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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to USF in 3OT

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Rice Women’s Basketball led for more than 40 minutes but couldn’t close out the game, eventually falling to South Florida on the road.

Aniah Alexis didn’t play the first time Rice women’s basketball met USF on the hardwood this season. The freshman guard has become a fixture in the Owls’ rotation in the games since, starting the last five games and setting the tone for the Owls on the road against the Bulls on Wednesday.

Alexis scored 10 of the Owls’ first 11 points firing at a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the field in the first half as she paced the team to a halftime advantage against one of the top teams in the AAC. She kept those efforts rolling into the third quarter, helping Rice build a double-digit lead on the road.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

South Florida would fire back slowly working their deficit to three points then one point with two minutes to play in regulation. The game appeared won when Rice stymied South Florida on a final possession but a failed inbounds pass with 2.4 seconds to go resulted in a turnover. South Florida would hit a three at the buzzer to force overtime.

Each side had their chance to steal the win in extra. South Florida settled for a long three to end the first overtime which was off the mark. Rice drew up a better luck for Sussy Ngulefac who couldn’t get it to roll in at the buzzer. Finally, South Florida drained a long three in triple overtime that Rice couldn’t answer. Rice falls to 12-12 on the season with the loss.

Final Box | USF 82, Rice 77 (3OT)

Key takeaway | A third option emerges

For much of this season the offense has lived and died on the efforts of Malia Fisher and Dominique Ennis. On nights when that tandem was firing on all cylinders the Owls were hard to beat. When either had a mortal evening, the offense started to crumble.

Sussy Ngulefac and Shelby Hayes have flashed at times, Victoria Flores has had some exception outings, but Rice women’s basketball hasn’t truly found someone who can be that dominant third scorer. Could Alexis be the one they’ve been waiting for all this time?

In addition to Wednesday’s banner night — Alexis finished with 20 points, 6 boards — the freshman had already spiked with a 12-point game against North Carolina A&T and 13 points against East Carolina. She’s shown the ability to score in bunches previously. Can she become a more consistent scoring option as she continues to develop in her first year on campus?

If she can, there might be hope for this offense to take another step down the stretch. The Owls certainly need someone to step up and Alexis made a very loud case to be that person with this kind of performance at USF.

Up Next: vs Wichita State (Sat, 2/15)

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 196 – Rice Football Signing Day and Winter Recap

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A lot has transpired on South Main the past several weeks. Here’s our take on National Signing Day, the Rice Football coaching staff and more.

A lot has happened since we handed out The Roosties, our annual Rice Football postseason awards. From National Signing Day to a brand new coaching staff, here’s the latest on the Owls and a few thoughts on what could be next around South Main.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 196.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the brand-new sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

Patreon

Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.

Become a Patron!

Rice Football News and National Signing Day Recap

  • Head coach Scott Abell finalizes coaching staff
  • JUCO waiver news and the departure of Dean Connors
  • Takeaways from 2025 Rice Football Signing Class
  • The State of the Quarterback Room
  • Positions of need?
  • How do we evaluate this class?

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Comeback comes up short for Rice Basketball against UNT

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Rice Basketball rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to tie the game late against North Texas but came up short in the final minutes.

North Texas jumped out to an early lead at Tudor Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening, this time though, Rice basketball was ready to respond. The Owls overcame the quick early deficit with a pair of threes from Denver Anglin to net the score at seven. Unlike the last time these two met — a North Texas blowout — Rice was poised to trade blows with one of the AAC’s frontrunners.

Despite their rally, Rice found themselves playing from behind, but never by a margin that seemed insurmountable. Incredible effort from Jacob Dar and strong play in the paint from Caden Powell paced the scoring while the defensive effort was a few rebounds away from heroic.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

The North Texas lead would grow to as many as 11 but the Owls’ never let things get out of hand because of that defense. Which responded to that big lead by forcing North Texas to miss 10 of its next 11 shots from the field, opening the door just wide enough for Rice to get back into the game.

Trae Broadnax hit a layup with 1:15 to play, bring the teams level for the first time since the opening moments of the game but that would be the end of the Owls’ points for the evening. The Mean Green closed things out on a 6-0 run, surviving with the win.

Final Box | UNT 67, Rice 61

What They’re Saying

“This was a game that, without question, the engagement and competitive spirit was there throughout the game. If we continue to play the way we’re playing, it’s just about learning how to finish. There is a trajectory there that is pleasing. Now, from there, how do we get better? You can’t take anything for granted, but sometimes, when you’re not getting the outcome, you can still get better, and I do feel that way about this group. I’ve said to these guys that if we were going to break, we would have been broken by now. So, that is off the table. Now, it’s just a matter of finding that breakthrough.” – Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | In progress

It’s been a long time since Rice basketball faced off with North Texas on the hardwood. That game was a Mean Green onslaught, a 22-point victory that was never really close. That defeat kicked off an extended losing streak that stretched to seven consecutive defeats before Rice finally got back in the win column against East Carolina.

That ECU win put Rice basketball beyond the win total from a season ago, but even in the span of losses that surrounded it, this version of the program couldn’t be more different from the one that struggled through the 2023-2024 season.

The average margin of defeat against conference opponents in the regular season a year ago was 12.5 points. Yes, the average loss was by double-digits. The median mark was 11 points, so it’s not as if a few blowouts were skewing that number.

This year the average margin of defeat in AAC losses is 5.4 points, half last year’s total. The median margin is three points. Nobody likes to lose, but it’s unmistakable these losses are representative of a team making progress. The next step is converting that progress into wins.

Up Next: at Tulane (Sat, Feb. 15)

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2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

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Rice Baseball is set to enter Year 4 under Jose Cruz Jr with what he believes to be the Owls’ most talented team of his tenure. Can Owls take flight this season?

Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. was quick to not promise the moon when he arrived on campus in the summer of 2021. He spoke then about building things the right way, acquiring talent and developing that talent within the Rice baseball culture. From there, the next step was winning games. It was always a long term plan, at least, that’s how the message was conveyed.

Three seasons in, Cruz and the Rice faithful are hoping enough of a foundation has been laid to turn those aspirational ideals into tangible wins. “We’re getting better every year, we’re getting better. The mentality is better. The athletes are better. The physiques are better,” Cruz said. “Every year we’re just going to keep getting better.”

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Rice Basketball comes up short at Charlotte

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Rice Basketball jumped out to a sizable early lead but couldn’t sustain it, faltering late in a damaging road loss to Charlotte.

Fresh off a much-needed conference win over ECU, Rice basketball came out hot in Saturday’s road tilt against Charlotte. Denver Anglin got the Owls started with consecutive threes then Jacob Dar contributed the next seven points as the Owls raced out to an 11-point lead in the span of five minutes of game time.

The Owls’ breakneck scoring pace would push that advantage to as many as 16 points in the first half before Charlotte started to find their rhythm offensively. The 49ers cut their deficit to six points at the half and engineered a 10-0 run early in the second period and the game was on.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Charlotte would lead by as many as seven in the second half, but never more as both sides swapped smalls spurts of scoring. Every time the 49ers tried to pull away, Rice had an answer, primarily driven by the aggressive ballhandling and scoring ability of guard Trae Broadnax with timely threes from Alem Huseinovic mixed in.

Rice kept the game within two possessions for most of the final few minutes but Charlotte won the battle of free throws late, holding on to win by three and send the Owls’ back to the loss column.

Final Box | Rice 71, ECU 60

Key takeaway | Out-executed

Rice basketball did a lot of things well against Charlotte on Saturday, shooting better than 50 percent from three and outshooting Charlotte from the field. They didn’t turn the ball over very often and largely stayed out of foul trouble. But they lost.

Rice made one three-point shot in the final nine minutes. Charlotte made four.

Rice missed four free throws in the final 21 seconds. Charlotte missed one.

In a single possession game, those small variances make all the difference. Ultimately the Owls’ unraveling at the end of the first quarter essentially eliminated their margin for error. To some degree, that encapsulates the rough last month this team has had. It hasn’t been a slog of completely bad basketball — there’s been a lot of good — but that good hasn’t shown through in those make or break moments.

Charlotte entered Saturday in dead-last in the AAC standings. To only be a game ahead of this team is now a frustrating reality for a Rice basketball squad that will soon have to begin to worry about the possibility of a play-in game in the conference tournament.

Up Next: vs North Texas (Tues, Feb. 11)

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