the format of its conference tournament this past offseason in an effort to aid their top ranked teams and stave off early round upsets. The new format gives the No. 1 Seed and the No. 2 seed triple byes:
After this week’s results, Rice women’s basketball has officially secured a top-two seed. Effectively that means the Owls are two wins in March away from a trip to the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens over the next two weeks.
Up Next: vs Temple (Wed. Feb. 25 at 6:00 pm)