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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls headed to WNIT for postseason play

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The Rice women’s basketball season ends without an NCAA Tournament selection. Instead, the Owls are headed to WNIT for postseason play.

Rice women’s basketball lost a heartbreaker to Middle Tennesse in the Conference USA Championship Game on Saturday. Rice trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half but thundered back to make it a one-score game in the final seconds.

The loss marks the first conference tournament defeated in the last three sees for Rice. It also means the Owls’ long-hoped automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament disappeared as well. Hoping for an at-large selection, Rice was disappointed when their name was not called on Selection Monday.

The Owls season is not over yet, though. Rice will accept an invitation to the WNIT as an automatic qualifier. Rice will play Arizona State in their first round matchup.

Fellow Conference USA squad Charlotte has also made the field. They’ll play Florida. Rice women’s basketball will play its first game on Friday. It can be streamed on FloHoops.

Podcast: Former Rice football star Christian Covington talks football, Marvel

The structure for the tournament has been tweaked. Each of the four regions will include an opening round on Friday, March 19 followed by a second-round on Saturday, March 20 featuring semifinal matchups and a consolation round. The finals for the championship bracket and consolation bracket will be played on Monday, March 22.

Rice last played in the WNIT in 2018. The Owls defeated Texas State in Round 1 before falling to New Mexico in Round 2. Rice last made the NCAA Tournament in 2019, falling in overtime to Marquette in College Station, TX.

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Rice Baseball: Owls take three of four from NIU and Kansas State

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Rice baseball went three for four on the weekend, sweeping Northern Illinois and splitting a pair of games with Kansas State.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

1. Rice baseball rotation is starting to settle in

The rotation has been somewhat of a work in progress over the first several weeks of the regular season. With Roel Garcia working his way back to 100 percent and the order in flux because of the winter storm, some growing pains were expected as the Owls readied for conference play in a few weeks.

As a whole, the starters compiled what has to be considered their best weekends of the season to date:

  • Blake Brogdon earned a win, pitching into the seventh inning while allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts.
  • Roel Garcia went 5.2 innings against a potent Kansas State offense, allowing four earned runs, but keeping Rice in the game until he departed.
  • Mitchell Holcomb threw 7.2 innings of scoreless ball, striking out for and allowing just five hits.
  • Brandon Deskins struck out six in 5.0 innings, allowing four hits with one walk.

Altogether, the four arms in the weekend rotation pitched 24.2 innings and allowed six runs, a 2.19 ERA.

2. Gneiting not under the radar anymore

Entering the season, senior Bradley Gneiting was expected to be a part of the outfield rotation and platoon at the designated hitter spot. The same was said for a half dozen players who hoped to earn playing time on a regular basis. Not only has Gneiting had his fair share of at bats, he’s inked his name on the lineup card for the foreseeable future.

Gneiting reached base in all four games this weekend, going 5-for-15 with a home run and two RBI. He currently leads in batting average, OPS, hits and RBI. He’s one five players to start and finish every game this season.

3. One significant shutout

In the final season of the Wayne Graham era, Rice baseball won two games with shutouts. They beat Western Kentucky 4-0 and downed Old Dominion 9-0 that season. The next year, Matt Bragga’s first, Rice earned just one shutout win, a 4-0 victory over Southern Miss. They did not blank any of their opponents in 2020.

In total, Rice pitched one shutout victory in the first 75 games in Bragga’s tenure, a rate of 1.3 percent. So far in 2021, they tallied three such skunks in their first 14 games, 21.4 percent of their games. That doesn’t account for the two games in which they came up one run short.

More than the positive feelings of seeing a zero on the opponent’s box score, a string of shutouts points to a pitching staff capable of operating at a high level. Channeling that potential into consistent, dependable performances from a core of trustworthy options could make this team dangerous if and when the bats follow suit.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Rice 6 – Northern Illinois 3

Northern Illinois struck first with a run in the top of the third but the 1-0 lead didn’t last long. Guy Garibay delivered the equalizing home run in the bottom half of the inning. Then Rice exploded for four more runs in the fifth to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Four different Owls had an RBI hit in that inning.

Blake Brogdon and Reed Gallant proved to be a strong tandem on the mound. Gallant took over in the seventh, allowing two inherited runners to score, but finished the remainder of the game unscathed, giving Rice the win.

SATURDAY 1 | Kansas State 8 – Rice 3

Things were close in the second game for the Owls right until they weren’t. Roel Garcia kept the Kansas State bats at bay, allowing two runs through the first five innings. Unfortunately, the offense was only able to muster one run of support over that span.

When Garcia exited, Kansas State pounced. Already leading 4-1 at the time, the Wildcats tacked on four more runs over the final three innings. Rice finished 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

SATURDAY 2 | Rice 4 – Northern Illinois 1

Rice responded well in the second half of the Saturday double-header. Mitchell Holcomb delivered far and away his best performance as an Owl, going 7.2 innings without allowing a run. The strong start allowed the offense to gradually pull further and further away over the course of the game.

The Owls first took the lead on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning. They added two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. By the time Holcomb exited the game and Christian Cienfuegos extinguished any hopes of a late NIU rally in the eighth, Rice was in total command.

SUNDAY | Rice 1 – Kansas State 0

The bats were more subdued when Rice met Kansas State for the second time on the weekend. Once the rain dried up and the tarp was removed, Brandon Deskins and KState hurler Connor McCullough were lights out. Neither side scored against the other teams’ starters, leaving it to the bullpens to finish up the game.

Rice would prevail thanks to the bat of Braden Comeaux who drilled a liner at the foot of the Kansas State shortstop. The ball deflected just far enough for Ben Dukes to scamper home and break the tie. Dalton Wood converted the save.

ON DECK | Rice Baseball vs Texas State (Wed), Southern (Fri-Sun, four games).

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Rally falls short vs MTSU in CUSA Tournament finale

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Rice women’s basketball lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds to Middle Tennesee in 2021 Conference USA Tournament Championship Game.

Middle Tennessee was picked to win Conference USA in the preseason polls. Rice women’s basketball were the defending champs and finished with the best record in the regular season. It was only fitting that these were the two teams pitted against each other in the conference championship game on Saturday night.

A rematch of the 2019 Championship Game between these two teams, the 2021 edition shared an eerie resemblance early on. Middle Tennessee took a modest 32-26 lead into halftime, never getting too far ahead, but doing enough to keep Rice off balance. Courtney Witson’s five three-pointers in the first half were crucial to Middle Tennessee’s early success.

Both teams went on runs in the third quarter, with Rice clawing ever so slightly closer. In the fourth quarter, Nancy Mulkey got hot. She scored the first six points in the final frame, giving Rice the lead for the first time since they led 6-5 in the first quarter.

Podcast: Former Rice football star Christian Covington talks football, Marvel

Then came a heart-stopping finale. Middle Tennessee went on an 11-0 run to go up by 10. Rice responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three. Trailing by two, Rice had the ball with a chance to force overtime, but a pass to Mulkey in the paint was knocked away leaving Rice with little more than a full-court hail mary on the ensuing possession that fell short.

Mulkey finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Katelyn Crosthwait and Jasmine Smith both had 13 points, with Smith tallying a double-double with 10 rebounds.

After the game, head coach Tina Langley took the blame for the heartbreaking result: “In the end, I thought I could have made some better decisions for our team,” she said. “I thought they fought their tails off. Really this is on me.”

With the win, Middle Tennesee clinches an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Rice women’s basketball will now await their postseason fate, announced on Selection Monday. By RPI, the Owls stand a decent chance to earn an at-large berth, but the NET Rankings have them as a fringe team, at best. Given the weighting toward NET, the Owls’ season could very well be done.

No matter what happens on Monday, it was another remarkable run for this team.

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Rice Women’s Basketball escapes Old Dominion, advances to title game

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Rice Women’s Basketball is headed back to the Conference USA Tournament Finals, escaping Old Dominion with clutch free throws down the stretch.

There wasn’t any hesitation when Nancy Mulkey won the opening tip to set up a layup from Lauren Schwartz on the Owls’ opening possession. A day removed from a first quarter deficit against FIU, Rice women’s basketball came out red hot against 6-Seed Old Dominion.

The Owls led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Only once did the lead fall back into single-digits, but when it did, Rice pushed it back to 11 within a minute. The margin was comfortable enough that center Nancy Mulkey was only on the court for 13 minutes in the first half.

Podcast: Former Rice football star Christian Covington talks football, Marvel

Mulkey made her presence felt immediately in the second half, scoring the Owls’ first eight points of the third quarter. Her and Lauren Schwartz proved to be a dynamic scoring combination. While Mulkey cleaned up underneath, Schwartz scored from just about everywhere else. She followed her career-high 27-point outburst on Thursday with 17 points and fuves rebounds on Friday night.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Owls, though. Rice started to cool off down the stretch. In fact, they failed to score from the field in the final 4:53 of regulation. An 11-point lead dwindled down to a single point, but errant free throw shooting from the Monarchs and two sets of clutch foul shots from Haley Swayze and Mulkey iced the game.

This was one of the closest games Rice has played for in some time. As harrowing as it was, it should prove to be a valuable test with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line in their next game.

Head coach Tina Langley remained steadfast in her postgame comments. When asked about the Owls’ resiliency, she was quick to double-down on the compliment. “They have battled all season,” she said. “And I’m just so proud of who they are and what they continue to do.”

Rice women’s basketball is scheduled to play the winner of 1-Seed from the East, Middle Tennessee or 2-Seed from the West, UTEP at 5:00 p.m. Saturday on CSB Sports Network.

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Rice runner Grace Forbes is ready for the next step in her racing career

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Grace Forbes has come a long way since arriving at Rice. No matter the stage, she continues to show up and impress.

When Grace Forbes lines up for the 5000m at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday night in Fayetteville, Ar. she’ll already have accomplished reached a milestone that runners across the nation could only dream of achieving. But after taking home conference titles in the mile and the 3000m races last season, she’ll arrive as a bonafide contender on one of the sports’ biggest stages.

For Forbes, it’s part of a process and a legacy that has permeated her family for generations. Her Grandpa was an 800m runner. She wears one of his sweatshirts as for good luck before every event she runs. Her dog is named Pheidippides, a nod to the soldier who ran 25 miles from Marathon, Greece to Athens, thus inspiring the name for the sport she loves.

A runner deep in her bones, Forbes hasn’t gotten caught up in the moment. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself,” she said in the week leading up to the meet. “I just want to go out there and do the best I can, try and make Rice proud and my parents proud.”

Podcast: Former Rice football star Christian Covington talks football, Marvel

A freshman by classification, Forbes has outpaced even her own expectations. Thanks to the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA, she has the chance to be a national qualifier five times, a feat few will ever be able to duplicate.

Still, Forbes works with diligence and focus. “I hadn’t really expected these times,” she admitted. “But I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work, trying to do everything the right way. And as time progressed my times got better.”

After competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday, she’ll travel to Stillwater, OK for the 2021 Cross Country Championships where she’ll run the 6K. “I’m just trying to have some fun out there,” she said, taking in all that’s transpired in her racing career. No matter the result, Forbes certainly has been appreciative of the journey. And she’s just getting started.

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