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Physicality was on full display when Rice basketball hosted Texas State on Wednesday evening. A tight contest in the early goings was turned into a sturdy halftime lead in favor of the Owls’ behind one of the more dominant rebounding efforts the program has seen in some time.
Texas State committed just five turnovers in the first half and shot a respectable 42 percent from the floor. And yet, they trailed by 12 points in large part because the Owls outrebounded the Bobcats 22-10 with a whopping 11 offensive boards leading to 16 second chance points.
Then, it was as if the visitors flipped a switch. Texas State exploded out of the gates in the second half, nearly evening the rebounding battle in the next 10 minutes as they rallied to retake the lead in a 23-3 outburst. That Rice opened the half 2-for-9 from the field did them no favors.
Facing a six point deficit, Rice fought back. Trae Broadnax keyed the rally with several heads up defensive plays, putting the Owls back in front on a marvelous fadeaway followed by consecutive made free throws. Rice took a five-point lead into the final minute before Texas State cut it to one. Jalen Smith then made consecutive free throws to extend the edge to three before Nick Anderson iced things with a pair of foul shots of his own with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Rice Basketball improves to 4-6 with the win. The Owls are 3-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.
Following a week of consecutive gut punches, Rice basketball found a way to finish on Wednesday in a game that felt much more meaningful than just a singular win. But of course, it wouldn’t come easily.
That Rice saw a double-digit advantage wither in minutes in the second half and still found a way to rally spoke volumes about how far this team has come.
“I think those are the moments that kind of define teams a little bit,” guard Trae Broadnax said. “It was like a test of our mettle and our toughness.”
“I think coming off the week that we had last week where we went 1-2 but we felt like we took a step forward. We tried to put our best foot forward today in some spurts, for sure.”
ESPN win probability gave Rice more than a 90 percent chance of winning in this game on three separate occasions. Between them, Texas State mounted their rally. Afterward, Rice saw the late game lead dwindle to one point. The next step will be finding ways to maintain that consistent advantage and render the need for a furious comeback moot
“I feel like these experiences we’ve had over the last 10 games have not been lost on the guys,” Lanier said. “They’ve learned from it and I think tonight was an example of learning from previous games.”
Sam Houston entered their Wednesday night game with Rice women’s basketball 5-1, but largely untested to this point. The Owls were quickly forced to reckon with the quality of their opponent, falling behind 5-0 after the opening tip. Rice would close out the first quarter trailing by six, not truly finding their offensive rhythm until the midpoint of the second quarter.
A three from Louann Battiston jump started a five-minute rally in which the Owls outscored the Bearkats 14-4, turning a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead. Sam Houston would cut the gap to three just before halftime.
The lead flipped four times in the third quarter. Then, with Rice leading by just one point in the opening minute of the final frame, the Owls’ deep shooting finally started to connect. The Owls hit more three pointers in the fourth quarter (five) than they did in the first three quarters, turning a razor-thin contest into one with a 15-point cushion in the final minute.
With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Owls’ fourth quarter box score was immaculate. Rice women’s basketball shot 64 percent from the field, out-rebounded Sam Houston 11-4 and had three steals and two blocks. It was one of the best 10 minute stanzas this team has played all season.
“That fourth quarter outing was what I expect from my team,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “I’m expected to see that team show up more.”
When asked how Edmonds plans to get her team to replicate that performance, Edmonds pointed toward the growth her team has experienced so far this season and how much more poised they’re playing compared to this time last year.
“I don’t expect us to be, right now, as good as we’re going to be in March. We’re going to continue to get better. It’s their job to continue to get better. It’s my job to continue to get us better. And we will,” Edmonds said. “We will continue working on it. Every day I feel like we’ve done something better. I’m proud of that growth. I’m proud of where we’re at.”
The 2026 Rice football recruiting class began with 18 signees during the Early Signing Period, the second recruiting haul for new head coach Scott Abell. Of those players, 16 are current high school seniors, eight play on the offensive side of the ball, plus one specialist.
“I think we have found some great future Owls who are going to have an impact on our program,” Abell said during his introductory remarks regarding the group.
We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of those new people, dissecting how these Owls will help the program on the field.
* Denotes players who will enroll early in January
The 2026 Rice football recruiting class began with 18 signees during the Early Signing Period, the second recruiting haul for new head coach Scott Abell. Of those players, 16 are current high school seniors and nine play on the offensive side of the ball.
“I think we have found some great future Owls who are going to have an impact on our program,” Abell said during his introductory remarks regarding the group.
We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of those new people, dissecting how these Owls will help the program on the field.
* Denotes players who will enroll early in January