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Rice Women’s Basketball Dispatches UAB at Home

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Rice women’s basketball took care of business at home, riding a dominant fourth quarter to a win over UAB to maintain a perfect record at home.

It took less than five minutes of action for Rice women’s basketball to make it abundantly clear they were on a different level of the playing field from UAB. The Blazers were winless in conference play when they arrived in Houston and the Owls — the only squad not to drop a conference game thus far — has no intentions of swapping sides of the ledge on Wednesday night.

Rice raced out to an 11-0 lead before UAB could find their footing. The Blazers were able to battle back and make things competitive, closing the gap to a single score on a few occasions, but they were never able to force a tie, let alone threaten to take the lead.

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The Owls took an eight point lead into the fourth quarter and from there the rout began. Rice outscored UAB 24-12 across the final 10 minutes, led by a pair of morale crushing three-pointers from Dominique Ennis. The lead would grow to as many as 21 points before UAB’s final whimper from the free throw line resulted in a 20-point win.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 14-3 on the season and remains a perfect 8-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 76, UAB 56

Key takeaway | Finishing with Free Throws

For as good as Rice women’s basketball was on the boards on Wednesday night, their dominance on the free throw line was absolutely crucial in the outcome of this game. Shooting can be fickle and fouls can vary wildly from game to game, but free throws are just that: free. Rice knows that better than just about anyone else.

The Owls entered the game tops in the American Conference in free throw percentage, knocking down 81.3 percent of their attempts on the season. A perfect 12-for-12 evening from the charity stripe against UAB will only raise that number. That’s the kind consistency that pays dividends in March.

Up Next: at North Texas (Sat. Jan. 17 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Crushes Charlotte

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Rice women’s basketball has won a lot of games this year, but few of them were less eventful than the contest they played against Charlotte on Wednesday night. Even though Rice trailed by as many as six points in the early moments of the second quarter the red-hot shooting of Louanne Battiston made it clear the home team wouldn’t be behind for long.

When Rice finally regained the lead midway through the second quarter they were off to the races. An 11-point halftime lead snowballed to 27 as the third quarter began to wind down. By the time the fourth arrived, both sides knew the game way over.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Most of the starters were off the floor by the final media timeout, save for Battiston who earned the right to finish the game after her tremendous 20-point outburst, which included four three-pointers plus a block and a steal.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 13-3 on the season and 7-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 84, Charlotte 59

Key takeaway | The Best Kind of Boring

Rice women’s basketball did not win a single game by double digits in their first six games. Granted, there were some tough opponents in that stretch, but even the games the Owls’ controlled were closer calls than they might have liked. That switch flipped in Puerto Rico, though.

Even with a one point loss to UCF accounted for, Rice has won seven of their last 10 games by 16 or more points, leading up to Wednesday’s 25-point blowout. They’ve won nine of 10 and look to be in cruise control for the first time this season.

Good teams find ways to win. Great teams never let the other team have a chance. The Owls are looking to prove they’re in the latter group. More wins like this will help that cause.

Up Next: vs UAB (Wed. Jan. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Outlasts Florida Atlantic

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Shots were falling for both teams on Saturday as Rice Women’s Basketball made the trip to Boca Raton for a battle with one of the American Conference’s other Owls. The hosting Florida Atlantic Owls took an early lead, which would last for a matter of minutes before a three-pointer from Dominque Ennis put the visitors in front for the first time. Rice would never trail again.

A 10-0 run in the second quarter looked like it would give Rice the cushion to coast to the finish, but Florida Atlantic began the third quarter with a 7-0 run of their own to get their deficit back to one point. Try as they might, Rice was never able to build a lead that was truly comfortable until the final minutes of the contest.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Already ahead by nine, Victoria Flores delivered the finishing blow with a layup (and one) and a three to put Rice ahead by 15 with a little less than two minutes to play. Florida Atlantic made one last push, but the home Owls had run out of time and Rice hung on to win.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 12-3 on the season and 6-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 83, Florida Atlantic 75

Key takeaway | Taking Care of the Basketball

Both teams shot better than 49 percent from the floor on Saturday and made a combined 19 three-pointers. Scoring was a constant and defensive stops were few and far between. The difference was how well the Owl took care of the ball. Rice turned the rock over 13 times, the majority of which occurred during a sloppy stretch in the second quarter when they gave the ball away seven times.

Florida Atlantic committed 19 turnovers, proving to be a bit more slippery-handed than Rice. That six turnover delta proved significant. Rice outscored Florida Atlantic 21-11 off turnovers. They won the game by eight.

Up Next: vs Charlotte (Wed. Jan. 7 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Stuns South Florida on the Road

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Rice women’s basketball opened up conference play with a statement win, taking down American Conference frontrunner South Florida on the road.

Rice Women’s Basketball set the tone quickly in the opening minutes against preseason American conference favorite South Florida on Tuesday night. The Owls opened the game on an 8-2 run, but the hosts would equalize a few possessions later. Then the game was on.

The two sides traded leads six times in the remainder of the first quarter. While each team would have a spurt of offensive success, the Owls’ one-upped an 8-0 South Florida run with a 12-0 run of their own to push the lead to double-digits, the first such advantage for either side to that point.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Rice led by six at the half and maintained a modest advantage through the third quarter before having their chance to run away with a thunderous 11-0 run but try as they might, they couldn’t put South Florida away.

After trailing for almost all of the second half, the Bulls took their first lead after halftime with 2:09 to play on the heels of a 9-0 rally. Down by one on their final possession, Shelby Hayes knocked down a short jumper to go back in front. Rice made one more defensive stand to complete the massive road win.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 11-3 on the season and 5-3 away Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 70, South Florida 68

Key takeaway | Top Dog

South Florida received 11 of the 13 first place votes in the American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. UTSA got one. Rice got the other. With one conference game in the books in 2025, the Owls have officially made their bid to be considered the conference’s top dog.

Rice and South Florida aren’t strangers to each other on the hardwood. The Bulls won all three matchups last season including the conference tournament championship game last March. For Rice to get revenge on the road in both team’s first game of the conference slate sets the tone for the remainder of the year to come.

This win will go down as one of Edmond most impressive at South Main to this point. And as far as this season goes, Rice had won nine of their last 10 and proven themselves dangerous on both sides of the court. And if you asked Edmonds, their best might still be to come.

Up Next: at Florida Atlantic (Sat. Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)

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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2025

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2025 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice Football defeats Louisiana in Scott Abell’s debut

On the road as double-digit underdogs against a team that played for a conference championship the season prior, Abell’s track record of overcoming tall odds got off to a tremendous start. The new-look offense did just enough as the defense slammed the door to secure a program-defining debut win in a season in which every victory mattered.

9. Rice Women’s Basketball upsets 1-Seed UTSA in Conference Tournament

These Owls were made for March, it seems. Following a disappointing regular season in which the program had to settle for the No. 9 Seed, Rice knocked off top-seeded UTSA in the quarterfinals on their way to a second consecutive championship game appearance.

8. Rice Soccer finishes runner-up in American Conference Tournament

Sticking with the theme of postseason runs, Rice soccer nearly capped off a strong 10-4-6 season with an NCAA Tournament berth, but fell just short in the championship game, dropping a 1-0 decision to Rice. Still, a penalty kick win over South Florida in the semifinals proved thrilling.

7. Rice Baseball hires David Pierce midseason

In an unprecedented move, Rice fired head coach Jose Cruz Jr. and hired David Pierce, all in the matter of a few weeks. Pierce got right to work, starting midseason and guiding the Owls to a .500 finish over his last 20 games of the season — Rice had a .190 winning percentage before he arrived.

6. Rice Football beats UConn in 20T

The theory entering the year was that the uniqueness of the gun option system would give Rice football an element of surprise at least once, leading to an upset of a team oddsmakers projected to be much better than the Owls on paper. It turns out that came against a surprising nine-win UConn team. Rice rallied from a modest halftime deficit to stun the Huskies with a walk-off touchdown by Quinton Jackson in double overtime.

5. Rice Men’s Tennis takes home two titles

The men’s tennis program hit an upswing this year, securing multiple titles along the way. The team won the American Conference Championship as a team, defeating host (and No. 2 Seed) Memphis. They also took the doubles crown with the tandem of Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro defeating No. 2 Seed Charlotte’s top pair in the title match.

4. Rice Swimming and Diving Conf. Champ.

A year ago, Rice added diving to its portfolio of NCAA sponsored sports. The thinking at the time was that the Owls could be title contenders if they played with the full allotment of resources permitted. Fast-forward to 2025 and Rice did indeed win it all, clinching a conference championship in Swimming and Diving for the first time since 2013-2014.

3. Rice Volleyball wins 17 in a row enroute to NCAA Tournament

It took a few weeks to get going as the Owls battled it out with a vigorous non-conference schedule, but once conference play arrived, Rice volleyball was hard to beat. The Owls won 17 consecutive matches, clinching an American Conference Tournament Championship and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they would eventually lose to Florida.

2. Rice Football goes bowling

As recently as 24 hours before selection day, the odds of Rice football going bowling seemed slim. Then Kansas State opted out that Sunday morning and Rice football was Armed Forces Bowl bound. Abell made it clear he doesn’t want to get in on APR again, but he’s happy for the extra opportunity for his program and the Owls are heading to Fort Worth with the intention of bringing home a trophy.

1. Gateway Project announced

The announcement of The Gateway Project, a transformative commitment by Rice University to its football program and its athletic institutions made waves on a national scale. The project, scheduled to be completed prior to the 2028 season, will see Rice Stadium fully renovated and a new gateway to Rice Village installed.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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