Rice Women’s Basketball allowed eight field goals, the second-fewest in program history, as they silenced Houston Christian in a season-opening win.
There was no stifling the buzz that permeated Tudor Fieldhouse on Monday night. Following the men’s season-opening win over Dallas Christian, the court was cleared to welcome the Rice women’s basketball team to the court so that they could receive their American Conference Championship rings and unfurl a championship banner in the gym rafters.
If there was any celebratory hangover, Houston Christian’s opening layup snapped the Owls’ back to the here and now. Then they proceeded to do just what they did on this court so many times last season: put a lid on the opposing basket and lock in.
The layup was Houston Christian’s only field goal in the first quarter, which ended with Rice women’s basketball firmly in control with a 20-6 lead. The Huskies managed just one field goal in the second quarter, too, clinging to 18 trips to the charity stripe just to stay in the contest.
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Rice claimed a 21-point advantage for the first time with 5:43 to go in the second quarter. The Owls’ margin would hover around that point for the remainder of the frame and into halftime before Victoria Flores almost single-handedly gave the team more breathing room in the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points for the Owls who continued to keep Houston Christian at a comfortable distance.
Layla Conley drained a three to open the fourth, lifting the Owls’ lead to 32 points, which was multiple scores beyond the 26 points the Huskies had scored as a team to that point. The Owls would maintain that suffocating defense for the duration, earning a dominant season-opening victory.
Final Box | Rice 72, HCU 34
What They’re Saying
Key takeaway | Locked Down
For as impressive as Rice women’s basketball was when it came to scoring the basketball a year ago, their defense was even better. The Owls ranked second in the American Conference, allowing 59.6 points per game. That’s the kind of standard the Owls are used to, which is probably why nobody seemed to flinch when Houston Christian’s field goal percentage hovered in the single digits for a good chunk of this game.
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By the time the dust settled, Houston Christian had clawed their way to eight field goals, the second fewest Rice women’s basketball has allowed in a single game in program history, tying the eight baskets allowed to Idaho in December 1994. Similarly, the Huskies’ 18.2 field goal percentage (8-of-44) tied the second-best mark in Rice program history, achieved most recently against Florida Atlantic this past February.
“We set the tone. We enforced our will. I was very, very pleased with that, but now the bar is set really, really high for what the rest of the season needs to look like.”
The challenges will get harder, starting with a road trip to the East Coast this coming weekend to take on Murray State and Richmond. But as Edmonds said, “No matter what gym we’re in. No matter what state we’re in. No matter what time zone we’re in. We should be able to defend. We should be able to rebound.”