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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 Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2024

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2024 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice basketball defeats Memphis

It was a season of mixed results, but the high points were worth savoring for Rice basketball this year. Head coach Scott Pera’s team earned perhaps their most memorable win of his tenure on January 31, upsetting Memphis on the road.

9. Rice Football defeats Navy under interim coach Pete Alamar

Days removed from the dismissal of head coach Mike Bloomgren and following the second-longest rain delay in college football history, Rice football stunned the AAC by knocking off Navy, which had previously been undefeated in league play.

8. Soccer posts dominant home season

Rice soccer bounced back from a down season in 2023 in tremendous fashion, nearly completely an undefeated season at home before falling on Senior Day 1-0 to Charlotte. Nevertheless, a dominant 10-1-1 record at home was impressive after the squad went winless at Holloway Field the year prior.

7. Lots of new beginnings

This year, Rice introduced new coaches (Rob Lanier – basketball, Scott Abell – football) and new sports. The women’s diving team returned for the first time since 1991 and the Owls announced the coming addition of the women’s golf team which will debut in 2026.

6. Parker Smith drafted by hometown Houston Astros

A Houston native and multi-year Friday night ace for Rice Baseball, Parker Smith was a fourth round selection of the Houston Astros in July, the highest an Owl has been drafted since Trei Cruz went in the third round in 2020.

5. A two-fer of Tennis successes

Divna Ratkovic won the AAC women’s individual championship right at home, clinching the victory on campus at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The men’s team didn’t take home the AAC crown, but they did clinch their first trip since 2017 to the NCAA Championship as a team.

4. Genny Volpe posts 400th career win

If it feels like Volpe has been leading Rice Volleyball to successful seasons year after year for quite some time, that’s because she has. Volpe earned career win number 400 this season when the team beat Tulane in their AAC opener. All 400 of those wins have come at Rice.

3. Two podiums for Women’s Track and Field at NCAA Championships

Tara Simpson-Sullivan took home second and Mckyla Van der Westhuizen placed third in their respective events, hammer throw and javelin, at the 2024 NCAA D1 Outdoor Championships. Simpson-Sullivan broke her own school record and AAC record in the process while Van der Westhuizen delivered a personal best to reach the podium.

2. Luke McCaffrey drafted 100th overall

With the final pick of the third round, the Washington Commanders selected Rice football wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. McCaffrey became first Rice player drafted since Christian Covington in 2015 and the highest Owl drafted since Phillip Gains went in the third round to the Chiefs in 2014.

1. Rice women’s basketball wins AAC, makes NCAA Tournament

Following a tough stretch in February, 10-Seed Rice Women’s Basketball caught fire in March, running through the AAC Tournament on their way to the programs first ever AAC Tournament Championship. That earned them a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they gave 3-Seed LSU all they could handle before falling on the road.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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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 Basketball overcomes slow start, tops PVAMU

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Rice basketball trailed at the break before closing in furious fashion, taking down Prairie View A&M at home.

Rice basketball led for 28 seconds in the first half against Prairie View A&M on Sunday afternoon, another prolonged slump against a nonconference foe the Owls were expected to handle rather easily, this on the heels of an upset by North Texas-Dallas a few days prior.

An early three from Emory Lanier was one of just two triples the Owls made in an opening half in which they shot 26.5 percent from the floor. A strong defensive effort gave Rice a chance to weather those early woes and try once more to generate some momentum in the second half. After trading a few baskets in the early moments, Rice started to take control.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Lanier got things going with a jumper, then got help from three different teammates to spark a 9-0 run, the longest of the game for the Owls, which put Rice up by seven in a game they’d trailed for so long. Both teams would pick up the scoring pace from that point, but Rice managed to keep their advantage to multiple baskets, thwarting another would-be upset bid in its tracks.

A seven-point lead ballooned to 19 points as Rice basketball began to find their rhythm with the ball, matching their defensive intensity with some efficient offensive execution. Rice would wrap up the much-needed win and go into the holiday break on a high note.

Final Box | Rice 64, PVAMU 46

Key takeaway | Bring back the Bahamas?

Rice basketball largely hasn’t looked the same since they arrived back on American soil following a 2-1 stretch at the Nassau Championship in the Bahamas where they beat a vey good Arkansas State team rather convincingly.

The Owls were 7-2 at that point with losses to Florida State and Hofstra (in overtime). They’re 2-2 since and the losses are about as ugly as they can come. Dropping this game to a bad PVAMU squad might have signaled the time for a full blown panic. As it is, they found a way to battle back and win. That matters, but the need for the rally is another warning in itself.

Following Sunday’s game, the program is off until they open conference ply on January 1 at Tulsa. Time will tell whether a break to mentally reset is the right medicine for the Owls’ currently maladies, but whatever the right answer is, doing something different seems like a solution worth trying.

It’s been two weeks of largely bad basketball with a sliver of hope at the tail end of this contest. They’re going to need a lot more of the latter if they want to get it where they hope to go.

Up Next: at Tulsa (Wed, Jan. 1)

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Rice Basketball upset by UNT-Dallas

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Rice basketball missed the tying free throw in the final seconds of regulation, falling to North Texas-Dallas at home.

In hindsight, a sluggish start from Rice basketball probably should have served as a sign of trouble ahead. The Owls traded baskets with their opponents in the early goings on Thursday, trailing a large portion of the first half before a 10-0 run in the middle of the period put Rice in front by more than a basket for the first time.

A few well-timed three pointers from Jacob Dar and Denver Anglin helped thwart some runs from the Owls’ foes, but the margin hung around 10-points or through the end of the half. That inability to lengthen the lead proved consequential for Rice who watched UNT-Dallas start chipping away in the second half.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

A 15-point Rice advantage was whittled down to seven by an 8-0 UNT-Dallas run before any advantage evaporated entirely and the game was tied at 61 apiece with 3:43 on the clock.

Free throws would prove to be the decider. UNT-Dallas’ Vernon Johnson knocked down all three of his attempts under 10 seconds to give his team a one-point lead. For Rice, Kellen Amos had two free throws near the two-second mark. He missed both and Rice lost.

As is often the case, a loss like this is due to more than poor free-throw shooting. Eight steals by UNT-Dallas highlighted Rice’s lackluster showing in their first home loss of the season.

Final Box | UNTD 69, Rice 68

Key takeaway | The Honeymoon is over

UNT-Dallas doesn’t have a logo on ESPN. The NAIA school launched it’s basketball program in 2014. For perspective, the kids in the stands watching on Thursday were around the same age as the Owls’ opponents program.

There were always going to be growing pains in the first year under a new head coach, but even in their previously ugly game against Alcorn State, they found a way to win. Even still, growing pains were going to come, it was just hard to imagine them striking in such a severe fashion as this.

Rice basketball is 8-4 on the season and 4-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse. The season is far from over, but this particularly game is going to sting for a while, as it should. It must serve as a reminder of where this program is coming from, a near-total reboot. For it to have gone off without a hitch was wishful thinking. Thursday’s events made that fact abundantly clear.

Up Next: vs Prairie View A&M (Sun, Dec. 22)

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