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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls drop heavyweight fight vs No. 5 Texas A&M

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Rice Women’s Basketball took No. 5 Texas A&M down to the wire, falling a single point short in front of a packed crowd at Tudor Fieldhouse on Sunday.

There was no trepidation in the Owls’ eyes when No. 5 Texas A&M took the court at Tudor Fieldhouse on Sunday. Rice Women’s Basketball had missed the chance for revenge against these same Aggies last March, falling in overtime to Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, hosted in College Station.

The Aggies scored first before Rice punched back behind a pair of baskets from Sydne Wiggins. An 8-5 lead wasn’t overly significant in the grand scheme of this 40-minute contest, but it calmed this team down and reminded them that they could play with this team, and play at this level.

More: Takeaways from Rice football’s win over MTSU

Led by Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M grabbed a 10 point lead and held the Owls at bay through the first half. Rice did most of their scoring from the free-throw line, unable to crack the rigid Aggie defense. Ferocious defense, led by Jasmine Smith kept Rice in the game. The sophomore guard came up big, drawing a charge in the final seconds before halftime prior to a Haylee Swayze three.

Trailing 36-27 at half, Rice began to pick up the pace. The defense was suffocating and the offense took advantage of their opportunities. Rice outscored their opponent 24-13 in the third quarter, clinging to a 53-49 lead at the start of the final frame.

What transpired next felt like a battle of heavyweights. It didn’t feel like C-USA vs SEC. It felt like two elite powers grappling for a resume-boosting win. Rice took a one-point lead on a layup by Erica Ogwumike in the final 24 seconds. A Texas A&M three-pointer hit iron and rattled out, but it would be the Aggies who secured the rebound and the game-winning putback.

Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey combined for 17 points. A few days removed from setting the school single-game record for blocks, Mulkey had just three swats against the Aggies. With their biggest stars held somewhat in check, the rest of the team stepped up.

Tina Langely wasn’t surprised. “Every player right now is learning that when your number is called you just have to be aggressive,” she said, crediting players the collective effort of the team who fought to the very end.

Player of the game

The loss of sharpshooter Nicole Iademarco from last year’s team left a hole in the Owls’ offensive scheme. Someone was going to have to step up and make those threes to open things up for the rest of the team’s versatile scoring options. When Rice Women’s Basketball took the court for the first time this season, freshman Lauren Schwartz was among the starting five.

Schwartz had 11 points in her first collegiate game against Nicholls St. That was a good start. But when the lights were brightest — like they were Sunday against the No. 5 team in the nation — Schwartz caught fire. She had 12 points in the third quarter alone, making two three-pointers, two more from the field and two foul shots.

“It’s not really all about me. It’s all about the team,” Schwartz said. “I couldn’t have got those open shots without the team passing the ball and making plays.” Those open shots led to a career-high 19 points and gave Rice a chance in the final moments. Three games into her collegiate career, Schwartz is shaping up to be an impactful addition to the Owls’ already potent lineup.

Up Next

The Owls will hit the road next week for a two-game stretch away from Tudor Fieldhouse. They play at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 2:00 p.m. before a Wednesday battle at McNeese St on Nov. 27. That latter is scheduled to be a 12:00 p.m. tip.

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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 12 C-USA Roundup

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A big road for Rice football was the highlight of Week 12. The latest from this weekend of Conference USA Football as title races begin to wind down.

Team Week 12 Result Week 13
Charlotte — OFF —  — vs Marshall
FAU — OFF —  — at UTSA
FIU — OFF —  — vs Miami
LA Tech at Marshall (Fri) L, 31-10 at UAB
Marshall vs LA Tech (Fri) W, 31-10 at Charlotte
MTSU vs Rice L, 31-28 vs Old Dominion
North Texas — OFF —  — at Rice
Old Dominion — OFF —  — at MTSU
Rice at MTSU W, 31-28 vs North Texas
Southern Miss vs UAB W, 36-17 vs WKU
UAB vs UTEP W, 37-10 vs LA Tech
UTEP at UAB L, 37-10 at New Mexico St
UTSA vs Southern Miss L, 36-17 vs FAU
WKU — OFF —  — at Southern Miss

Notable Week 12 results – Standings

Rice Wins

It took 10 tries, but Rice Football finally put one in the win column in 2019. The Owls came out of the gates white-hot, following a field goal with four first-half touchdowns to stake a 31-14 halftime lead. The points would hold, giving the Owls the first road win of the Mike Bloomgren era.

LaTech vs Marshall

What should have been a battle of C-USA heavyweights ended in a Friday night dud. Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith and star wideout Adrian Hardy were suspended against Marshall, silencing the Bulldogs’ offense on the road. Louisiana Tech still controls their own destiny in the West, but the defeat puts added pressure on the players who will suit up next week.

Ruh-roh Roadrunners

Entering the weekend, UTSA had yet to beat a team with a winning record. The Roadrunners needed to knock off at least two in their next three games to clinch bowl eligibility and stave off the pressure bearing down on head coach Frank Wilson. Not only did they fall to Southern Miss, they posted a program-worst home attendance in defeat.

Week 13 storylines

Wild, Wild West

As if things weren’t wild enough through the first 12 weeks of Conference-USA play, the next slate of games could thrust an entire division into chaos. Louisiana Tech beat Southern Miss. Southern Miss beat UAB. UAB can complete the circle with a win over Louisana Tech next weekend. If the Blazers they’ll set up the potential for a three-way tie in the division.

What will Western do?

East Division contender Western Kentucky could play a significant role in who represents the West in the conference championship game. They host Southern Miss, who could take the pole position in the West if they beat a J’Mar Smith-less Louisiana Tech on Saturday. If UAB and WKU, there will be three teams atop the west with identical 5-2 conference records.

Road warriors

FAU holds the tiebreaker over Marshall in the East, but both teams share 5-1 records. Each will go on the road before finishing their seasons in front of their home fans. Both need a win to keep pace in the divisional race. If one stumbles, the other could have their half of the conference locked down prior to the final weekend of the regular season.

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Rice Football: After weeks of trying, Owls find a way to finish

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Rice Football has embraced a mantra of going 1-0 every Saturday. In Week 12 against Middle Tennessee, those marching orders turned into reality.

When the clock hit zero in Murfreesboro, TN on Saturday night Rice football fans breathed a sigh of relief, double-checked the scoreboard, then exploded into euphoria that mirrored the celebration currently underway in the Rice locker room.

It wasn’t easy. It came down to the final play — a backyard-style, multi-lateral, heart-stopping play — but Rice football had finally cleansed themselves of their losing streak. They had won.

“I think it’s really a culmination of the way these guys have been working,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said in the moments following his first road win at Rice. He knew, in a way that only those clad in all-white on that sideline knew, how important this win was for this program.

Bloomgren and his staff have been building for almost two years. They’d promised progress and come so close to turning that goodwill into wins so many times this season. On Saturday the dam broke. In a combination of a newly-emphasized spread offense and downhill running, smashmouth football, Rice found a way.

Intellectual Brutality in the flesh

The Owls led by 17 courtesy of three touchdown grabs by Bradley Rozner before halftime. Middle Tennesse fought back. With precious seconds remaining in the game, the Owls turned to sixth-year senior Austin Walter on third and 11.

“We’re going to run this ball and we’re going to find a way to move these sticks,” Bloomgren told offensive coordinator Jerry Mack as the play was relayed into the huddle. Then Walter — who had already left the game with an ankle injury that half — took the handoff, blasted through the line and picked up the most important 24 yards of his entire Rice career.

“Adversity is a part of who we are… I have three more college games left and I’ve always thought I want to be able to leave Rice University and get the program back on track,” Walter said. “If I had to give an ankle, a leg, whatever it took to get this win, I was going to do it.”

The first down was enough for the Owls to bleed the clock, turning the ball over to Middle Tennessee with nothing short of a Hail Mary standing in the way of the Owls’ first victory of the season. Those prayers went unanswered. Rice won.

More: Takeaways from Rice Football vs MTSU

Then, in a response that typifies how Rice navigated themselves to this point, hero Bradley Rozner turned the page. “We’re going to start bright and early, 7 a.m. meeting. We’re going to figure out our mistakes and carry that energy straight through the week and get ready for North Texas.”

A laser focus befitting of a process-driven organization, Rozner’s mindset was shared by his head coach. “I don’t know if there’s anything we have to do very different,” Bloomgren said with a grin. “I just know Monday morning will be a lot more fun.”

True to their spirit, Rice football went 1-0 this week. Now they’d like to do it again.

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Rice Football: MTSU practice notes and injury updates 🔒

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Rice football is ready to take the field against Middle Tennessee in Week 12. Here are some notes on who’s in, who’s out and the plan at quarterback.

Rice football has three games remaining in the 2019 season. There’s a potential for younger players to see action and questions at the quarterback position 🔒. Amidst all of those variables, the coaching staff is tightening up their focus.

Entering the bye, the message from the top was clear. “This week, stuff has to be proven in practice,” Mike Bloomgren said. “We gotta fix things in practice. It’s gotta look good in practice or we can’t call them in a game.” He noted that standard applies to everything from formations to individual players. The tolerance for errors was already low and it’s continuing to shrink.

“You either win or you learn,” Bloomgren said, “and we’ve learned a lot.”

Quarterback

On the final Thursday walkthrough before traveling on Friday, it was Tom Stewart who took the first-team reps. JoVoni Johnson is currently listed as a game time decision and will make the trip to Murfreesboro. Whether or not he’s healthy enough to go, and be mobile while he’s out there, remains to be seen. My expectation is that Stewart will start against Middle Tennessee.

As for Stewart, Bloomgren was encouraged by what he saw during the bye week from his veteran passer. “He made the most of his reps,” Bloomgren said. “I think it’s been really good, what he’s done this week.”

Stewart seems to be back to his normal self following a back injury which kept him off the field for the majority of the Marshall contest. The medical staff has done everything they can to get him back to health as quickly as possible and early returns are promising.

Since Stewart went down, the Owls offense has changed. It’s less complex and geared more towards helping Johnson command the offense comfortably. We’ll still see that slimmed down offense against Middle Tennessee. Stewart noted that’s probably a good thing, regardless of who is lined up under center.

“It’s helped everyone,” Stewart said. “Let’s do we do well, let’s play fast. And I think that’s kind of been a trend, we haven’t played as fast as we want to. So, I think the tempo and how fast we’re able to process everything has really improved.”

Healing up

There’s at least a chance Rice will get some combination of Andrew Bird, Anthony Ekpe and Brian Chaffin back after the bye week. All three have returned to practice, at least in a limited fashion, with the hope they will be progressively eased back into the flow of things over the next week.

Chaffin still retains his No. 1 spot at center on the depth chart, but spent the majority of the week at guard. It looks like the Owls will move last year’s starter Shea Baker back to center and keep Chaffin next to him, at least for this week.

Neither Ekpe or Bird were listed on the depth chart released on Tuesday. That doesn’t rule them out against Middle Tennessee, but their outlook to return seems a bit more tenuous. It’s a situation we’ll continue to monitor. Of the two, Bird is more likely to play while Ekpe remains a somewhat hazy game-time decision.  Like we mentioned on Ep. 17 of The Roost Podcast this week, don’t be surprised if he’s held out one more week.

Fresh faces

With three games remaining, expect to see freshman and others who haven’t participated much this season to get a few looks down the stretch. The coaching staff won’t put young players on the field just to do it, but those who have earned opportunities through the year will get a shot, whether that’s on special teams or as part of a rotation on offense or defense.

Jawan King saw his first action of the season against Marshall. In addition to him, two names jump out at the moment: linebacker Myron Morrison and safety Chike Anigbogu. Morrison was elevated to the No. 2 spot behind at linebacker behind Blaze Alldredge, filling in for veteran Dylan Silcox who will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury against Marshall.

Anigobgu has drawn rave reviews for his effort and intensity during practice for several months. Bloomgren said he’s a guy who is “working his butt off and earning out trust.” He’s played in two games to this point and will be a guy who gets in two more in the coming weeks.

Other names that flashed during the past week include corner Josh Landrum, wide receiver Jake Bailey, safety Hunter Henry and safety Kirk Lockhart.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 17 – 2019 Middle Tennessee Preview

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Matthew previews Rice Football vs Middle Tennessee in Week 12 and recaps a busy week in Rice Athletics as the football team was on bye.

The bye week was a busy one for Rice Football and the Owls are still on their hunt for their first win. An extra week of prep work and time to get everyone healthy should aid their efforts. Stay tuned for a closer look at the matchups on both sides of the ball and an interview with Eric Henry of Underdog Dynasty in this week’s show.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 17 below.

Episode 17 Notes

  • News and notes —  Rice Basketball has been busy. The men started the season 3-1 with the women starting 2-0 prior to an upset at the hands of SMU (completed after recording). More on how both teams have looked so far and some big-picture thoughts on their respective seasons.
  • Middle Tennessee Preview — The Blue Raiders are led by quarterback Asher O’Hara, one of the most talented athletes Rice has faced at the quarterback position this season. MTSU’s commitment to the ground game has a similar look and feel to a team like Army, which fits well with the Owls’ strengths. How the Rice offense responds, and who is healthy enough to play quarterback, are also brought into focus.
  • Eric Henry Interview — As someone who spends his days looking at the broader scope of Conference USA, Eric was able to give a great overview of where the conference stands entering the final weeks of the season. We talked championship game scenarios, surprising teams and results and, of course, the upcoming matchup between Rice and Middle Tennessee.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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