Rice Women’s Basketball overcame a sluggish start, peaking late to notch a conference win over Tulsa at Tudor Fieldhouse.
It was a slow start for both sides at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday night as sloppy play and shooting droughts turned the contest into a grimy, low-scoring affair. Rice began the game 1-for-17 from three and couldn’t find the mark from deep, failing to take advantage of what truly was a stout defensive performance in the early goings.
The teams were tied at 17 apiece after one frame and combined to score just 12 points in the entirety of the second quarter with a total of five made field goals in that 10 minute span. Turnovers kept either side from getting into rhythm as both teams went into the locker room in need of an offensive spark which proved elusive.
More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program
Dominque Ennis attempted to get Rice going with a three out of the break. Unfortunately, further shooting woes from both sides and a smattering of trips to the free throw line left the game still hanging in the balance well into the fourth quarter when the Owls’ bench stepped up.
Consecutive baskets from Hailey Adams and Kennedy Clifton stretched the Rice lead to eight, their largest of the game. Victoria Flores, who scored a career-best 26 points, delivered a backbreaking three with the shot clock running down to get the lead to double-digits. From there, Tulsa found themselves in too big of a whole to climb out of as Rice poured it on late with a 15-0 run to earn a rather hard-fought victory given the final score.
With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 19-0 all-time against Tulsa at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Final Box | Rice 64, Tulsa 45
FINAL | @RiceWBB 64, Tulsa 45 pic.twitter.com/UPOhwGojc9
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) January 30, 2025
Key takeaway | Finding an offensive solution
It was only a few days ago that Rice women’s basketball scored 84 points against Charlotte, finding ample success in the paint (40 points) and from three (36 points). The Owls success in the paint against Tulsa on Wednesday (36 points) proved to be just enough to get them over the hump. Nine points from three was underwhelming. That disparity was palpable from start to finish in this game.
“I’m just really proud of this group. I thought we came out and had a great defensive first half and the defense held us down while we had a little bit of offensive woes, but we were really, really tough and we found a way in the second half to get our offense going,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “I think we proved how tough we can be on both sides of the ball tonight and we did it for 40 minutes.”
Ebbs and flows come with basketball. It’s a volatile sport where even the best miss half their shots. What Rice women’s basketball lacks right now is a high enough floor on that side of the ball. If they can play defense like this, even a slightly more consistent offensive output will help them win games. Figuring out how to orchestrate that growth is the most pressing issue facing this team as February arrives.
“I don’t think we need to necessarily tweak anything. We go the shots we wanted in the first half they just unfortunately didn’t fall,” Edmonds said. “but on nights when the shots aren’t falling you can always depend on your defense and your rebounding.”
Up Next: at FAU (Sat, 2/1)
