Rice Women’s Basketball lost an early lead, but rallied late to take down Richmond in overtime to earn another resume-boosting win.
From the opening tip, Rice women’s basketball went to the rim and made it a point to impose their physicality on Richmond on their home court. Owls’ center Myah Hazelton, who hadn’t been much of a factor in the first two games of the season, scored six of the Owls’ first 10 points as Rice attacked the rim.
The Owls opened up a nine-point lead in the first period and extended their advantage to double digits early in the second quarter with a pair of consecutive threes from guard Louann Battiston. Richmond was able to keep things within reach by getting to the charity stripe with guard Aneisha Scott, who took a game-high 12 free throws.
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The game turned in the third quarter when Scott helped key a nine-point Richmond run, which gave the Spiders a lead for the first time since their game-opening basket. The Owls exacerbated the problem by going cold from the field for a stretch, converting one field goal in a five-minute stretch that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. During that time, Richmond would pull ahead by six, forcing Rice to mount a rally.
Not only did Rice fight back, but the Owls rattled off seven straight points to take a two-point lead. Battiston gave Rice a two-point edge in the final seconds, but Richmond delivered the equalizer to force overtime. It was all Rice from there. Rice outscored Richmond 10-0 in the extra period to clinch the big road win.
Final Box | Rice 73, Richmond 60
What They’re Saying
Things didn’t always go our way, as they’re not always going to go, especially on the road against a really, really good team. That’s what this weekend was about. Getting the best of the best of these four conferences together. Getting challenged early and seeing what your team is made of. AGain, everything wasn’t perfect, but we found a way to tough it out, to grit it out, to make that big bucket late in regulation. We obviously gave up a bucket, but then I think we made a statement in overtime with a 13-0 run. I just wanted us to show some toughness, and I think we did that. – Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds
Key takeaway | Statement Made
In an effort to elevate the opportunities for the top teams among some of the premier mid-major leagues, the American, Atlantic 10, Ivy and Missouri Valley Conferences created The Opening Statement, a scheduling alliance that pitted the top two teams from each league in a series of nonconference games to serve as resume builders.
A lack of high-caliber non-conference wins was part of what kept Rice women’s basketball out of the NCAA Tournament last year. Now, three games into the 2026-2027 season, it looks as if the Owls already have two such victories, with wins against Murray State on Friday and Richmond on Sunday.
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Neither game was perfect — the Owls gave up big leads in the second half in both games — but style points are irrelevant when it comes to NET ratings and postseason resume wins. Rice women’s basketball has two big ones before Thanksgiving.