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MBB: Owls fall to Charlotte on Senior Night

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With their Conference USA Tournament berth secure, Rice basketball fell at home to Charlotte in the final game of the regular season.

Head coach Scott Pera had employed six different starting lineups this season, generally keeping to a combination of Ako Adams, Quentin Millora-Brown, Chris Mullins, Jack Williams and either Josh Parrish or Drew Peterson for most of the season. On Senior Night, with a berth in the Conference USA tournament already secure, Pera put seniors Dylan Jones and Oliver Xu into the starting five.

Seldom used reserves, it was a nice gesture by Pera, who watched happily on the side of the court as Jones scored the first back of the night — also his first points of the season. Jones and Xu were soon replaced by the normal contingent as the two teams kept the score close throughout the first 38 minutes of game action.

With 4:15 remaining in regulation, Charlotte took the lead from Rice for good. Three consecutive Charlotte three-pointers quickly extended the lead to double-digits, the largest advantage for either team in the game. The Owls would cut it to seven, but never get any closer, falling by a final score of 78-70.

Robert Martin led the team with 15 points. Jack Williams had another solid showing, posting 11 points and six rebounds in the final home game of his career. The team as a whole shot 41.4 percent from the floor, failing to keep pace with a tremendous night from Charlotte’s Jon Davis who led all scorers with 28 points, adding nine rebounds.

Although the loss ends the regular season on a sour note, Rice has at least one more game to play. Rice’s first game of the conference tournament will be on Wednesday, March 13. The full bracket should be announced soon, but 11-seed Rice is tentatively set to face 6-seed Marshall. The Owls won the regular season matchup with the Herd, 74-69.

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WBB: 2019 Regular season by the numbers

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It’s been a season to remember for Rice women’s basketball. Here are seven numbers that help tell the story of how impressive the Owls have been.

0

Losses against Conference USA opponents. Rice’s perfect run marks only the third time a women’s team has reached 16-0 in Conference USA, a feat most recently achieved by Houston in the 2010-2011 season. The only current CUSA squad to achieve perfection was UTEP who did it back in 2007-2008.

16

Double-doubles recorded by Owls’ leading scorer Erica Ogwumike. She’s averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds a game this season — a double-double. She’s been held under double-digit points just twice in conference play.

18

Consecutive victories for the Rice team, tied for the second longest streak in the nation. Already the longest such streak in school history, it could be extended with the conference tournament and other postseason games remaining.

19.2

Margin of victory for Rice in conference play. A perfect record would have been impressive by itself, but the level of dominance Rice has exhibited in their victories has been nothing short of incredible. One of the Owls’ 16 conference games has been decided by single digits and Rice has led by more than 40 points in conference games this season.

52.7

Points per game allowed by the Owls this season. Not only does that lead Conference USA, it ranks in the top 10 of the nation. Put in starker context, No. 1 Baylor averages 54.2 points per game allowed. Conference USA hasn’t seen a team this effective on the defensive side of the floor in this decade.

73

Blocks by center Nancy Mulkey who was the most terrifying defender in the paint in the conference. She had more blocks by herself than four different CUSA teams, edging out the next highest blocker, Marie Benson, by 34 blocks. Benson had 39.

93

Highest point total of the season for Rice. It came in a game against McNeese State in the early portion of non conference play. As elite of a defense group as this is, they can still light it up with strong shooting performances, too.

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Basketball: Owls top Charlotte for third straight win

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Rice basketball has taken their game up a notch, remaining perfect in pod play with a 79-70 road win over Charlotte on Wednesday.

With a trip to the Conference USA conference tournament already secured, Rice had two bouts with the Charlotte 49ers to make their last adjustments. The first came Wednesday and resulted in the second win in two chances for Rice over Charlotte so far this season.

For the Owls, it was Drew Peterson who led the way on offense. A role play for a large chunk of the season, Peterson has come on strong in the last few weeks, posting 31 points in the Owls’ last two games including a 15 point effort against Charlotte. Right behind in on the stat sheet was Chris Mullins (14 points) and Robert Martin and Ako Adams, each with 12.

Six different players connected on at least four field goals on Wednesday and five different Owls tallied three rebounds or more. As has been the recipe for many wins this season, it was truly a team effort.

Rice held Charlotte to 37.7 percent from the field while connecting on 49.2 percent of their own buckets, including 50 percent from three-point range. Charlotte managed to block seven shots. Although they were able to cut the deficit down to as little as one point in the second half, the home team never led, trailing from the moment Quentin Millora-Brown put in a layup to start the scoring in the first half.

The two squads will end their respective regular seasons with a third game in Houston on Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Rice holds a one game advantage, including the head-to-head tiebreaker, over Middle Tennessee for the top spot in their pod. Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, Rice will be the No. 11 seed in Frisco.

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MBB: Owls down MTSU to clinch Conference USA Tournament berth

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Rice basketball won their second game in pod play on Saturday, downing Middle Tennessee to clinch a spot in the Conference USA conference tournament.

By the time Rice basketball tipped off on Sunday afternoon against Middle Tennessee, they knew what was at stake. A win over the Blue Raiders would secure a berth in the Conference USA conference tournament. That motivation showed early. Rice came out of the gate guns blazing, staking themselves to a 28-8 lead before Middle Tennessee knew what hit them.

A 13-point half time advantage was tested late in the second half. Middle Tennessee would cut the Rice lead to three with 1:13 to play but Drew Peters0n connected on five of Rice’s 18 second half free throws to seal the game and the Owls’ trip to the Conference USA conference tournament.

Peterson finished two points shy of a career best with 16 points. Ako Adams, Robert Martin and Quinton Millora-Brown all finished in double-digit scoring. Millora-Brown added 10 rebounds to secure his fourth double-double of the year.

Conference USA conference tournament scenarios

12 of the 14 Conference USA teams qualify for the conference tournament. Because of how pod play was structured, the top two groupings will advance automatically, leaving room for two of the four teams in Rice’s group to clinch a spot in Frisco.

The double-overtime win over UTEP followed by Saturday’s victory over Middle Tennessee lifts the Owls’ conference record to 7-9. That’s one game better than Middle Tennesee and three games better than 13th place Charlotte.

Rice has two games in bonus play remaining, both against Charlotte. Regardless of the outcome of those games, Rice will finish no worse than 12 in the final standings. At this point, their final two games will be for positioning. If they stay ahead of MTSU Rice will clinch the 11th. For Rice, the final two regular season games will give them two more opportunities to get in a groove before the tournament. Then it’s win or go home.

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WBB: Owls beat LaTech to cap off perfect home campaign

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Rice women’s basketball has secured an undefeated season at Tudor Fieldhouse, besting Louisiana Tech for their 13th consecutive home victory.

15-0 in conference play. 17 consecutive games won. It’s been a good year for Rice women’s basketball. In front of 2,606 onlookers, the largest home crowd in program history, Rice won their most recent game against Louisiana Tech, 78-42. The 36 point margin marked the largest victory of the season for No. 24 Rice, surpassing a 34-point win over UTEP.

The victory capped off a perfect 13-0 record at home this season which began with five wins in non-conference play before being followed by eight straight home wins against CUSA foes. It also marks more than a calendar year since Rice has fallen at home, last losing to this Louisiana Tech team on March 1, 2018.

Louisiana Tech had precious minutes to ponder the possibility of an upset, trailing Rice 5-4 early in the first quarter. The Owls would go on an 11-0 run to close the first frame, seizing a double-digit lead and never looking back. They held Louisiana Tech to 27.1 percent shooting from the field. None of their players reached double-digits in any statistical category.

Along with five assists, Erica Ogwumike recorded her 16th double-double of the season (18 points, 14 rebounds). Nicole Iademarco was lethal from deep once more, draining six of her eight three-point attempts for 18 points. Nancy Mulkey and Lauren Grigsby added 11 points and 12 points, respectively.

Rice held every conference opponent to fewer than 55 points at Tudor Fieldhouse this season. Saturday’s win over Louisiana Tech was the sixth consecutive game Rice has won by double-digits. In many ways, it was just another day in the office for this team, which has redefined the standard of excellence, both at South Main and beyond.

Up Next

All that stands between Rice and a perfect Conference USA campaign is a road game against UTSA on Thursday. The Owls defeated the Roadrunners at Tudor Fieldhouse 85-54 in mid-January. Rice will put their 17 game winning streak up against a team which has lost 10 of the last 11 prior to their Saturday game against Southern Miss.

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