Both Rice basketball teams were in action on Friday. Here’s a brief rundown of how the men and women faired and what’s next for both.
Rice basketball still has early season kinks to work through but got back in the win column on Friday with a hard-fought victory against Georgia Southern.
With defense still very much a work in progress, anything is possible. What might have been a comfortable home-court advantage for Rice basketball did not last on Friday night against Georgia Southern. The Owls watched an eight-point lead vanish in the moments before halftime, ceding a 9-0 run by the visitors to fall behind 48-47 at the break.
As the three-pointing shooting started to slow in the second half, Rice turned to Max Fiedler in the post. He was extremely effective, making his shots count and scoring all of his nine points in the second half. Rice retook the lead and stretched it to as many as 17 points, hanging on to win a wild one at home.
Final Box | Rice 88 – Georgia So. 71
FINAL | @RiceMBB 88 Georgia So. 71 pic.twitter.com/aDaMczInRt
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 19, 2022
Key takeaway | The shots will start falling
At some point, the shots were going to start falling. Off nights from the field are an unfortunate cost of doing business for a team that relies on the three-ball as much as Rice basketball does. That said, nights like Friday serve as a reminder that any night can be a good shooting night.
Rice hit seven of their first 10 three and 10-of-23 from distance for the evening. Their previous high in triples in a game this year had been 14 against St. Thomas. Their high for the entirety of last season was 15 against Houston Baptist. If that’s any indication, even better nights from distance are coming and a good (not quite great) night at the office was enough to get the win.
Up Next: vs Western Michigan – Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m.
Rice women’s basketball kept their perfect start to the season rolling with another road win, this time over Pacific in a relatively comfortable fashion.
Not long after a double-digit road win over Saint Mary’s, Rice women’s basketball took to the court at Pacific a few days later and produced a similar result. The Owls jumped out to an early lead behind a strong defensive showing, holding Pacific to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the first quarter. That enabled Rice to amass a 10-point lead at the break.
It wouldn’t be easy, though. Rice held serve in the third quarter, but Pacific came alive in the final frame. They outscore the Owls 28-24 in the fourth, making 5-of-9 from deep, but it wouldn’t be enough. Rice would make the defensive stands they needed to and hit their free throws, moving to 4-0 on the season with the win.
Final Box | Rice 89 – Pacific 79
FINAL | @RiceWBB 89 – Pacific 79 pic.twitter.com/aSVRJ9AtpF
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 19, 2022
Key takeaway | The defense is coming
Following the Owls’ season-opening game against SFA, coach Edmonds mentioned she’d hoped for a better defensive showing, giving up 77 points was too much in her highest. The team responded by cutting their points against total to 69 (vs Abilene Christian), then to 64 (at St. Mary’s).
The Owls were trending that way after holding their foes to 34 points in the first half, but a second-half barrage pushed Pacific’s final total to 79 points, several points of which came in catch-up mode with the Owls shooting free throws.
That total was never going to continue to fall forever, but it’s pretty clear the message was received. The defense has been much better, particularly in key moments. And they’re probably not done improving that facet of their game just yet either.
Up Next: at Texas Southern – Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m.
