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Rice Basketball outpaces Texas State for fifth straight win

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Rice basketball leads for the duration in an impressive road win over Texas State, their fifth consecutive victory.

Rice basketball has battled through a few games where the shots weren’t falling in the first half and a second half comeback was necessary. The opposite proved true on Sunday afternoon against Texas State. The Owls came out of the gates red-hot, surging to a quick 14-4 lead before the first media timeout, courtesy of a 9-0 run.

The team parlayed the strong start into a robust performance. Following a layup that cut the Owls’ advantage to five points, Rice exploded on a second long run, this time of the 12-0 variety. Soon after, a three-pointer from Cameron Sheffield put Rice up by 18 points with 6:32 to play in the first half.

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Texas State would attempt a rally and cut the Rice lead down to 10 points at halftime. The game would stick around the margin for some time after the break before Rice ripped off an 11-0 run to push their advantage to 20 points, a stark divergence from the Owls’ prior pair of road trips of the year.

After losing a road game at Pepperdine by 40 points and at Middle Tennesee by 35 points, any kind of victory would have been encouraging on Sunday against Texas State. Not only did Rice hold on to win, they did so in dominant fashion, never trailing and walking away from San Marcos with a double-digit win.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

So much went right for Rice basketball in this one, but it was Quincy Olivari that steered the ship. He scored a season-high 30 points, knocking down five three-pointers, providing a jolt during each of the Owls’ three big runs that helped amass such a large lead. He also added five rebounds and four assists.

Final Box | Rice 83 – Texas State 71

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will play its final nonconference road game next week against the University of Texas. That game is scheduled to tip off on Monday night in Austin, TX at 7:00 p.m. It will be streamed on the Longhorn Network.

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Rice Women’s Basketball staves off TCU, stays perfect

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Rice women’s basketball continues its early-season success, staving off a late rally from TCU to move to 7-0 on the year.

Rice women’s basketball couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start on Friday night against TCU. The Owls shot a blazing 58.3 percent from the floor, jumping out to a 17-8 lead. Ashlee Austin led the way with an austere 4-for-4 start and a team-high nine points, setting the tone for the team moving forward.

TCU got their feet underneath them in the second quarter, but Rice continued to hold them at bay. The Frogs trimmed their deficit to five points to start the frame before the Owls’ rocketed their advantage back to 10.

The margin wiggled a little bit to each side throughout the period, but Rice always seemed to have an answer for every TCU basket, never allowing more than two consecutive scores without a response.

Things really wouldn’t escalate until the final minutes of the fourth quarter when TCU made a late run. Austin had just put Rice up by 11 when TCU mounted a 7-0 run, culminating in a three-pointer with 49 seconds on the clock to cut the Owls’ lead to four. Rice would tighten up, make their free throws and pull away, maintaining their perfect start and moving to 7-0 on the young season.

The 7-0 start is the best in program history, with that standard being raised further with each successive victory.

“I think this year can just be amazing, but we’ll take it one game at a time and the next one’s the most important [one] and we can’t get ahead of ourselves and we can’t think that we’ve arrived,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said.

“We got to keep fighting every single day and know now that that target is on our back even more than it already was. I’m really proud of that. Pressure is a privilege and they’ve worked really hard to have that target on their back and now we got to work even harder to keep it there.”

Spotlight | Team Depth

Five different players had four or more points in the fourth quarter, by far the most potent and diverse frame of the evening for the Owls in the most pressure-packed situation. Coach Edmonds mentioned that’s exactly how she wants this team to operate.

“[On] a different night, a different person can step up and when we are so balanced, it’s hard for opponents to scout against us. It’s hard to know who we’re going to go through. We have plays for everybody that we want to take advantage of. I think that’s our best attribute, how deep we are and how balanced we are,” she said.

Three starters finished in double figures and eight different players had at least three points with 10 Owls seeing the court in the 40-minute contest. Rice women’s basketball has depth and they continue to use it to their advantage.

Final Box | Rice 68 – TCU 58

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has another important home game against a Lone Star State foe. After posting victories over Texas A&M and TCU, Rice hosts crosstown rival Houston on Saturday, Dec. 10. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Rice Basketball grinds out home win over PVAMU

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Rice basketball found a way to grind out a low-scoring, defensive affair against Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night to stay unbeaten at home.

Winners of three straight, Rice basketball brought plenty of positive history with them into a midweek matchup with Prairie View A&M. The Owls were undefeated on their home court this season and had never lost to Prairie View A&M in program history. Those streaks quickly became irrelevant anecdotes as soon as both teams hit the court and the home team was put to the test.

Neither side shot the ball well out of the gate, but the Owls’ offensive output was particularly troubling. At their lowest they were 5-of-18 (28%) from the floor, somehow keeping the game within a six-point margin throughout the first 19 minutes without finding much success from the floor, at least until a three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Panthers a seven-point lead, their largest of the night.

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Prairie View would strike first in the second half, led by Braden Bell who drilled his third three-pointer in as many shots to extend their lead to 12 points. He’d been 2-of-12 entering the game but couldn’t seem to miss on Wednesday night before eventually fouling out.

Foul trouble was an issue for both sides and Rice used it to its advantage, knocking down 26 free throws to help them climb out of that large hole. In dire need of a spark, Quincy Olivari obliged, almost single-handily keeping the Owls afloat with 13 consecutive points in less than five minutes — none of his teammates had as many points in the full 40 minutes — until Travis Evee knocked down consecutive threes to tie the game.

Once Rice got level, it was game on. Prairie View A&M earned a meager two-point lead following Rice pulling even, but that would be it. Olivari put Rice in front for good with a free throw, one of a career-high 11 makes from the charity stripe — and the Owls held on to close it out.

Player Spotlight | Cameron Sheffield

While Olivari was lifting the team with his shooting stroke, Sheffield was dominating on the glass. He led all players with 15 rebounds, including four offensive boards. He only took three shots, but his impact on the game was massive.

“I couldn’t take him out. I just had tremendous trust in what he was doing,” head coach Scott Pera said after the game. “People have roles on the team. Not only is he good at this role, he’s embracing his role.”

Likewise, Olivari was quick to heap on his own praise. “It’s the reason we won,” he said, referencing Sheffield’s performance.

Final Box | Rice 70 – PVAMU 62

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will hit the road next after playing four straight games in the span of two weeks at Tudor Fieldhouse. They’ll play in San Marcos, TX at Texas State on Sunday. The tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Rice Women’s Basketball knocks off Texas A&M, stays perfect

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Rice Women’s Basketball remains unbeaten, upsetting Texas A&M to move to 6-0. It’s the Owls’ first win over the Aggies since 2006.

On the final leg of a four-game road trip, Rice women’s basketball faced perhaps its toughest test yet. Texas A&M was unbeaten on their home court this season and the Owls had just three victories over the Aggies in College Station in program history.

If there were a game to experience some nerves, this might have been it. But head coach Lindsay Edmonds and her team never blinked. Rice opened the game with a quick 10-4 run, putting the Aggies on notice from the jump: this was going to be a close one.

Texas A&M battled back to tie the game at 25-25 at the break, then they went on the offensive. The Aggies scored the first eight points after halftime, pushing the Owls to the brink before India Bellamy and Malia Fisher trimmed the deficit back down to four points. Then the game was on.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

Rice tied the game gain in the final minute of the third quarter, entering the final period ahead by one thanks to a layup from Destiny Jackson. The fourth quarter belonged to the Owls. Katelyn Crosthwait knocked down two threes while Shelby Hayes made a shot and a free throw of her own to eventually push the Rice advantage to nine points. It proved to be enough and Rice hung on for the big win.

“This is a group that played a lot of minutes last year, so I think they had that confidence and they knew they’d won in close games before,” “I felt like they weren’t worried about was across the chest of the opponents. They were just playing basketball”

Player Spotlight | India Bellamy

On an afternoon where so many did their part, Bellamy’s contributions stood out.Β In just her second appearance of the season, she was third among all scorers with 11 points, knocking down 5-of-10 shots from the field and adding one free throw.

Final Box | Rice 66 – Texas A&M 58

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball finally gets to return home this coming week where they’ll host a string of Texas teams. On Friday, TCU comes to town for a 7:00 p.m. game (streamed on ESPN+) and Houston follows on Saturday, Dec. 10.

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Rice Women’s Basketball speeds past Texas Southern, stays perfect

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Following a pair of close wins on the road, Rice women’s basketball put away Texas Southern with haste to remain undefeated on the season.

Katelyn Crosthwait made the first shot she took, a three-pointer to give Rice women’s basketball the early lead on the road against Texas Southern. The Tigers would manage one free throw in response before the visiting Owls scored six more points, pushing their lead to 9-1 in the first two minutes of action.

If there were ever a moment for Texas Southern to turn things around, it would have been at the beginning of the second quarter. Trailing by six, Texas Southern secured a rebound following a miss from Jazzy Owens-Barnett, but then they turned the ball back over to Rice. Ashlee Austin knocked down a layup and the route was on.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

Rice went on to outscore the home team 20-6 in that second quarter, holding Texas Southern to 2-of-13 from the field in that frame while the Rice shot a blistering 50 percent from the field. That would have been impressive in itself had the Owls not followed it up with a blazing 9-of-12, 75 percent showing in the third quarter to extend their advantage even further.

At that point, both squads emptied their benches and played out the stretch. 12 different Owls appeared in the game, making room for freshmen like Owens-Barnett, Dominque Ennis and Shelby Hayes to each see 12+ minutes of action. After a series of close fourth quarters, it was nice for everyone to breath and let the young guns play. They’ll be needed as the season progresses.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

For the third time in five games, Fisher recorded a double-double. That shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point. The talented sophomore is averaging 15 points and 11.4 boards per game, both marks that lead the team.

On Wednesday, she sent the Owls into a short Thanksgiving break with relative ease, wrapping up the double-double before halftime. She would only be called upon to play 27 minutes given the Owls’ sizable lead, otherwise this grand day could have been even grander.

Final Box | Rice 76 – Texas Southern 49

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball wraps up a four-game road trip on Sunday when they head up to College Station to play Texas A&M. The Aggies are 4-1 and share one common open with the Owls, Texas Southern, who A&M beat 67-54. This Lone Star battle has the potential to get interesting.

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