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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to UAB on the road

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Rice Women’s Basketball saw a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling to UAB on the road.

Tied in the win column with North Texas entering the weekend, Rice women’s basketball was riding a hot streak to the top of the AAC standings. That momentum looked to continue at tip off against UAB with Malia Fisher back in the starting lineup and the scorer of the game’s first points.

Both sides traded baskets in the early going as the lead seesawed back and forth. Seven was the largest margin for either side held only briefly by the Blazers to start the second quarter. Not long after, Rice used a 12-3 run to erase the deficit completely, going in front in the final minute of the half. Fisher led the way with 10 points. She would go on to finish with a team-high 20.

Fisher got the scoring started again in the third quarter and later provided a big basket, punctuating a 10-0 Rice run to put the visiting Owls back in front once more. The eight points of the quarter would belong to UAB, though, providing an ominous foreshadowing for what would prove to be a disappointing fourth quarter for Rice. It would be the final of 17 lead changes in the contest.

UAB couldn’t miss in the final frame, shooting 73 percent from the field to the Owls’ 37 percent. That helped the home team outscore Rice by seven in those final 10 minutes. UAB ended the game on a 6-0 run, slamming the door on any hopes of a late comeback.

Final Box | UAB 87 – Rice 74

Key takeaway | Bench blocked

Following a streak of several huge performances from the Rice bench, the Owls’ reserves were limited to 26 points today. For most teams, that’s a solid showing, but the Rice bench hit 50 points last time out against ECU and was largely kept in check beyond a strong shooting performance from Jazzy Owens-Barnett.

The bench isn’t really a question mark for this squad at this point. We know they’re deep, capable and talented. The question now becomes can the stars of this team rise up and take over a game when they need to?

Malia Fisher (9-of-21), Destiny Jackson (5-of-9) and Dominque Ennis (2-for-11) each had really good moments today. But when push came to shove in the fourth quarter, the efficiency was not there in clutch moments. Nobody should overreact to one game, but it’s a fair reminder that as much as Rice needs its depth, it’s going to need its stars, too.

Up Next: at Memphis (Tuesday, Feb. 20)

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Rice Women’s Basketball thumps ECU

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Rice Women’s Basketball held serve for a quarter before turning on the gas and blasting past ECU, sweeping the Pirates on the season.

Some teams have an extra gear. That might be the best way to sum up what happened Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse when Rice women’s basketball routed a good East Carolina team that entered the evening 7-3 in AAC play against non-Rice squads. For a full quarter, ECU looked up to the task. Then the Owls left the Pirates in the dust.

In the final minutes of the first frame, Rice and ECU were deadlocked at 13 points each. What came next, spanning the remainder of that quarter and the first six or so minutes of the next was a dominant defensive performance, enabling Rice to go on a 13-0 run bookended with points from Malia Fisher, coming off the bench. Fisher dazzled with 22 points and eight rebounds, playing the second most minutes on the team.

“It definitely feels good to be back,” Fisher said of her landmark performance. “But I couldn’t have done it without my team.”

Speaking of that team, Rice emptied the bench on Wednesday night, playing 14 different players and yet somehow only growing their advantage as they game progressed and the starters began to take a seat. That large second quarter run would set up a 19-point third quarter advantage that would prove to be insurmountable.

The fourth quarter was a breeze. The result was never in doubt. Once again, Rice women’s basketball dominated one of the top teams in the AAC standings. The Owls now stand in sole possession of second place.

“If we take care of business like that, I really like our chances of winning the day and winning the games and stacking days and priming ourselves for where we want to be in March, as far as standings go,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said, praising the dominant performance.

Final Box | Rice 75 – ECU 57

What They’re Saying

“We can control our own destiny. We can control the controllables. We can come out and do the things that we know we’re capable of night in, night out, regardless of who we’re playing. I think every single one of our games coming up is a tough game, but we have to take care of business.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | At their best

Three of the Owls four losses came in a 10 day stretch with Malia Fisher sidelined and other meaningful players out of action for one game or another. Nobody is ever quite at full strength during this part of the calendar, but that span from the end of January until the first game of February represented the most depleted this roaster has been all season. The results echo that reality.

But what happened next should send shockwaves throughout the entire conference. Finally healthy with Fisher back in her rhythm, this team is dangerous. AAC teams must be weary, but at this rate, the Owls might not stop there. While the team will wisely take things one game at a time, it’s worth considering how far this team can go if performances like this are in their arsenal

The squad that took the court on Valentine’s night, sporting bold, pink uniforms with the strong game to match them, that team looked like an NCAA Tournament team. They have more work to do in the weeks ahead of they want to get there, but the groundwork is being laid right now. As Edmonds said, they need to keep stacking wins. There’s no telling how high this team can climb.

Up Next: at UAB (Saturday, Feb. 17)

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Rice Baseball 2024: Names to Know — Lineup

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Entering Year 3 under head coach Jose Cruz Jr the Rice baseball roster is starting to take shape. Here are a few names to know at the plate.

The primary lineup for the 2024 Rice baseball season should feature a solid mix of old and new. Veteran players, incoming transfers, up-and-coming home-grown players and everything in between will see action on the diamond at Reckling this season. Here are the key pieces the Owls will have to work with at the plate and in the field this season.

Moving On

Losing Connor Walsh stands to be the biggest hurdle to overcome at the plate for this team. Walsh led all regulars in average, slugging and on-base percentage last season. Drew Holderbach and Aaron Smigelski re the other two notable contributors at the plate who won’t be with the Owls this coming season.

Coming Back

Fortunately, the list of returning players is longer than those headed out. Jack Riedel flirted with a 300 average last year and showcased a decent amount of power. The plan had been for him to hold down third base, instead, he’ll be moving across the diamond to play first base. That transition is necessary because Guy Garibary suffered an ACL injury in practice and announced this week he will miss the entirety of the 2024 season.

More: Potential the word for Rice Baseball in Year 3 under Cruz

Going around the horn, Pierce Gallo will handle second with Ben Royo, fresh off a fantastic freshman season, holding down shortstop. Max Johnson is a utility guy who could potentially backfill at third in place of Riedel. Manny Garza will be the primary catcher.

Nathan Becker and Ben Dukes are potential reserve bats and designated hitter options, Becker especially, after seeing a more limited role a year ago. As things stand, designated hitter and third base appear to have the greatest amount of uncertainty.

Added to the Mix

The outfield should be flush with new faces. Wichita State transfer Kyte McDonald has the potential to be a middle-off-the-lineup guy in center field. He’ll be sandwiched by Florida State transfer Treyton Rank and Princeton transfer Brendan Cumming. On paper, that trio looks to be one of the most potent outfields the Owls have fielded in quite some time.

Like Royo did last year, someone will undoubtedly emerge and force their way onto the lineup card. Freshman Landon West might be the best bet right now. He’s impressed during his limited sample size and could see some at bats in the near future.

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Rice Baseball 2024: Names to Know — Pitching

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Entering Year 3 under head coach Jose Cruz Jr the Rice baseball roster is starting to take shape. Here are a few names to know on the mound.

Rice baseball has a frontline ace and lots of unproven potential on the mound entering the 2024 season. In their second season under pitching coach Parker Bangs, the entire pitching staff will look to take a step forward. Here are the key pieces the Owls will have to work with on the mound this season.

Moving On

Rice lost arguably its two most talented bullpen arms to the MLB Draft this past offseason as Matthew Linskey and Justin Long moved on to test the professional ranks. Also departing are veterans Garret Zaskoda and Krishna Raj.

Coming Back

The best news for the Rice baseball pitching staff should be the starting rotation. The Owls bring back staff ace Parker Smith, who dazzled on Friday nights last year and should do so again. Behind him, JD McCracken should be the frontrunner for Saturdays with Sunday less certain at this point. Tyler Hamilton is thought to be a strong contender for that spot right now.

More: Potential the word for Rice Baseball in Year 3 under Cruz

The bullpen is where things get tricky. Jack Ben-Shoshan is probably the most trustworthy known quantity there, but another year of development should be promising for players like Garrett Stratton and Ryland Urbancyzk.

Micah Davis should make his return at some point, recovering from an injury that forced him to miss last season. Mauricio Rodriguez, Reed Gallant and Tom Vincent will provide some veteran depth as some of the younger players come along throughout the season.

Added to the Mix

The back end of the bullpen likely offers the most opportunity for new faces to make a name for themselves in the early goings of the season. Given the lack of established horses, a newcomer who compiles a couple of solid outings could warrant a longer runway for evaluation. Davion Hickson is one such name to monitor.

Hickson joins Rice from Florida State, although he only pitched one inning for the Seminoles before transferring to South Main. He was a name singled out by veteran catcher Manny Garza before spring workouts began, along with freshman righty Jake Melvin.

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Potential is the Word for Rice Baseball in Year 3 under Jose Cruz Jr.

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After years of building, Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr and his team believes this is the year to take that next step forward.

It’s been a slow grind for Rice baseball and head coach Jose Cruz Jr. since he took the helm of the program before the 2022 season. When he arrived he was quick to moderate expectations. “I’m not going to promise the moon right now,” he said before entering debut season. That was two years ago. Since Cruz and his staff have worked tirelessly to revamp a roster that was in need of talent at several key spots

Cruz had done his best to balance high school signees with Transfer Portal additions, endeavoring to build a roster with the right mix of ability and understanding. Culture, often as nebulous of a word in sports as any other, has been a work in progress and he would be one of the first to admit it. Slowly but surely, those labors appear to be bearing their first fruits.

“I’ve been saying it the whole year. It’s taken me three falls to create the environment that I wanted to create. It’s fertile ground for development and for guys to keep pushing themselves and get better,” Cruz said. “It’s here, the time is now. Our team is pretty dynamic. Now we just have to show it on the field.”

Rice has retained Parker Smith, whom Cruz accurately referred to as a “bonafide ace”. They’ve added key transfers like Treyton Rank from Florida State and Kye McDonald from Wichita State. There’s been buzz all offseason about the velocity of the arms Rice will be able to bring out of the bullpen. Optimism abounds. Hope is in the air. This is a team with potential. Cruz believes they have the drive to go with it.

“The beauty of what we have right now with our team is there’s a lot of guys that have a lot of whys. They have a purpose. They have a mission of why they are here,” Cruz explained. “Some people are trying to get themselves into a position to get in the lineup. Some people are trying to go professional. Some people want to develop.”

More: Parker Smith’s journey to Rice Baseball ace

Organizing all of those whys into one collective mission has been the challenge for this program in recent years. It all comes back to culture, something veteran leaders have agreed is much improved. “Compared to teams in the past, we definitely have a better locker room culture and just culture overall,” Smith said. “It’s a game failure. Baseball is a game of failure. You’re bound to fail and you’re going to have to rely on your teammates to back you up and pick you up.”

The odds suggest Smith is right. Rice baseball will get knocked down more than a few times this year. They’ll suffer some painful losses and things won’t always go according to plan. How they deal with those hardships will determine how far they’ll eventually be able to go.

That “potential” piece isn’t new. Rice baseball has had potential for eons. How else could they have assembled a National Championship team in the modern era? That team took ahold of its potential and translated into production. That’s the task for Cruz and for his players. National championship ceiling or not, this is a team that, on paper, looks better than it ever has under his direction. That potential needs to translate into wins.

The Owls’ first crack comes in a few days against Notre Dame. Opening Day at Reckling Park against a national, premier brand. You can’t have much more of a bigger potential opportunity than that.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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