The source for Rice sports news

Rice Women’s Basketball: Search begins after Tina Langley’s departure

By

Rice women’s basketball is on the hunt for a new head coach. With Tina Langley moving on, where will the Owls turn next?

In a way, it came out of the blue. One Sunday afternoon, Rice women’s basketball was cutting down the nets at the WNIT. A little more than a week later Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard gathered with media on a zoom call to announce what he termed an “aggressive” search.

The search was made necessary the day prior when Washington announced the hiring of now-former Rice coach Tina Langley. After turning Rice into three-time Conference USA Champions with postseason championships in the CBI and WNIT, Langley had caught the eye of the Huskies. Now she’s headed to the Pac-12 and Rice has to start over, albeit not from scratch.

In a statement released shortly following Langley’s announcement, Karlgaard spoke to the structure Langley was leaving at South Main. “We have an incredible foundation in place for women’s basketball, including a winning program, top-notch student-athletes, strong university and alumni support, and a world-class institution,” Karlgaard said. “As we look for the next leader of our program, we are in a prime position to attract the very best coaches in college basketball to Rice University.”

Those close to the program always knew Langley was destined for bigger things. She was reportedly on the shortlist to be the successor at Duke last summer before the Blue Devils looked elsewhere. Langley and the Owls made the extra year count, ending a grueling 2021 season with a trophy. In many ways, she went out on top.

The Roost Podcast | Rice Football Spring Practice “Believe it or Not”

Langley leaves Rice women’s basketball with the highest winning percentage in program history (.673). She went 126-61 in six seasons, winning 20 or more games in her final five campaigns. She coached WNBA draft selection Erica Ogwumike and reigning three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, Nancy Mulkey.

With Langley headed West, Rice has work to do. Karglaard met with the team on Monday, shortly after Langley informed them of her departure. Now Karlgaard intends to gather further feedback from current players first then formally begin reaching out to candidates.

Karlgaard noted interest in the job “was pretty high right now” and the candidate pool would focus on coaches with “a depth of experience”, including former assistants (like Langley) and others that already had head coaching experience. Presumably, there would be more sitting head coaches interested this time around than when Langley was hired six years ago. Altogether he expects the search to last somewhere “between 10 and 20 days”, with the freedom to extend the search should it be necessary.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: 2021 Blue-Gray Spring Game Review

By

Rice football spring practice wrapped up this week with the Blue-Gray Game. Final thoughts and takeaways from the last session of the spring.

What a difference a week can make. The last update came following the final scrimmage of the spring in which the defense dominated the offense from start to finish. The reversal came true on Friday night during the annual Rice Football Blue-Gray Spring Game. The offense went on to win 48-34, holding on to a commanding first-half lead.

The offense scored on five of their first seven drives, with Wiley Green and TJ McMahon each leading a pair of touchdown drives. Then the defense took charge, limited the offense to just three scoring plays over the final 12 drives, one of which came on a 65-yard touchdown bomb from McMahon to wideout Andrew Mason.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

For those that might have missed it, you can check out the initial depth chart reactions as well as the Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 practice notebooks. Not subscribed? The Roost will have you covered every step of the way this spring and beyond. Subscribers get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball: Owls land commitment from UMass transfer Carl Pierre

By

Rice basketball has added another impactful scoring threat, picking up a commitment from UMass grad transfer Carl Pierre.

The Transfer Portal was not kind to Rice basketball last spring. No sooner had the regular season ended than was head coach Scott Pera abruptly met with an exodus of outgoing players. Pera and Co. reloaded, taking the Owls further into the Conference USA Tournament than ever before under his watch.

Set on making a return trip and going further into March, Rice hopes to add the “finishing touch” to a strong corps. To this point, only graduate Payton Moore has elected to not return to South Main next season. He’ll look to play his final year of eligibility elsewhere. His absence opens up a roster spot that Rice will move to fill quickly with former UMass guard Carl Pierre.

Pierre is a former high school teammate of current Rice Owl, Travis Evee. Although the two went their separate ways for college, they both retained the propensity for scoring. Evee finished second (to teammate Quincy Olivari) in three-point field goal percentage among all C-USA shooters. Pierre shot 33.3 percent from three last season, a mark that would have put him fifth among all C-USA players last year. He’s 38.4 percent shooter from three in his career.

The Roost Podcast | Spring practice “Believe it or Not”

Pierre leaves UMass second all-time in career three-point field goals made. He started 99 straight games for the Minutemen and should slide right into a starting spot at Rice. Given his track record and the opportunities presented by the Rice offense, the Owls very well boast three of the best distance shooters in the entire league next season.

As things currently stand, Pierre would join a starting rotation that includes Olivari, Evee, Max Fielder and Quincy Olivari. If you like scoring, you’re in luck. There won’t be a more potent offense in Conference USA. The season can’t get here soon enough.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball outlasts Ole Miss to win WNIT Championship

By

Rice women’s basketball capped off a perfect postseason on Sunday, outlasting Ole Miss to win the WNIT Championship.

Sunday marked the first-ever WNIT Championship Game appearance for Rice women’s basketball. Winners of four straight WNIT Tournament games, all by double-digits, the eager Owls arrived ready to make history.

Rice displayed the same physicality and focus they’d exemplified over the past two weeks, taking an early and extending it a little bit at a time. Lauren Schwartz sparked the Owls’ offense with 10 first quarter points, cutting and weaving through the Ole Miss defense for what seemed to be endless open shots in the lane.

The tandem of Nancy Mulkey in the paint and Schwartz on the drive proved too much for Ole Miss to handle. That early lead began to grown extending to an 11-point lead at halftime. Rice lead 34-23 at the break. All they had to do was keep up the defensive intensity and the title would be theirs.

Rice Football: Spring Practice Notebook – Week 3

Ole Miss had barely caught their breath when the second half onslaught began. Jasmine Smith got things started with a three. Then Schwartz and Mulkey continued to add to the Rice advantage. There were key contributions from Smith, Sydne Wiggins, Haylee Swayze and Katelyn Crosthwait, but the tandem of Schwartz and Mulkey proved impossible for Ole Miss to overcome.

The Rebels threatened, cutting their deficit to four points in the fourth quarter. But the Owls found that extra gear. Rice would hold on down the stretch, outscoring Ole Miss 71 to 58 to win the 2021 WNIT Championship.

Player of the Game – Nancy Mulkey

In her final career game as a Rice Owl, center Nancy Mulkey was magnificent. She scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and smacked seven blocks, one short of a season-high. . Ole Miss simply had no answer for her in the paint, and when they tried to key in on her, she’d funnel the ball to an open teammate.

Mulkey will leave Rice as one of the most productive and impactful players in program history. It’s fitting her final moments on the floor lifted her team to a championship.

Making history

And as for making history, the win marked the second time in the last four seasons that head coach Tina Langley and the Owls had won a postseason tournament. They won the WBI in 2017, defeating UNC Greensboro. Now they’ll add a WNIT Championship to their trophy case.

Rice women’s basketball is also the first team in Conference USA history to win the WNIT. Yet another first for a program that keeps winning.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball cruises past Delaware, advances to WNIT Finals

By

Nothing could stop a Rice women’s basketball program on a mission. The Owls cruised past Delaware, punching their ticket to the 2021 WNIT Championship Game.

Early in the first quarter, Rice women’s basketball was deadlocked at 12 points apiece with WNIT semi-final foe Delaware. Then the Owls, who were already shooting at a blistering pace, cranked up the intensity to another level.

Rice reeled off a 12-2 run, seven of those points coming from Sydne Wiggins, and ended the first quarter with a 10-point lead. The second quarter was all Owls. Rice extended their advantage to 18-points. This time it was Catelyn Crosthwait who led the charge. The sophomore guard scored seven of the Owls’ 18 points in that frame, giving Rice ample breathing room at the break.

Rice Football: Spring Practice Notebook – Week 3

By the midpoint of the third quarter, Rice was shooting 60 percent from the field. That pace would fade a bit down the stretch, but Delaware came nowhere near that efficiency. Jasmine Dickey led the Blue Hens with 25 points, but it took her 30 shots and nine free throw attempts to get there. Rice guard Lauren Schwartz tied Dickey in scoring but amassed her 25 points on just 12 shots and 10 free throw attempts.

Schwartz, Crosthwait and the remainder of the Owls were so efficient from the floor they didn’t require any points from center Nancy Mulkey. The senior center was held scoreless on three field goal attempts and Rice still managed to cruise to a double-digit victory. Mulkey did lead the team with 11 rebounds, three blocks and tied a career-high five assists.

Player of the Game – Katelyn Crosthwait

Crosthwait scored a career-high 20 points, contributing a team-best four three-pointers in the Owls’ semifinal victory. She was perfect from the foul line (4-of-4) and added five rebounds. Her scoring ability enabled the Owls to space the floor and open lanes for her teammates. Adding a three-point element to the Owls’ already efficient offense makes this a challenging team to beat.

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball has punched their ticket to the WNIT Championship where they’ll face Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Northern Iowa in the semifinals on Friday night. Tip time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m on Sunday, March 28.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts