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Rice Women’s Basketball routs ECU, wins AAC Championship

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Rice Women’s Basketball is headed to the NCAA Tournament, routing East Carolina to win the Owls’ first-ever American Conference Championship.

Any concerns that Rice women’s basketball would be out of gas as they walked onto the court for their fourth game in as many games dwindled in a matter of minutes as the Owls executed a defensive masterclass. They held ECU to 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) shooting in the opening quarter, setting the tone for one of their most dominant performances of the season.

“We put our foot down,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds, exclaimed. “I mean, seriously. We wanted this. We talked about how our opponent was going to be hungry, we needed to be starving. We were starving to get this win.”

The score was 18-3 in favor of the blue and grey by the end of the first. ECU didn’t reach double digits until halfway through the second frame. It was then that Emily Klaczek congratulated the Pirates with a three, her third of the game, to lift the Owls back to a 17-point advantage. Maya Bokunewicz drilled another at the buzzer to make sure Rice went into halftime up by that same margin.

More: Takeaways from first week Rice Football spring practice 

The Pirates engineered an 8-1 run just after halftime to get back within 14. Klaczek responded with another three, the Owls’ eighth of the game, silencing the threat and keeping Rice in firm command.

ECU’s last gasp came in the fourth quarter, trimming the Rice lead to nine as the Owls managed just one field foal in the first six minutes. Malia Fisher, who had been limited with foul trouble, ended the Pirates’ prayers with a crucial three, putting Rice back in front by double-digits. ECU wouldn’t get any closer for the remainder of the game.

Sussy Ngulefac led Rice with 15 points and her first career double-double with the Owls. Klaczek had 14. Fisher had 13. Destiny Jackson had 10. When it mattered most, the Owls’ stars took charge and willed them to the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s pretty surreal. It’s amazing,” Edmonds said. “I don’t even know if it’s completely all sunk in yet, but we’re going dancing. And there’s more to come for Rice women’s basketball this season.”

Final Box | Rice 61 – ECU 41

What They’re Saying

“We always break the season into three different seasons — non-conference, conference and then tournament play — When we started tournament season, we started breaking down huddles with our left hand because it was closest to our hearts and I just feel like we played with so much heart. We played with so much toughness. We played with so much togetherness. It was it was really special. We hung our hats on defense. We shared the basketball.

I just can’t get over how close this group is on and off the floor and that’s what makes us be so special. Malia [Fisher] said that we might have been a 10 seed on paper but we never believed that we were. So that’s why we we had something to prove and we did it for four straight days, which is really really hard to do, but they were relentless and they knew that they wanted it and they weren’t going to do let anybody take that from them.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Defense, it is

The last time Rice women’s basketball played in the NCAA Tournament was following the 2018-2019 season. That team, coached by Tina Langley and featuring Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey, was as defensively-minded of a basketball team as there has been in quite some time. They held opponents to a staggering 52.9 points per game.

When Lindsay Edmonds took the helm in 2021, the tempo ticked upward and the shots started flying. The Owls have been an offense-first team ever since, or at least, that was the case right up until a few weeks ago when injuries and late-season shooting struggles forced this team to adapt.

“It starts with our mentality and our mindset. We’ve just been saying one more stop, one more rebound,” Edmonds said. “It was just a mentality. I feel like everybody bought into it. Everyone locked into that. It was tremendous. It was everything we needed it to be.”

This team allowed 64.1 points per game in the regular season. In four AAC Tournament games, Rice had held their opponents in 53.3 points per game, fractional points off the torrid pace set by that 2018-2019 squad. When you account for the painstakingly slow tempo of Langley’s squads, it’s remarkable just how stout this current iteration of the Rice defense has become.

If you want to win in March, you have to be elite at something. As improbable as it might have been a few weeks ago, this team is going to hang its hat on defense. It just might work.

Up Next: NCAA Tournament

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Rice Basketball season comes to an end with AAC Tourney loss to Wichita State

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Rice basketball came out hot but was unable to finish, falling to Wichita State in the first round of the AAC Tournament in Fort Worth, TX.

Shocked doesn’t even begin to accurately describe how Rice basketball must have felt midway through the first half on Wednesday afternoon. The 13-Seed Owls had taken a 17-4 lead over the 12-Seed Wichita State Shockers to start the game. Things were going well. And then Wichita State just could not miss.

Wichita State hit 19 of their final 22 shots of the first half, thundering back from a 13-point deficit to take a 13-point lead at the break. During that stretch, the Shockers shot 86.3 percent from the field. Few could have anticipated quite how quickly the script could have been flipped, even when accounting for the Owls’ inconsistency on defense and a potent shooting performance.

“Basketball is a game of runs, right?” Travis Evee mused when recalling that furious Wichita State rally. “I think we really stayed together. It heightened our focus, our energy to climb back and weather that storm.”

Down by double-digits to start the second half with their backs against the wall, Rice basketball thundered back. Evee knocked down a pair of threes, keying a 12-0 Rice run to turn a potential blowout into a one-point game after Alem Husenovic knocked down a key jump shot.

It truly was back and forth from that point onward with 11 lead changes transpired over the course of the next five minutes and neither team leading by more than two possessions until the Shockers’ Xavier Bell knocked down a fast break layup with six seconds on the clock to put the game out of reach.

With the loss, Rice basketball falls to 11-21 on the season. A streak of back-to-back seasons in which the Owls played in a postseason tournament will come to an end as the program does some soul-searching in hopes of charting a brighter future moving forward.

Final Box | Wichita State 88 – Rice 81

What They’re Saying |

“It’s been a great four years and this one’s going to sting, probably for a while. It’s not the way that we wanted to go out, but I think in about a week or two weeks, whenever this wears off, I’ll really be able to look back and really be thankful for everything that this university has given me, everything that [head coach Scott Pera and Max Fiedler] have given me. I’m gonna miss playing with them. I’m gonna miss putting on the jersey. I’m gonna miss being in the locker room with these guys.” – Travis Evee on his Rice basketball career

Key takeaway | Going the wrong way

In the seventh season under Pera, Rice basketball has officially taken a significant step backward. The Owls finished above .500 under Pera for the second time last season but will finish this campaign 10 games below .500, their worst mark since his inaugural season.

The offense, which has been Pera’s calling card, has regressed from scoring 76.9 points per game last season to 71.7 points per game this season. The defense, a constant source of frustration, ranks 269th in the nation, allowing 75.3 points per game, a number that will worse after allowing 88 points on Wednesday.

“It’s uncanny, the misfortune we had this year,” Pera said, noting the series of close losses and bad bounces along the way.

Pera has built his tenure on the back of steady, gradual improvement. Faced with a tougher league schedule with the move to the AAC and the departure of star guard Quincy Olivari, who led the Big East in scoring for Xavier this season, it feels like that train has jumped the tracks.

Pera’s seventh season ends like many of the ones before it, with him at the podium reiterating “We’ve got to get better defensively.” Seven seasons in and the refrain is the same. And it’s not going to get any easier.

Rice basketball will lose Travis Evee and Max Fiedler this offseason. There is talent remaining on the roster, but the proof of concept of what this could be feels sufficient. At its best, this has been a .500 program under Pera, whose future on South Main is in question. Athletic Director Tommy McClelland has proven amenable to patience in other sports, but that’s come in conjunction with progress. This was a step back — and a significant one at that — one that Pera might not survive.

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Rice Women’s Basketball tops Temple, advances to AAC Title Game

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Rice Women’s Basketball got pivotal plays from its leaders in crunch time to knock off Temple and advance to the AAC Championship Game.

Two of the better defensive teams in the American Conference slugged it out in the semi-finals on Tuesday night as Rice Women’s basketball took on Temple with a trip to the conference championship game on the line. The all-Owl affair featured lots of physicality and intensity with points at a premium.

The squads combined for 18 fouls in the first half, with two starters apiece charged with multiple fouls before halftime. Even with the interruptions, the teams shot the ball fairly well. Malia Fisher and Sussy Ngulefac took charge for Rice, scoring 20 of the team’s 33 first-half points as Rice sought to pound the interior and force Temple into defensive mismatches.

More: Takeaways from first week Rice Football spring practice 

A modest four-point halftime lead ballooned to as many as 13 in the third quarter as Ngulefac, Destiny Jackson and Emily Klaczek sparked an 11-0 run to take command of the game, but the edge would be fleeting.

Temple battled back, whittling the lead down to single digits before taking the lead with 3:29 remaining in regulation. It was then, with the season hanging in the balance, that Rice got three near-perfect performances from three of its most important leaders.

Klaczek followed a Fisher layup with a massive corner three to put Rice back in front by three. Destiny Jackson won on an iso play the following possession, keeping the lead at four. Then, with Temple inbounding as Rice nursed a two-point lead, Fisher stepped in front of the pass and effectively ended the game.

“I’m long and lanky,” Fisher said of that pivotal play, a play that effectively sent Rice to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

“That’s why they’re in the game, late game. I trust them. I count on them. They know what it’s like. I said it yesterday,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “They’re tough. They’re competitors. I trust them. When the game is on the line, I know they’re going to do what it takes to make sure Rice comes out on top.”

Final Box | Rice 61 – North Texas 59

What They’re Saying

“We’ve been on a little bit of a revenge tour here, since we’ve been here. UAB got us at their place. We lost at home to North Texas and Temple. So we had a little bit more fuel to our fire behind all of the games that we were facing to make sure that we came out on top and we came out on top at the right time.

Toughness has really prevailed. Our togetherness has really shown. We have hung our hats on defense. I’m just really, really proud of the efforts. We could hung her heads a couple of times tonight but we found a way to get one more, to get one more rebound, to come out on the winning end. Really, really proud of the group.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Don’t Settle

During Rice women’s basketball’s five-game losing streak to end the regular season, the Owls shot 20.2 percent from three including a 3-for-30 outing against North Texas. Head coach Lindsay Edmonds saw those results and made a change, keeping Sussy Ngulefac in the starting lineup for each game of the conference tournament and making a concerted effort to attack the rim.

“We were just talking about not settling for threes and talking about being aggressive, putting pressure on them, putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on officials to make calls for us,” Edmonds said. “I really liked how they executed to start the game.”

Ngulefac, whose only start before this week came in the regular season finale against UTSA, was named player of the game for her efforts, finishing with 11 points and five rebounds with two blocks.

The Owls’ focus on going inside would eventually open up opportunities to make an extra pass and set up open looks from three. Klaczek’s huge triple in the final minute was made possible because of pressure inside that opened up the shot.

Rice women’s basketball has found a recipe that works. If they want to win one more game and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, they need to stay aggressive, attack the basket and keep winning on defense. If they can, they’re going dancing.

Up Next: vs ECU on Wednesday in the AAC Title Game, March 13 at 6:00 pm

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Rice Women’s Basketball edges North Texas to reach AAC Tourney Semi-Finals

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It took a full 40 minutes, but Rice Women’s Basketball came out on top, holding on to a one-point lead in the final minute to take down North Texas.

The intensity was palpable on the floor of Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday night as 10-Seed Rice Women’s Basketball battled with 2-Seed North Texas with a trip to the American Athletic Conference Semi-Finals on the line. Emotions were high as the ball raced up and down the court with the Owls dictating the game in the early goings, albeit barely.

Rice led after the first quarter. They led at halftime. They led after three. None of those leads were by more than three points. In fact, through three quarters, there were just 30 seconds of the game to that point in which either team had led by more than two scores. When it comes to close games, it’s hard to envision much tighter than this.

Emily Klaczek, whose 13 points were second on the Owls’ in scoring to only Destiny Jackson, delivered a trio of big three-point shots in clutch moments, helping Rice keep pace in the second half.

“You never want it to be as close as it was, but to some degree, it’s kind of fun sometimes when it’s down to the wire,” Klaczek said. “I really got a lot of belief in our team and when it’s a close game like that, I would take us any day.”

More: Takeaways from first week Rice Football spring practice 

That unity was put on display in the final three minutes. Rice would make one field goal during that stretch as North Texas turned a six-point Rice lead into a one-point Mean Green advantage. Rice players were tired, admitting as much after the game, but they resolved to keep pushing and find a way to win.

“I was also impressed by our team too, lifting them up, giving them energy,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “When they were coming to the bench there was like so much energy fed into them. Timeouts were really locked in, really focused. I think that also helped them, being able to push through, because they knew their teammates 100 percent had their backs.”

Destiny Jackson hit the eventual game-winner with 41 seconds to play, but it would take several more stops amidst turnovers and miscues before Rice women’s basketball was able to exhale. And even then, North Texas’ last shot, a long three, dipped halfway into the cylinder before rattling out. Rice needed that one last stop. They got it.

“I think the last two years with us, we’ve always kind of hung our hats on offense,” Edmonds said. “But this year, when we’ve been really good, it’s been us hanging our hats on defense.” On Monday night, that defense held the highest-scoring team in the AAC, North Texas, to just 59 points, almost 16 points below their average night. As a result, Rice is moving on.

Final Box | Rice 61 – North Texas 59

What They’re Saying

“I think we have the want to. We talked about it yesterday, putting our foot down and getting one more stop. Putting our foot down and getting one more rebound and one more rebound and not letting anything affect us or anything stop us for being able to do that.

Mindset. Mentality. Focus. I think we’ve had it for 40 minutes for the last two games. Really, really proud of their grittiness down the stretch to be able to get those stops.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Battle Tested

In a game in which Rice women’s basketball led for 31 minutes, there wasn’t ever really a moment where the Owls could exhale. No lead was safe enough, no possession long enough, to afford either side to come up for air. The in-game win probabilities oscillated wildly back and forth as neither side ever took a commanding lead.

Rice has been in several close games in the past month, but it’s been a while since they’ve endured a 40-minute slug fest like this and come out on top. When it comes to finding ways to win in March, experiences like this matter. The Owls have been through this fire. Their reward? At least one more chance.

“We’ve talked a lot about adversities that we’ve faced this season and how it was going to bring us March blessings,” Edmonds said. Here we are. We got to keep doing it. Tomorrow’s the next day and we’ve got to keep fighting.”

Up Next: vs Temple/Tulane on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:00 pm

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Rice Women’s Basketball bests UAB, moves on in AAC Tourney

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Rice Women’s Basketball bounced back from a regular season loss at UAB, getting the better of the Blazers in the AAC Tournament to survive and advance.

Defense set the tone for Rice women’s basketball in their opening game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament against UAB. They gave up 87 points to the Blazers in Birmingham in February, the start of an extended losing streak that dropped the Owls to the No. 10 seed in this year’s field.

“We started out fast,” Destiny Jackson said after the win. “Just having that mentality that mindset, the want-to the hunger to want to win and not like play to not lose, but to play to win.”

Rice held UAB to 29 first-half points on 31 percent shooting, locking down the perimeter and controlling the boards as they set the tone for what was to come. Rice took charge in earnest midway through the second quarter. After a 6-0 run to start the frame, UAB would convert just two field goals through the rest of the period as Rice outscored them 18-5 to take a nine-point advantage into the break.

More: Takeaways from first week Rice Football spring practice 

Rice leaned on the combination of Malia Fisher and Sussy Ngulefac to lengthen their lead in the third, firmly putting the game into the Owls’ control, a stark difference from how things went the first time against UAB.

“I really think the difference between this past game and the one before is that all 15 of us had the mentality that we had the capabilities to beat anybody if we set our mind to it,” Fisher said. “Everybody came out and executed to the best of their abilities, and everybody did what they were supposed to do.”

That duo of Fisher and Ngulefac accounted for 16 of the Owls’ 20 points, getting ahead by as many as 19 points and giving the Owls line of sight to the next round of the tournament. Following an uneventful fourth quarter, Rice solidified those aspirations, punching their ticket to the next round and a rematch against North Texas.

Final Box | Rice 71 – UAB 56

What They’re Saying

“We’re on a mission. It doesn’t matter who we play and what happened in the previous games because everybody is win or go home, but we got a little bit of a bad taste in our mouth from the last time we played North Texas so that should fuel us. We did a lot of good things in that game. We forced a lot of turnovers. We had a lot of steals. We had a lot of offensive rebounds. We held them to a low scoring night, but that doesn’t mean anything. We got to come out and do it again and we got to do more than what we did the last time.

Whoever we’re playing we’re going to be ready to face, regardless of what the outcome was the last time, because we have a mission that we’re trying to accomplish.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Starters strong

Rice women’s basketball leaned heavily on its bench this season, more so than any other team in the AAC. With the season on the line, they flipped the script, riding their starters to a dominant win to keep their season alive. The Owls averaged 25.2 bench points per game entering this contest.

When the fourth quarter began, the Rice bench had totaled five points, picking up the bulk of their 12 total bench points in the game after the team had established a sizable lead.

Our team is deep. I’ve said it all year long. When we show up, we can go deep into our bench and not have a huge drop off, but also, when our starters get us off to a good start, there’s where we’re at our best. ”

Fisher had a team-high 20 points. Jackson was right behind with 14. Ngulefac has 12. No bench player had more than five. That isn’t necessarily prescriptive of how this team has to play moving forward, but what Edmonds said is certainly true. When the Rice starters play well, this team’s ceiling is tremendous.

Up Next: vs North Texas on Monday, March 11 at 6:00 pm

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