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Clutch Fourth Quarter powers Rice Women’s Basketball past Tulane

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Rice Women’s Basketball delivered a much-needed fourth quarter rally, dominating Tulane late for their first AAC win of the season.

Dominique Ennis hit the first shot of the game to give Rice an early 2-0 lead, but the Owls’ advantage wouldn’t last long on the road against the Tulane Green Wave. Their hosts delivered an 11-0 run to seize an advantage in the first quarter.

A defensive slugfest in the second quarter would keep the game around a one-point margin for a while until a 7-0 run from the Wave put Rice in trouble at the half, down eight after scoring just five points in that frame.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

The game would largely hover around that level for the next quarter of action. Both sides traded baskets as the scoring picked up, but Tulane was able to maintain at least a two possession lead until Rice began to make their move in earnest at the beginning of the fourth period.

Ennis went three-for-three from deep in the fourth, supplemented by an 8-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist quarter from Malia Fisher, who delivered one of her most impactful performances of the season to date. That tandem, with timely contributions from Hailey Adams, Sussy Ngulefac and Victoria Flores, all of which played the entire quarter, propelled Rice to a come-from-behind victory.

The 33 points Rice scored in the fourth quarter made for the third-most points in a quarter in program history. Rice finished the game making 10 of their last 12 shots from the field. That’s quite an impressive way to ring in the New Year.

Final Box | Rice 72, Tulane 64

What They’re Saying

“Road wins are so tough in the conference. I’m really, really proud of our team’s effort and toughness. We dug a hole, but we rallied together and found a way to get a win on the road in conference play. I thought just our resiliency was incredible. Our fourth quarter performance was really, really tough and really special, and exactly what we needed.” – Rice Women’s Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Resilient Rally

The fourth quarter has been the boogeyman for Rice Women’s basketball all season long, a refrain explored in detail just days prior in a loss to South Florida. For Rice to win this game against Tulane on the road in this manner was crucial. Not just to get the win and avoid an 0-2 start in league play, but to prove to themselves and those watching that clutch gene is in their somewhere.

Rice shot 71 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. Tulane shot 27 percent, but was only marginally better on the afternoon, shooting at a 33 percent clip from the floor. The Owls’ defense more or less held serve while the offense found that extra gear that had eluded them so many times this season.

This team isn’t going to shoot 71 percent in any quarter very often, but avoiding the deficit in the first place is something they’ve largely proven themselves capable of and there’s something to be said of the impact on the team’s psyche gained from finally getting over this hill. It’s just one win on the ledger, but it felt like much more.

Up Next: vs UTSA (Wed, 1/8)

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Rice Football 2024: NFL Owls Week 17 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2024 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 17.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

TeamNFL Owl(s)This WeekResultNext Week
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)
Myles Adams (DL)		at 49ers (MNF)W, 40-34vs Vikings (SNF)
Indianapolis ColtsKylen Granson (TE)at GiantsL, 45-33vs Jaguars
New York GiantsElijah Garcia (DL)vs ColtsW, 45-33at Eagles
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		vs Chiefs (Christmas)L, 29-10vs Bengals (Sat)
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)vs Falcons (SNF)W, 30-24 (OT)at Cowboys

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson was active but did not see action in the Steelers’ game against the Chiefs on Christmas.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey played 22 snaps on offense but wasn’t targeted in the Commanders thrilling win over the Falcons. He returned his lone kickoff return 29 yards.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson was highly involved this week tying a season high in targets (four) and receptions (three), tallying 34 yards receiving on the day.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Lions

Adams had his first sack of the season and first with the Lions, contributing towards a big Monday Night Football win.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Giants

Garcia made his 2024 debut with the Giants in Week 13 but made his most impactful play of the season this past Sunday against the Colts, recovering a game-sealing fourth quarter fumble to secure the win. He also made three tackles.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox did not punt on Monday Night Football. The Lions scored 40 points and went for it on fourth down on three separate occasions rather than calling in the special teams units.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell went 1-for-1 on field goals against the Chiefs on Christmas, converting from 36 yards. He made his lone extra-point attempt. He’s made 40-of-43 field goals this season

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Women’s Basketball falters late to South Florida

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Rice Women’s Basketball lost a fourth quarter lead and the game, falling at home to preseason AAC favorite South Florida.

Rice women’s basketball came out of the gates slowly, falling behind 15-7 in the early moments of the first quarter before catching fire behind the sharp shooting of Victoria Flores — who led the team with 22 points on the day — put an exclamatory three-pointer on an 11-0 run. That shot put Rice in front by five near the end of the frame.

The game would stay close for some time after that, but Rice was able to maintain a three-point lead after one and a one-point lead at halftime. That advantage grew to as many as eight points in the third quarter, putting the Owls in a great position to notch a big conference win at Tudor Fieldhouse, but that would not come to pass.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

South Florida caught fire late, shooting 53.8 percent from the field in the fourth quarter as the Rice offense went silent. The Bulls went to the line 12 times and were able to keep the Owls off balance as their lead turned into a deficit in a matter of minutes. Rice would score just eight points in the final quarter, falling by 10 points in a that was highly contested for nearly 35 minutes.

Final Box | South Florida 74, Rice 64

Key takeaway | Fourth quarter foibles

A disturbing pattern has emerged in many of Rice Women’s Basketball’s defeats this season. Outside of a drubbing at the hands of a Top 25 Georgia Tech squad, the Owls have more or less been no worse than evenly matched against the remainder of their opponents. In many of those matchups, like in this one, they even led late in the game. The commonality? An inability to finish.

Rice led South Florida by six to start the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon. Playing even basketball down the stretch would have kept Rice in the game, at a minimum, instead, the Owls watched as the Bulls rattled off 13 straight points to open the frame, seizing a seven point lead. Before they could steady themselves, another 9-2 run essentially put the game out of reach.

The Owls made two field goals in the fourth quarter after shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor for most of the afternoon. A one-off poor quarter is understandable, but it’s hard not to notice a trend of winnable games this team has let get out of hand in the fourth quarter.

Entering the fourth quarter, Rice led South Dakota State by 13 points and lost. Rice trailed by two against Louisiana entering the fourth before losing by 10. They led Gonzaga entering the fourth and lost.

This team has the talent and the experience. Building that many fourth quarter leads isn’t possible without it. But finishing is a learned skill, and one the Owls had best figure out if they want to avoid more painful experiences like this one.

Up Next: at Tulane (Wed, 1/1)

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Rice Football Roundup: December Q&A

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A lot has happened since Rice football hired head coach Scott Abell. Where does the program stand concerning staffing, the portal and more?

Interspersed between Rice basketball games, holiday happenings and so much else, Rice football has had a busy month of its own, with a good amount of change happening since head coach Scott Abell was hired almost a full month ago. This month’s Q&A flows from a request to summarize everything that’s happened since and what decisions still need to be made as the program moves forward:

Q: Where are we on a football staff?

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Rice Football Recruiting: OL Justin Michaelis commits to Owls

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Scott Abell’s first new high school addition to the 2025 Rice Football Recruiting class is in. Offensive lineman Justin Michaelis has committed to the Owls.

The first objective for Scott Abell was to retain as many existing commitments to the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class as possible. With that objective largely met and a dozen players signed in December, he and his staff were able to turn their attention to potential new additions, landing their first from the high school ranks this week. Offensive lineman Justin Michaelis has committed to the Owls.

The connection between Michaelis and Rice is rather straightforward. His father, Derek Michaelis, played baseball for Rice from 1998-2000 before going on to reach AAA within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Further still, Justin was offered by Abell at Davidson before subsequently being reoffered by Abell when he took the job at South Main. After letting the dust settle on most of the coaching staff, Michaelis then quickly opted to follow Abell to Rice where he became the fourth new member of the class.

The marriage of family ties and Abell’s scheme made it an easy decision. “I like how run-heavy they were,” Michaelis told The Roost. “They don’t just have the offensive line sit back and pass block. They instead use them to attack the defense and block and that’s what I like to do.”

The previous trio of new faces all hailed from the transfer portal. In the weeks between Abell’s hiring and Christmas the Owls signed JUCO defensive backs Jerrick Harper and Jo Chavez as well as former Cincinnati wide receiver Aaron Turner.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Clearly the staff liked what they saw on film when they offered Michaelis the first time and those traits pop immediately upon further examination. Despite being a relatively large human being (6-foot-4, 290 pounds), Michaelis has quick feet and moves well.

“I feel that my lower body and explosiveness is my strength,” he said. “I am very hard and powerful off the ball and can down block or get to the second level very well.”

He’s well suited for this offense and has experience playing with his hand in the dirt and up as more of a tradition h-back or fullback role.

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