Rice Women’s Basketball rallied from a large deficit in the first half but couldn’t replicate the feat in the second half, falling to North Texas at home.
Rice women’s basketball may not have had a worse first quarter against a conference opponent this season than they experienced on Tuesday night against North Texas. The Owls were outscored 14-0 before they got on the board, barely clawing back to a 10-point deficit before the end of the frame.
The second quarter was an entirely different story. Rice came out the aggressor, scoring 15 of the first 18 points to take a two-point lead over the Mean Green and make this game interesting once more. North Texas would counterpunch, ending the half on a 9-0 run to take a seven-point lead into the break.
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North Texas would hold serve in the second half, keeping Rice women’s basketball at arm’s length and answering every volley with one of their own. Rice made consecutive field goals just once in the third quarter before unraveling in earnest in the fourth.
After a layup from Sussy Ngulefac opened the scoring, North Texas outscored Rice 10-2 in the next four minutes, turning a comfortable lead into a one-sided advantage with haste. Rice women’s basketball falls to 14-16 on the season and 7-11 in conference play.
Final Box | North Texas 68, Rice 56
FINAL | UNT 68, @RiceWBB 56 pic.twitter.com/OOZROk9Erm
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 5, 2025
Key takeaway | Can Lightning Strike Twice?
If things hold, Rice women’s basketball should be the No. 8 seed in the American Conference Tournament this weekend, a far cry from where this squad expected to be. However, this program proved a season ago that an up-and-down regular season could be pushed aside in March in favor of an electric run to a tournament championship.
Rice didn’t want to bank on another miracle to reach a second consecutive NCAA Tournament, but that’s what the Owls will need to reach those lofty goals. For better or worse, it’s a series of one-game seasons from this point onward with an eye on the horizon looking for another bolt of inspiration.
Up Next: AAC Tournament
