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Rice Women’s Basketball posts thrilling return with dramatic sweep of WKU

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Rice women’s basketball returned to the court in triumphant fashion, posting two big wins over Western Kentucky.

There were no signs of rust when Rice women’s basketball returned to the court for the first time in four weeks. Injuries and COVID-19 impacts forced a prolonged pause for the Owls, but their resiliency was put on full display in their two-game sweep of Western Kentucky.

Both teams started fast on Friday, trading shot after shot in an exciting first half. Both teams shot better than 40 percent from the field. Western Kentucky’s Raneem Elgedaway and Rice’s Nancy Mulkey combined for 34 of the 69 (49 percent) of all points before the break.

Rice took over in the second half, ratcheting up the defense. They held Western Kentucky to 20 points in the final two quarters combined, sealing yet another conference win.

The second game was another highly contested battle. Rice led for most of the game before Western Kentucky pulled ahead with a thrilling fourth quarter run. When push came to shove, Rice wouldn’t be denied. A six-point deficit with 3:41 to play was erased thanks to three huge triples from Katelyn Crosthwait. Rice would ice the game with their defense and earn the sweep.

Player Spotlight | Lauren Schwartz

Rice took the lead in the third quarter of Friday’s game but Western Kentucky did not go quietly. The Hilltoppers came close to a few fourth quarter runs, but Schwartz slammed the door with one of her most clutch shooting performances of the season.

Schwartz scored the Owls’ final eight points, connecting on two three-pointers to ward off any notions of a Hilltopper comeback. She only finished with five points on Saturday, but her five rebounds and three blocks helped paved the way for another Rice win.

Stat Corner | Locking down the third quarter

There may not be a better third quarter coach in college basketball than Rice women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley. No matter the situation or the stakes, her teams are always ready when the second half whistle blows. On Friday, Rice turned a one-point halftime deficit into an eight-point fourth-quarter lead. One more big shot to start the fourth turned a close game into a double-digit difference.

Western Kentucky outscored Rice by one point in the third quarter on Saturday, but the Owls never lost their rhythm. They outrebounded WKU and shot a better percentage from the field.

Winning the third quarter doesn’t win basketball games. Still, when a team that plays the level of fundamentally sound, physical defense that Rice does enterers the fourth quarter with a lead, they’re hard to stop.

It’s probably no coincidence their only loss of the season, a four-point defeat on the road against a ranked Texas A&M squad, was one of the rare outings when Rice was outscored in the third period. Western Kentucky came close on Saturday but still couldn’t outdo Rice down the stretch.

Up Next

The final scheduled road series of the season looms next weekend for Rice basketball. They’ll hit the road one more time to take on Marshall in Huntington, WV. The Thundering Herd entered the weekend in the middle of the pack in the East. Like the Owls, the Herd have had multiple series postponed over the course of the past month.

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Rice Football: Owls’ OC Jerry Mack headed to Tennessee

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Rice Football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is headed to Tennessee. How will his departure impact the Owls on offense?

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is set to be named the next running backs coach at Tennessee. He will join the staff of newly hired head coach Josh Heupel, who was only recently named to his position,

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Mack is the second Rice coach to move to a new job this offseason. Before his departure, Rice lost special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda to Memphis.

How does Mack’s departure impact Rice?

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Conference USA Basketball: Where each team stands entering the home stretch

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Conference USA basketball is in the home stretch. Where does every team stand heading into the final weekends of league play?

There are four* weekends left of Conference USA basketball before the start of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament. Well, there are three scheduled weekends before a catch-all makeup weekend to open March. UAB leads the West. WKU leads the East. How do the rest of the teams stack up? Are there any teams that could emerge from the pack over the course of the next month?

West

Leading: UAB

UAB is the clear front runner in all of Conference USA. The Blazers have utilized a league-leading defense that allows 56.9 points per game. They also boast one of the most fundamentally sound rosters on both ends of the court. UAB leads C-USA in turnover margin, forcing 5.8 more turnovers from their opponents while committing only 10.2 turnovers per game, the best mark in the conference.

In the Hunt: North Texas, Louisiana Tech

North Texas and Louisiana Tech are the two teams most ready to challenge UAB in the West. They split their series this past weekend, playing two tight games in Denton. Both play great defense and can grind out games when shots aren’t falling. The Mean Green tend to shoot a bit better thanks in large part to the contributions of Javion Hamlet, but the Bulldogs’ league-leading rebound totals offer a strong counter.

Treading water: Rice, UTSA

Rice was hot early. UTSA has been on fire of late. When fully healthy and playing at their best, these are two teams that could make runs in the last few weekends.

The Owls’ have C-USA’s top two three point shooters; Quincy Olivari (45.6 percent) and Travis Evee (42.6) are machines from deep. UTSA has top scorer Jhivvan Jackson. For both squads, consistency is the key ingredient they’ll need to find if they want to be relevant come conference tournament time.

On Alert: UTEP, Southern Miss

Southern Miss has lost six in a row. UTEP has lost seven of their last nine. These two squads split their series in Hattiesburg in early January and could be playing to avoid the bottom spot in the West. Neither team shoots particularly well or plays consistent defense.

There’s talent on both rosters and UTEP’s win over Arizona State is one of the most impressive non-conference victories by any Conference USA team. They just haven’t been able to deliver that quality of performance on a regular basis.

East

Leading: WKU

The East is much closer than the West, but the Hilltoppers still deserve the benefit of the doubt at this point in the season. They’ve got a weekend sweep of Marshall under their belts and a split with Charlotte. Charles Bassey has been a difference maker and leads the conference in rebounding by a significant margin (12.2 per game compared to runner-up Max Fielder of Rice who has 9.2 per game).

In the Hunt: Old Dominion, Charlotte, Marshall

Marshall is Kenpom‘s highest-ranked C-USA squad and might have been in the driver’s seat in the East had they done as much as split with Western Kentucky. Nevertheless, Taevion Kinsey and jarrod West are one of the best tandems in the league and will pose problems for opponents down the stretch.

Old Dominion and Charlotte are neck-and-neck with the Herd in the standings. The Monarchs probably have a subtle edge after the 49ers were swept for the first time this past weekend by Middle Tennessee. That said, picking between ODU’s Malik Curry and Charlotte’s Jahmir Young would seem to be an impossible task.

Treading Water: Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic has played the fewest league games of any of the men’s teams (six), so it’s hard to get a good read on where they fit in the pecking order. Their remaining schedule includes games against UTSA, UTEP and Southern Miss from the West, keeping them very much in the conversation in the East. They lead all teams in scoring, averaging 80.7 points per game.

On Alert: Middle Tennessee, FIU

Middle Tennessee picked up two thirds of it’s conference wins this past weekend. They count, but before last Saturday the Blue Raiders were 1-7 in league play, with the lone with coming over fellow cellar-dweller FIU.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Guard Terrance McBride commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice basketball recruiting class has added another significant piece. Cornell transfer guard Terrance McBride has committed to the Owls.

One more member of the 2021 Rice basketball recruiting class is officially on board. Terrance McBride, a combo guard from Cornell, will transfer to Rice. McBride did not play last fall or this spring as the Ivy League opted to not participate in basketball competitions this season.

When he was on the court, McBride averaged 12.7 points and 3.2 assists per game, second most on the team. He seldom came off the court, averaging 32.9 minutes per game. Having a ball handler to pair with dangerous shooters like Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee could take an already dangerous offense to another level next season.

McBride is a facilitator who will set others up for success. The audio is a bit off on the clip below, but this play showcased some of his decision making and vision on the court.

As things currently stand, Rice only has two seniors on its roster, both graduate transfers in Ege Havsa and Tre Clark. The Owls will still be young next season. When McBride is eligible to play, he’ll presumably join Payton Moore and Chris Mullins as the elder statesmen on the roster. Beyond that pair, the team primarily consists of underclassmen.

Diversifying classes with veterans and younger players was an important takeaway from the Owls’ roster churn in previous years. Rice doesn’t want to become dependent on the Transfer Portal. That said, they’re going to have to adapt to that aspect of recruiting in today’s game. McBride is a positive development on that front.

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Rice Football: Owls to hire Jim Jackson as tight ends coach

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There’s a new coach in town. Rice football is expected to hire UMass assistant Jim Jackson to coach tight ends for the Owls.

First reported by The Athletic, Rice football is expected to hire former UMass run game coordinator Jim Jackson. He’ll coach tight ends for Rice, a position held last year by Chris Monfiletto, who will move to the vacant special team’s coordinator role. That position opened early this offseason when Drew Svoboda left for Memphis.

Jackson comes to Rice following a two-year stint at UMass where he served as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Prior to joining the Minutemen, Jackson served as the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator at the University of San Diego. His offenses led the way for the Toros, who went 38-2 in his five years on staff, averaging north of 34 points per game.

He takes over the tight ends job previously held by Monfiletto, who was in his first season in an on-field role following a promotion from his role as an offensive quality control assistant. Last fall he helped guide versatile tight end Jordan Myers to one of the most productive seasons of his career in which he led the team in receptions.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren has held a fairly consistent on-field staff during his first three seasons at South Main. The majority of the coaching staff he initially hired when he arrived in December of 2017 is still on staff at this time. Jackson will be the third tight ends coach for Bloomgren.

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