Rice Women’s basketball led early but couldn’t close, watching an early fourth quarter lead evaporate in a road loss to Princeton.
Things got off to a strong start for Rice women’s basketball in a pivotal road matchup against a Princeton team that was receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll. The visiting Owls opened the scoring with a three from Victoria Flores, furthering their early edge to eight points midway through the first quarter.
Princeton would not go away that easily, though. The Tigers opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run. No sooner had they taken their first lead of the game than did the Owl volley back, with clutch threes from Louann Battiston and Dominque Ennis to put Rice in front, where they would stay through the end of the half.
NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation
With both sides having thrown punches, it looked as if a narrow back-and-forth would commence. Instead, even though Rice entered the fourth quarter ahead by one point, the the wheels fell off. Princeton outscored Rice 20-6 in the fourth, ending the game on an 11-2 run to turn a close game into a near blowout.
Rice women’s basketball falls to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.
Final Box | Princeton 69, Rice 56
Key takeaway | Finding a Way to Finish
It’s hard to believe Rice women’s basketball entered the final quarter with the lead given how lopsided the final box score appears. Unfortunately for the Owls, it wasn’t just one thing that went wrong.
In that fateful fourth quarter Rice went 2-for-12 from the floor, was outrebounded 9-to-8, turned over the ball over six times and committed four fouls. The wide array of faults points to a team that wasn’t poised under pressure and collectively failed to execute when the lights shone the brightest.
This had the potential to be a resume building win for Rice. Instead, it’s a loss that looks much more one-sided than it actually was. Great teams finish. This team has talent, but closing out games still remains a key to-do as non-conference play marches on.
Up Next: vs Incarnate Word (Nov. 23 at 2:00 pm)
