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Rice Women’s Basketball earns 12-Seed in NCAA Tournament

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The Rice Women’ Basketball team has learned their NCAA Tournament fate. The Owls are a 12-Seed and open up against 5-Seed Marquette in the first round.

In the aftermath of Rice’s NCAA Tournament clinching victory over Middle Tennessee, coach Tina Langley quoted Clemson Tiger headman Dabo Swinney. “The next game is the biggest game of the year.”

It’s that mantra which has carried the Owls through the most impressive season in school history. As they make their way to the Big Dance, Rice leaves history behind them as the only team in CUSA history to obtain perfection in both the regular season and the conference tournament.

Join The Roost’s Tournament Challenge

Now they’ll take that mantel onto the NCAA Tournament. Rice was awarded a 12-Seed in the Chicago Region. Their first round game will be on Friday against 5-Seed Marquette. If the Owls win, they’ll face the winner of 4-seed Texas A&M and 13-seed Wright State in the Round of 32 for the right to play in the program’s first Sweet 16.

Rice has made two previous Women’s NCAA Tournament appearances. Last appearing in 2005, 11-Seed Rice fell to Georgia in the first round. In their only other appearances, 2000, the 13-Seed Owls knocked off 4-Seed UC Santa Barbara in the first round before losing to 5-Seed North Carolina in the Round of 32.

The Owls know they’ll be the underdogs, but they’re playing with a level of confidence and poise right now which suggests they won’t be intimidated. No matter the draw, this team was always going to ready to battle for a full 40 minutes.

It’s true, their next test will be their toughest yet. But as Swinney says, it’s the biggest game of the year. You can be sure this group will be ready. Look out, March Madness has only just begun.

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Rice Women’s Basketball proves the Rice Way works

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Rice women’s basketball became a beacon for the university, overcoming all obstacles to clinch their first Conference USA Tournament Championship.

For Rice women’s basketball, winning isn’t a new thing. The Owls haven’t lost in this calendar year. They haven’t played too many close games either. At least, not up until they found themselves in two make-or-break elimination games in the conference tournament.

Undefeated in conference play, Rice overcame not one, but two double-digit deficits to clinch their first Conference USA Tournament Championship in school history. The win was massive, not just for head coach Tina Langley or this team, but for the university as a whole.

“We’re really proud to do that for Rice,” Langley said, “We wanted to help the basketball program be as respected as this university is… we have a tremendous university that we want to represent well.”

Langley’s comments underscore the often unspoke undercurrent of Rice athletics. It’s hard. At least to some degree, it’s hard to win at Rice. Not because of any perceivable flaw with the school or the basketball program, but because the level of excellence Rice requires of its athletes is extraordinary.

“It’s hard to be a student-athlete at Rice,” Langley went on, “to perform on the basketball court the way they are right now and also have to do the work in the classroom every day takes an exceptional student-athlete.”

That extra gear was instrumental in helping this team will themselves to victory on Saturday. Trailing by eight at halfitme, Langley didn’t resort to a generic “go get ’em” pump up speech. Instead, she gathered her team around them and point blank explained the plan. Then they went out and executed it

“We’ve always known our IQ is very high,” Langley said, knowingly. “I think when you have a team that’s very smart you can go into the locker room and say ‘okay, this is what we’re going to do. We’re fine and we’re going to make a couple of adjustments and we’re going to be okay.”

Those adjustments worked. The added aggression on offense was noticable, as was the overall change in energy after the break. The result was, quite literally, historic. Langley’s understanding of the caliber of athletes she had in her locker room was instrumental in the come from behind victory. More still, it serves as a guide for every other program at Rice. It can be done.

The highest levels of achievement can be reached, not in spite of Rice’s lofty academic standards, but because of them. It truly has to be the Rice Way.

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Rice Women’s Basketball stays perfect, wins CUSA Title

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Rice women’s basketball stayed perfect, rallying in Frisco to win the Conference USA Tournament and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

A 30 game season came down to 40 minutes on a Saturday night in Frisco. Rice needed a win in the Conference USA Basketball Tournament to secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament. They got it, but it took every ounce of grit and competitiveness they had left.

Middle Tennessee made it clear from the opening possession they would not go quietly. The Lady Raiders were the clear aggressor through the first half, making active passes to set up four three-pointers in the first quarter and an early eight-point lead.

With the Rice offense struggling out of the gate, MTSU extended their lead to as many as 10 — the same margin Rice trailed by against Western Kentucky in the semis. It wouldn’t last.

Nancy Mulkey was the most consistent player for the Owls on both sides of the ball in the first half, scoring 13 points as she racked five blocks on the other end of the floor. She would finish with 24 points, eight blocks and five rebounds. Mulkey was named CUSA Tournament MVP for her efforts.

Digging deep when it counted

Nicole Iademarco jumpstarted the offense in the second half, hitting two big threes to spur a 7-0 run for the Owls. As Iademarco keyed in from long range, Mulkey’s confidence continued to grow on the interior. She turned around and took some semi-contested shots from the edge of the paint to help spark the Rice rally.

Syden Wiggins drained a floater in the key to take the lead in the third quarter. Rice relinquished it. Middle Tennessee threatened but was never able to regain a lead they’d held for the majority of the contest despite Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike spending a considerable amount of time on the bench with foul trouble.

Ogwumike would return to the game with four fouls at the 4-minute mark of the fourth quarter. She promptly knocked down two free throws and drained a deep three, taking over when the team needed her most to secure the Owls’ first Conference USA Tournament Championship.

Survive and advance

As the confetti falls, the team can exhale and reminisce. Rice women’s basketball won an almost unbelievable amount of games this season. The 28 victories mark a program high — one of the countless records broken this season by a team which has already cemented themselves among the best in school history.

Winners of 21-straight and a perfect 19-0 against Conference USA opponents, Rice has blown past lofty preseason expectations and secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. For one day, they’ll enjoy the moment. On Monday they’ll discover who their next opponent will be. Then it’s back to business as they seek to build upon an already historic run.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls come from behind to clinch CUSA Title Game berth

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Rice women’s basketball clinched a berth in the Conference USA Tournament Championship Game, coming from behind to beat Western Kentucky.

Few teams have tested Rice like Western Kentucky did on Friday night. The 1-seed had just dispatched North Texas by 19 the day before, but looked almost mortal through the first half of the semifinal against the Hilltoppers. The Owls watched their opponents go on a 15-0 run, erasing a 5-point advantage and putting the tournament favorites in a 10-point hole.

Rice could have stumbled through the rest of that arduous second quarter. Instead they rallied, cutting the deficit to five points by the halftime buzzer. Back within reach, the second half was an entirely different story.

Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike took over. Jasmine Smith drilled a three to give Rice the lead on the final shot of the third quarter, then it really was all Owls.

Rice went on an 11-0 run, pulling away down the stretch. At one point, Ogwumike had made 10 straight points for the Owls who kept a two score margin through the fourth quarter. Western Kentucky tried to extend the game with free throws, but the result was never in doubt with Rice winning by a final score of 64-57.

Ogwumike finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Sydne Wiggins was next in scoring with 11. Although she was held without a bucket, Nicole Iademarco came through with eight rebounds.

Up Next (Bracket)

Rice will play the winner of Friday’s late tip between Middle Tennesse and UAB on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the Conference USA Tournament Championship Game. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Rice beat Middle Tennesse 60-47 on the road earlier this season. Two days later they traveled to Birmingham and topped UAB 55-43.

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Conference USA Tournament Day 2 Recap

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The Conference USA Basketball Tournament is underway at the Star in Frisco, Tx. Here’s how the second day of action played out.

And then there were eight. The quarterfinals have come to a close in Frisco and, for the most part, it’s been nearly all chalk up to this point. We’ll see if anyone can upset the status quo on Friday.

Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

1. Old Dominion def 8. Louisiana Tech, 57-56
5. UAB def 4. UTSA, 85-76
2. Western Kentucky def 10. North Texas, 67-51
3. Southern Miss def 6. Marshall, 82-73

Wrapping up Day 3

It literally took a full 40 minutes for 1-Seed Old Dominion to survive an advance, knocking off 8-Seed Louisiana Tech on a last-second three to pull ahead. The Monarchs haven’t advanced to the finals of the conference tournament as a top four seed yet, despite being the 3-seed in 2015 and 2017 and the 2-seed in 2018. 1-Seed haven’t fared well in this tournament recently, making Thursday’s scare all the more real.

Thursday Schedule

1. Old Dominion vs 5. UAB – 12:30 pm on CBS Sports Network
2. Western Kentuck vs 3. Southern Miss – 3 pm on CBS Sports Network

Conference USA Women’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

1. Rice def 9. North Texas, 61-43
4. Western Kentucky def 5. Old Dominion, 74-60
2. UAB  def 7. Charlotte, 70-55
3. MTSU def 11. UTEP, 66-44

Wrapping up Day 3

On the heels of a double-overtime game on Wednesday, the women’s bracket produced minimal excitement in the quarterfinals. All four top seed advanced, winning by double-digits.

Rice allowed North Texas to stick around for a half before pulling away late to win by a comfortable margin while MTSU took a 43-21 lead into halftime and never looked back. The action should be much closer when the conference’s best teams meet on the hardwood on Friday.

Thursday Schedule

4. Western Kentucky vs 1. Rice – 5:30 pm on Stadium
3. MTSU vs 2. UAB – 8:00 pm on Stadium

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