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WBB: Owls stake claim as one of nation’s hottest teams

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Rice women’s basketball just keeps winning. Their latest pair of wins have put them in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

The calendar is quickly approaching February, and Rice Women’s basketball hasn’t lost a single game in 2019. For the Owls, Conference play tipped off on Jan. 3 against Southern Miss. Since then they’ve won seven-straight, compiling the only perfect record in Conference USA. With nearly half of the conference slate complete, Rice 16-3 (7-0) now sits at the top of CUSA in lone possession of first place.

After starting out 0-2, the Owls have thundered out to a 16-1 record over their next 17 games including their current nine-game winning streak. The only program to beat Rice during that time, North Carolina, upset No. 1 Notre Dame this week.

Meanwhile, the team’s most recent games may have been their most impressive performances yet. Rice beat Middle Tennessee and UAB in a pair of road contests. Those two programs had combined to lose three games on their own courts so far this season prior to Rice besting both of them in the span of a few days.

Middle Tennessee entered their game against Rice 15-5 and 6-0 in conference play. They, too, were undefeated in 2019. Rice beat them 60-45 behind a season-best 20 points from center Nancy Mulkey who blocked a school-record eight shots and grabbed seven rebounds.

As usual, Erica Ogwumike came on strong registering a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rice held Middle Tennessee to 36.2 percent shooting from the field; their 46 points was the fewest they’ve scored in conference play this season.

After snuffing out the Blue Raiders, Rice did the same to UAB. The Blazers scored just 43 points on 28.3 percent shooting. Once more, Mulkey once again had eight blocks and the team combined for 40 rebounds, 10 of which were snared by Mulkey, herself. Nicole Iademarco picked knocked down five field goals, tying with Mulkey for the team lead with 14 points.

Like Middle Tennesse, UAB was never able to get going on offense. The Owls’ suffocating defense has held all of their conference opponents to 54 points or fewer. The offense has averaged 67.9 points per game over that time period.

The Owls have been playing their best basketball of the season so far in 2019. Mulkey was named Conference USA Player of the week for her efforts over the past two games. If the team can maintain their top position through February and into March they’ll secure the No. 1 seed in the Conference USA Tournament with eyes set on an NCAA Tournament bid.

Rice has played in the WBI and the WNIT in the past two seasons but hasn’t appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2005. A victory in the Conference USA Tournament would clinch an auto-bid for the school.

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Owls key in on remaining targets for 2019 class

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class is almost in the books. Here are a few names to keep an eye on as National Signing Day approaches.

The Owls signed 17 players in the early signing period. Since then they’ve picked up commitments from three players — Atascocita linebacker Myron Morrison, Duncanville defensive tackle De’Braylon Carroll,  Harvard grad transfer Tom Stewart. That brings the 2019 Rice football recruiting class up to 20 players. Rice has 26 spots this year, which leaves six spots to fill.

A quick note on eligibility

As the Owls hone in on their final few names there are a few players who Rice would love to take who won’t be academically eligible. Out of respect to the individuals, I won’t be sharing any names, but keep that in mind when culling through the potential pool of candidates.

There are high academic standards at Rice. That will always be a part of the calculus when it comes to building the Owls’ yearly recruiting classes. Football is an important part of the equation, but every athlete has to have the grades too.

Grad transfers

As previously noted, Center Brian Chaffin and fullback Reagan Williams remain near the top of the priority list for Mike Bloomgren and his staff. Defensive lineman Mike Hinton from Columbia and offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry from Ouachita Baptist are two more players to watch. Both players will on campus this weekend, the final official visit weekend for Rice in the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Hinton was a team captain at Columbia last season. He started every game at defensive tackle where he racked up 3.5 sacks and 29 tackles. Hinton has experienced at defensive end, playing on the edge in both seasons prior to 2018.

Gooseberry was named a DII All-American and anchored an Ouachita Baptist line which allowed just 15 sacks all season, a mark which would rank in the top 11 nationally among FBS teams. For reference, Rice quarterbacks were sacked 24 times last season.

High school targets

Jovoni Johnson remains the clear-cut target at quarterback in this cycle. Stewart has only one season remaining, making replenishing the pipeline behind Wiley Green and Evan Marshman a focal point of this class.

If Rice can secure Johnson’s commitment and sign a few of those grad transfer targets they’ll be running out of space in the 2019 class. For example, Johnson plus three more grad transfers would put the class at 24 players, leaving room for two more high school players. The math is fairly simple, what’s less clear is who is going to get the last few spot(s).

Corner Kenyon Reed and wide receiver Ardell Brown are two interesting names to keep an eye on. Reed also offers from Iowa State and Kansas State but has built in a strong relationship with the Rice coaching staff. Brown’s offer list might be less decorated, but his speed would be a great addition to the offense.

Don’t Miss: Full list of Rice football 2019 signees and commits

At this point it’s not looking likely any of the former Houston signees will be a part of this class, but if there are one or two guys the Owls could make a late run at it would be corner Isaiah Essissima and receiver Ife Adeyi. Both have publically announced they were leaving UH. A few other names might be in the mix, but those would two of the most probable candidates.

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Quarterback Tom Stewart commits to Owls

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For the second year in a row, Rice football adds a notable grad transfer quarterback, securing a commitment from Harvard passer Tom Stewart.

Having an experienced voice in the quarterback room was a priority during the 2019 recruiting cycle. Shawn Stankavage transferred from Vanderbilt last year, and in addition to serving as a mentor to underclassmen Wiley Green and Evan Marshman, he started the majority of the Owls’ games.

Rice went a bit farther north this year, earning the commitment of Harvard transfer Tom Stewart. He saw sparse action during his first three seasons with the Crimson before earning the starting job in 2018. Stewart threw 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was knocked out of the game against Yale with a hip injury, but has since made a full recovery.

Stewart will battle with Marshman and Green and incoming freshman Jovoni Johnson for the starting spot in 2019. With Green and Marshman one year wiser, he’ll have his work cut out for him to win the job. For now though, he’s going to get a shot with the ever-present guidance from coach Mike Bloomgren that the players that earn playing time will be on the field this fall.

Rice hoped the addition of Stewart would lead to one more Crimson addition. Stewart’s former wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley would eventually opt for Vanderbilt over Rice. Landing another playmaker would have been huge, but Stewart’s importance to this class shouldn’t be understated.

Stewart fills a void in the Owls’ depth chart and the locker room. He’s a veteran among a host of freshman and sophomores. His experience plus his ability make him a meaningful addition to the 2019 Rice football recruiting class.

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MBB: Late rally falls short vs UAB

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Rice basketball narrowly missed a homecourt victory as they watched their final shot bounce out, thwarting the Owls upset attempt at UAB.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game Rice trailed the visiting UAB Blazers by 13 points. The Owls’ had put together a decent night from the field at that point but turnovers had cost the Owls way too many possessions. Rather than cave, they pressed in.

The resiliency of this team has been tested in recent weeks. They rallied to cut the deficit to one-point, staying within reach for the remainder of the game, right up until an Ako Adams three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer. His shot would have forced overtime, instead, Rice ended up three-points shy on the scoreboard, losing 89-86 to a surging UAB squad who has quietly won four games in a row.

Box

Player PTS FG 3FG FT OR DR REB A PF TO BL ST MIN +/-
ADAMS 12 4-7 4-7 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 3 0 0 21 5
PETERSON 3 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 17 5
MULLINS 16 6-11 0-2 4-7 1 4 5 4 3 1 0 0 32 0
WILLIAMS 5 2-10 0-4 1-4 3 5 8 0 2 2 1 0 28 5
MILLORA-BROWN 11 5-7 0-0 1-2 3 5 8 2 2 2 3 0 31 -13
MOORE 0 0-1 0-1 0-2 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 11 -8
PARRISH 5 1-2 0-1 3-4 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 16 -10
MURPHY III 24 5-8 5-7 9-9 0 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 24 1
MARTIN 10 3-4 2-3 2-2 1 1 2 1 3 3 0 0 20 2

Player of the game – Trey Murphy

Trey Murphy scored 18 points in each of his most recent outings, a career high at the time. On Saturday against UAB he one-upped himself, tallying 24 points with a personal best five made three-point shots. It wasn’t just the distant shooting which paved the way for another big night from Murphy, he also went a perfect 9-for-9 from the line.

Shooting 71 percent from three doesn’t happen very often, but Scott Pera himself has given Murphy free range to take as many open threes as he can. He scored 10 points in two minutes on Saturday. When he’s hot, Rice needs to get him the basketball.

Up Next

A road trip to Charlotte looms next for Rice. The 49’ers are 5-15 on the season and 2-7 in conference play. They’re coming off a four-point loss to UTSA on Saturday.

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MBB: Owls’ seek another streak with home with over UAB

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Two days after ending a three-game losing streak Rice basketball looks to even their conference record at .500 with a win over UAB on Saturday.

Rice entered conference play with a 5-8 record. The Owls had put together some strong performances, but the consistency was lacking. They needed time to regroup and refocus. It’s almost as if a different team showed up after the holiday break. Their win over Middle Tennesse puts them one win away from returning to the middle of the pack in Conference USA.

To get back to .500 Rice will have to dispatch a UAB squad which has won three straight games, all against opponents who beat the Owls this season. Barring additional sets of unforeseen circumstances, the team will be ready for the Blazers on Saturday. A win would give Rice a tw0-game winning streak, their second of the season.

The game is scheduled for broadcast on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. CT. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

UAB 13-7 (5-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • W, 52-49 @ North Texas
  • W, 83-73 vs UTSA
  • W, 76-63 vs UTEP
  • L, 73-68 @ Southern Miss
  • L, 64-53 @ Louisiana Tech

Rice 8-12 (3-4), Last 5 – (2-3)

  • W, 79-68 vs MTSU
  • L, 76-75 vs North Texas
  • L, 65-64 @ UTEP
  • L, 95-79 @ UTSA
  • W, 78-66 vs Louisiana Tech

UAB players to watch

For most of the year, UAB has won basketball games with a suffocating defense. The Blazers rank fourth in CUSA with 65.8 points allowed per game and second in field goal percentage allowed, 40.1 percent. It’s been a complete team effort, sort of how the offense has gone for UAB, too.

Rice will have to keep their focus on the combination of Zach Bryant, Jalen Perry and Lewis Sullivan. The trio leads UAB in minutes played and seem to alternate on the night which of the three will have a big game. Most recently it was Bryant, who knocked down 6-of-13 from the field for 17 points, tied for his most productive shooting night in conference play.

Rice keys to victory

Play all 40 minutes of Saturday’s tilt with UAB with the same intensity of the final eight minutes against Middle Tennessee. After the second to last scheduled media time out the Owls outscored their opponents by 12, seizing control late in the game.

Rice shot 70 percent from the field after the timeout. Middle Tennessee shot 33 percent. A strong defensive performance from the Owls was just as important as their made shots down the stretch. This team has proven when both sides of the ball are operating well, they can beat anyone on their schedule.

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