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Rice Women’s Basketball drops opener at South Dakota State

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Rice Women’s basketball didn’t get the level of offensive production they were expecting, falling to South Dakota State in their opening game.

A year ago, South Dakota State needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to spoil the Rice women’s basketball season opener at Tudor Fieldhouse, handing the Owls a loss in a game the home team had led for the vast majority of its duration. The opposite of that contest seemed to unfold in the early going in Brookings, South Dakota, on Friday night.

Rice scored the first points, but quickly fell behind. The Owls rallied to tie the game back up at the end of the first quarter thanks to five quick points from transfer Louann Battiston. The Jackrabbits kept their foot on the gas, though, growing their advantage to nine points in the second frame before another late push from the Owls resulted in a 38-34 halftime deficit for Rice.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

A three from Victoria Flores gave Rice a brief edge in the third, but a 9-2 South Dakota State rally put the Owls behind by seven, a deficit that would linger for the remainder of the quarter and stretch into the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when the offense would stall out for good.

Rice went nearly six minutes of court time without a made field goal in the final stretch as the South Dakota State lead grew to 11 and eventually 14. Unlike the last time these two teams met, there was no furious rally from the visiting team to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Rice fell to South Dakota State for the second consecutive season.

Final Box | SDSU 79, Rice 65

Key takeaway | Offense Comes Out Flat

During her comments before the season, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds was adamant her team would play fast and shoot threes, an intentional shift from season’s prior. The Owls’ attempted 35 three pointers (and made 15 of them) in their exhibition, one shy of their season-high a year ago, seeming to convey their eagerness to fulfill Edmonds’ vision.

South Dakota State is a much more challenging opponent than Mary Hardin-Baylor, so there needs to be an adjustment made for the quality of opponent Rice faced, but even still, this wasn’t nearly as high-flying of an offensive performance as the explosive exhibition suggested would be more normative.

Rice women’s basketball averaged 20.1 three point attempts per game last season. The team attempted 16 three-pointers through three quarters and 23 in the game on Friday. Even for accounting for a late outburst while trailing, the deep ball wasn’t as frequent or effective as it needed to be for Rice to win this game. After seeing what it can be at its best in the exhibition, this offensive showing was underwhelming. Hopefully better days are ahead.

Up Next: at Houston (Nov. 11 at 6:30 pm)

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Rice Basketball Routs College of Biblical Studies in Opener

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Rice basketball never trailed in its season opener against the College of Biblical Studies, dispatching the non-NCAA program with ease on the Owls’ home court.

Year 2 of the Rob Lanier era got off to an encouraging start with a no-doubt rout of the College of Biblical Studies. Jalen Smith scored the first points of the 2025-2026 Rice Basketball season with a three-pointer on the Owls’ first possession, repeating the favor on the ensuing possession. Rice before Andrew Akuchie scored on back-to-back possessions, too. Trae Broadnax followed with a layup to give Rice a prompt double-digit advantage.

The shot making continued to progress at a high level throughout the course of the game as the team rotated in the vast majority of its heathy roster. When combined with a an energetic defense, Rice was able to produce a staggering 29-0 run which turned a 28-14 game into a blowout in the span of less than seven minutes of game time.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

“We have to worry about ourselves,” Rice basketball center Stephen Giwa said. “Doesn’t matter who we’re playing against, that’s what’s going to carry us over. Getting stops, that’s going to lead to easy baskets. So we just gotta focus on that first as a team.”

By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Rice had scored a record 65 points in the half and was well on its way to shattering other program bests. Rice would go on to win by a final score of 109-38, the 33rd 100-point game in program history. The 71-point differential represents their second-largest margin of victory in program history, falling just short of the all-time record, a 73-point win in a 97-22 victory over Baylor in 1945.

Final Box | Rice 109, College of Biblical Studies 25

What They’re Saying

Key takeaway | Defense. Defense. Defense.

When he met with the media before the season, Lanier made his expectations and ambitions for this team crystal clear. “It starts with being a great defensive team,” he said. “Without that, any goals that we might set out to achieve, we’re going to fall short.”

Lanier had hinted that the team had taken steps in that direction a season ago, but still had work to do. They didn’t completely close the gap between those desires and their current state on Tuesday night in Tudor, but they did put forth a strong first step.

When asked for what led to the early separation in the game, Lanier credited that defense.

“It was the defense. I thought the bigs, Stephen and Jimmy, they rebounded the ball really well and we got out and ran,” Lanier said. “To be the team we want to be, we’re going to have to defend at a high level and we’re going to have to run and play with some space and we still haven’t quite gotten that yet.”

The College of Biblical Studies scored just 38 points and was held 27 percent shooting from the field. The Owls’ press was harrowing and confusing for the Ambassadors who never came close to finding any sort of offensive rhythm.

Up Next: at Oregon (Nov. 7 at 9:00 pm)

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2025-2026 Rice Basketball Season Preview

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Rob Lanier was tasked with laying the foundation for Rice Basketball a year ago when he arrived on South Main. What’s in store for the Owls in his second season?

Extended rebuilds are no longer a thing in the world of college athletics, but Rice basketball knew they’d be facing more than a one-year reboot when they made the decision to move on from Scott Pera a year ago and hire Rob Lanier. The roster was gutted and Lanier and his new staff scrambled in the portal to rebuild the roster in short order. The results were mixed.

This time around, the Owls did lose players to the portal, like is normative for just about every program these days except for perhaps the upper-tier blue bloods, but the continuity already established has those around South Main more optimistic about what the program might be able to accomplish in Year 2.

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2025-2026 Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

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Fifth-year head coach Lindsay Edmonds leads a Rice women’s basketball squad with high expectations that is looking to rebound from a rocky season a year ago.

The 2025-2026 Rice Women’s Basketball will look to quickly step past what was largely a disappointing season a year ago, one which began with NCAA Tournament aspirations only to end with a middling 17-17 campaign. This time, the year would not be salvaged by a conference tournament run, although the Owls certainly gave it a shot.

No, this season doesn’t come with vocal proclamations or lofty promises. Just work. At the American Conference Tipoff event, Edmonds sported a bracelet with the initials TNT, which stands for “Today, Not Tomorrow.”

In her eyes, focusing on the present will help alleviate some of those stumbles the program has gone through in prior years.

“[We have to be] making sure that we’re taking care of today. When we get to the tournament, we’ll worry about the tournament,” Edmonds said. “But making sure that we’re taking care of each and every day because all those wins are going to matter, all those games are going to matter.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: F Alex Leeth commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class is off to a strong start. Forward Alex Leeth has committed to the Owls.

The future is bright on South Main, with new talent on the way in the form of an initial wave of commitments joining the 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class in recent weeks. The Owls’ upcoming class added two impact pieces recently, including this 6-foot-7 forward. Alex Leeth has committed to the Owls.

Leeth cut his teeth as a member of the Tennessee Impact and helped lead his high school squad to a 34-2 record last season. A winner with an exciting combination of strength and finesse, it’s not hard to see why his skillset appealed to the Owls’ coaching staff.

He joins guard Jaxson Thompson as the first two commitments in the 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class, giving the program a strong foundation from the high school ranks.

More: Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

Leeth’s versatility and power jump out on film. He’s able to win inside and use his body to create advantageous shots while still threatening opponents as a shooter on the outside. He’ll be able to fill multiple roles for the Owls and should give head coach Rob Lanier flexibility when he designs his rosters and how he wants to rotate different pieces on and off the court.

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