Rice Women’s Basketball built an early lead and stayed locked in for four quarters, coasting past rival Houston at home.
After a minor setback in their season opener, Rice women’s basketball is gaining momentum and living up to their preseason billing as an AAC favorite. On Thursday night, it took the Owls just over a quarter to establish a double-digit lead over rival Houston, showcasing a strong defensive effort that effectively stifled the Cougars’ offense.
Rice held Houston to 34.8 percent shooting in the first half, building a lead that grew to as many as 15 points. Freshman Aniah Alexis was the catalyst early on, scoring eight of her nine points before halftime and giving the Owls some offensive consistency along the way.
“The stage is not too big. The lights aren’t too bright,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said of Alexis. “She’s confident in herself. She’s done the work.”
More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview
Alexis and the Owls charged into the second half, countering every challenge the Cougars threw their way. Houston managed to close the gap to just six points briefly, but Rice answered with a decisive 6-0 run, pushing their lead back to double digits and effectively silencing any hopes of a Cougar comeback. From there Dominique Ennis and Sussy Ngulefac took over, scoring 15 of the Owls’ 24 second-half points.
After a layup at the 6:11 mark, Houston went cold, failing to score another field goal for the next six minutes, save a meaningless three at the buzzer in an already decided game. Once more, it was the Rice women’s basketball defense that sealed the game as the Owls improved their season record to 3-1.
Final Box | Rice 60, Houston 48
FINAL | @RiceWBB 60, Houston 48 pic.twitter.com/1oJKcQKEYM
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 15, 2024
What They’re Saying
That was a good win. A good win for this team, a good win for this university and a good win for this city. It’s an incredible game for us to be playing, we should be playing it every single year as we have done the last couple of years. It’s good for women’s basketball. It was good for us tonight. We built upon what we did last game. [In] the last game we won all but one media and did exactly the same thing again tonight. I thought we came out with the aggressiveness and intensity and really set the tone for what the game was going to look like. Everything wasn’t perfect, but we had energy, we had toughness and we had togetherness, and I’m really proud of our team. – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds
Key takeaway | A new season
Last season, Rice and Houston battled to overtime, with the Cougars edging out a home victory. But after Thursday’s game, it’s hard to believe how much has changed for both programs. Since then, Houston has struggled, finishing second-to-last in the Big 12, while Rice has soared—winning the AAC Tournament and securing an NCAA Tournament berth.
Throughout the offseason, head coach Lindsay Edmonds emphasized the heightened expectations for the Owls this year. While a single game doesn’t predict the season’s outcome, the 2024-2025 Rice squad did more than just edge past a struggling team—they comfortably cruised past their rivals.
ESPN’s in-game win probability never dipped below 78 percent after the end of the first quarter and was above 95 percent for the entire fourth frame. It certainly looks like Edmonds is coaching with that level of urgency. Up by 13 points at the half, her focus never waivered. “I think we can turn it up even more,” she declared.
For a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, this is exactly the attitude they need. After shaking off early-season rust, Rice is starting to look like the force they were projected to be.
Up Next: vs Sam Houston (Sun, 11/17)
