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Rice Women’s Basketball, Malia Fisher steal victory vs LA Tech

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Louisiana Tech pushed Rice women’s basketball to the brink, but the Owls prevailed thanks in part to a clutch performance from Malia Fisher.

Thursday’s midweek tilt between Rice women’s basketball and Louisiana Tech was a grind from the start. There were eight fouls called in the first quarter, four on each side, compared to nine total field goals. The pace picked up a bit in the second but neither team got much headway with Lousiana Tech taking a one-point lead into the break.

Rice got things going in the third quarter. Malia Fisher and Trinity Gooden combined to go 8-of-11 from the floor, pushing Rice to a six-point lead before Louisiana Tech battled back to tie the game up in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. The physical slug-fest was on again.

With Louisiana Tech leading by one under a minute to play, Destiny Jackson slashed to the rim, scored and drew the foul. Trailing by one, head coach Lindsay Edmonds called a timeout and delivered an ultimatum to her team. “We’re gonna win this game and I need everybody to believe it,” she said. “And if you don’t believe it, don’t go back out on the floor.”

The motivation worked. Not only did Jackson bring the game level again with the ensuing free throw, but soon after Malia Fisher delivered the knockout blow with this steal, score, and subsequent foul shots.

Final Box | Rice 60 – LA Tech 57

Key takeaway | Malia Fisher, two-half player

Throughout the last few weeks of the season, Edmonds would be the first to tell you Malia Fisher was a great player, but needed to improve on her consistency. She’d mentioned she wanted Fisher to be a true two-half player, steady throughout the course of the game. On Thursday night, Fisher rose to that challenge.

“She put together a complete game, that’s for sure,” Edmonds said in the aftermath. “When she’s not in foul trouble and she can get into her rhythm, she’s a huge help to us on the offensive end, the defensive end, the rebounding end. I thought she put together a complete game, a great game. The team needed it”

Fisher finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, including what might have been the most impactful takeaway of the season thus far.

Up Next: at North Texas – Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3:30 p.m.

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Rice Football Recruiting: ’24 DL Armstrong Nnodim commits to Owls

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The 2024 Rice Football recruiting class is growing quickly with another commitment. Defensive lineman Armstrong Nnodim has committed to the Owls.

Not long after getting the first commitment in this cycle, the 2024 Rice football recruiting class has doubled down, landing its first defensive pledge. Defensive lineman Armstrong Nnodim has committed to the Owls.

Nnodim’s announcement comes on the heels of a commitment from Cy Fair wideout Owen Carter, who made his decision public four days prior. Getting two impact players this early in the cycle makes for a strong start. Both Nnodim and Carter represent a strong base for the Owls to build upon as they work towards another strong class.

Rice was the first to offer Carter but even though it was early in the recruiting calendar, the Owls had competition for Nnodim. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive lineman had seven offers so far including soon-to-be fellow AAC foe UTSA as well as Arkansas State. Beating the Roadrunners head-to-head on the recruiting front is always a good thing.

Neither Nnodim nor Carter have been assigned recruiting rankings just yet, but based on total commitments alone, the Owls have pulled even with UCF and USF with two members of the 2024 class committed so far. No other program has more than one listed, including crosstown rival Houston.

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Nnodim jumps out immediately on film. For one, he’s not a small man who had two-pick sixes on his resume this season in addition to his havoc plays on the quarterback himself. He’s already got a few impressive pass-rush moves in his arsenal and can win with speed and strength. A multi-sport athlete, Nnodim’s athleticism stands out by a wide margin.

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Rice Football: CBs coach Gerard Wilcher to Morehouse College

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There has reportedly been some change on the Rice football staff. Corners coach Gerard Wilcher is set to become the head coach at Morehouse College.

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice corners coach Gerard Wilcher is expected to become the next head coach at Morehouse College. Wilcher is a Morehouse alum and has been on staff at Rice since the beginning of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure.

Wilcher has been instrumental in a resurgence in the corner room including the development of promising young corners Jordan Dunbar and Sean Fresch.

Bloomgren acknowledged the move on Twitter, saying this: “Really happy for G and Ayanna. Thankful for their time and hard work at Rice. Go crush it for the Maroon Tigers! #RFND”

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2023 signees – Offense

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The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class started with a quarterback and continued to add offensive firepower. Here’s how this side of the ball stacks up.

Rice signed 24 players during the Early Signing Period. Of those players, 18 are current high school seniors and 15 of them play on the offensive side of the focal point of this update. We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field. We’ll also account for a few names added on National Signing Day.

* designate early enrollees

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Quarterback (2) – JT Daniels*, Chase Jenkins*

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2023 signees – Defense, Sp. Tms

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The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class is full of pass rushers, impact players and specialists. Here’s how those sides of the ball stack up.

Rice signed 24 players during the Early Signing Period. Of those players, 18 are current high school seniors and nine of them play on the defensive side of the ball. We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field. We’ll also account for a few names added on National Signing Day.

* designate early enrollees

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Defensive Line (4) – Chris Clark, Joseph Mutombo, Coleman Coco*, Jordan Campbell*

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