The source for Rice sports news

Rice Women’s Basketball run ends in AAC Championship loss to USF

By

Midnight finally came for No. 9 Seed Rice Women’s Basketball, who saw their incredible run end in a loss to USF in the AAC Tournament Championship Game.

Sussy Ngulefac was the stabilizing force that did everything she could to keep the 2024-2025 Rice Women’s Basketball season alive. Following a quieter set of games earlier in the AAC Tournament, Ngulefac scored eight of the Owls’ first 10 points in the Championship Game and was the only counterpunch Rice had early for an explosive South Florida attack.

South Florida knocked down a trio of threes in the first quarter — Rice wouldn’t hit a single three until the final minutes — to go in front by six after one quarter. They’d grow that lead to 11 at halftime and as many as 15 points midway through the third frame.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

It was Malia Fisher who helped engineer the Owls’ comeback bid. Last season’s Championship Game MVP, Fisher scored 17 points and grabbed six boards, propelling Rice back into the game and cutting the deficit to five points midway through the fourth quarter. The Owls wouldn’t get closer than that, though.

Rice Women’s Basketball season comes to an end one game short of a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament at 17-17 overall and 7-11 in conference play

Final Box | USF 69, Rice 62

Highlights

What They’re Saying | Press Conference

Key takeaway | Evaluating an unexpected season

Properly remembering the 2024-2025 Rice women’s basketball season is going to come with its challenges. On one hand, the team drastically underperformed their preseason expectations from November through February.

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds and her team opened the year talking about NET rankings and improving upon their tournament seeding, only to tumble down the standings and finish as a No. 9 Seed in the conference tournament. Yes, a step above the No. 10 Seed line the Owls had when they cut down the nets a year ago, but a far cry from NCAA caliber… or was it?

If the Owls get a better start or avoid a season-worst shooting performance from three, that same underperforming team would be going back to the Big Dance. That’s quite a turnaround from where things began.

“I think it’s no secret we didn’t have the overall season that we wanted to have from the expectations of where we finished last season to how we wanted to start the season, how we wanted to start the conference play. But I think, again, it just matters of how much this team bought into we are here [at the AAC Tournament and] now it’s 0-0 and best team will win,” Edmonds said. “and we came out trying to do whatever it took to keep playing and to continue playing.

“It just goes to the grittiness and the toughness of our team. We let the losses fall away from January and February. We weren’t worried about those. We were just worried about the present. We were where our feet were and we were trying to be the best Rice women’s basketball team that we could be.”

That version of the Owls looked a lot like the preseason No. 2 team, which many expected to take the court this season. Edmonds’s job now is to determine why that team waited until crunch time to show up and how she can expedite that process without five departing seniors.

The reality is, this year was messy, but nearly came together in a storybook run. There is always plenty of good and bad in a season like this. Figuring out how to sort one from the other and move on is the difference between fun weeks in Fort Worth and a team set up for success in the long run. The Owls and Edmonds certainly hope to be back here a year from now as an established squad they believe they’re capable of growing into, not another Cinderella.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball soars past Temple in AAC Tourney Semis

By

No. 9 Seed Rice Women’s Basketball never looked like the underdog, blowing past No. 4 Seed Temple to advance to the AAC Tournament Championship Game.

Rice women’s basketball looked much more like the defending American Conference Tournament Champs than the Cinderella their seed suggested they should be. The No. 9 Seed Rice Owls absorbed the first blow from No. 4 Seed Temple, closing the first quarter on a 13-4 as they took the lead and started to grow it.

Rice held Temple to just four field goals in the second quarter, stretching their advantage to as many as 10 points in the first half. Temple did not hit a three in the first half — they were shutout from deep in the second half, as well — and lost the rebounding battle before break, a focal point for the underdog Rice all season long.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

The onslaught continued after halftime. Rice opened the third quarter with seven straight points, catapulting the lead back to double-double digits, where it would stay for the remainder of the game. Temple trailed by 15 after three quarters and by as many as 20 points midway through the fourth. Temple was never able to claw back because they weren’t able to score.

Temple finished below 50 points for just the second time all season, the first coming in December against No. 15 West Virginia.

“Our defense was incredible. We hung our hat on our defense,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said,.” [We] held them to 31 percent [shooting]. They’re a great team, but I think it just shows how great our defense was tonight.”

Malia Fisher, the MVP of the 2024 AAC Tournament, led all scorers with 18 points and had nine rebounds. Aniah Alexis continued her strong postseason performance with another double-digit scoring output, adding 14 points of her own to the cause.

Final Box | Rice 67, Temple 49

Highlights

What They’re Saying | Press Conference

Key takeaway | Saving Their Best for Last

Rice women’s basketball has won three straight games in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating UAB, UTSA and Temple in successive days to improve to 7-0 in this tournament in program history.

Despite the Owls’ success in Fort Worth dating back to last year, this season’s squad never won more than two consecutive games against conference opponents in the regular season. To think they’ve be able to do this, and do it in such emphatic fashion, is extraordinary.

A season ago, Rice benefited from someone else defeating the No. 1 seed and beat then No. 3 Seed Temple by three. This time Rice took down the top seed and they followed it up by No. 4 Seed Temple by 18.

“I about how we’ve been here before and knowing that we’re very capable of doing what needs to be done,” Malia Fisher remarked, referencing how she and the team stay focused during such a strenuous run. “We just built off each other’s energy,” Aniah Alexis added.

This sets the Owls up for a winner-take-all game tomorrow with the chance to reach consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history. The method has certainly been unconventional. This entered the season as a top pick in the conference standings before limping into March. Coach Edmonds certainly hopes they have one more win in them.

“I think we just keep doing what we’re doing right now. We are playing with a lot of energy. We’re playing with a lot of emotion. We’re playing like we’re not ready for it to be over with,” she said. “It’s great to get to the championship but now we have one more that we got to be able to get in order to be getting back into the big dance, and that’s obviously the goal.”

Up Next: AAC Championship vs Winner of No. 2-Seed North Texas vs No. 3-Seed South Florida

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s basketball upsets UTSA, on to AAC Semis

By

Rice Women’s Basketball remains undefeated in AAC Tournament games, improving to 6-0 all time with an upset of 1-Seed UTSA.

After playing UTSA close in a pair of regular season contests, Rice women’s basketball entered their AAC Tournament quarterfinal with hopes that the third time would be the charm. While the Roadrunners led for most of the first quarter, the Owls rattled off a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into halftime.

Rice would maintain that advantage throughout the third quarter, leaning on a couple of well-timed threes from Dominque Ennis to keep UTSA at arm’s length. A free throw from Sussy Ngulefac pushed the Owls’ lead to nine, their largest of the afternoon to that point, in the closing moments of the third.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

UTSA collected themselves in the changeover before the final frame began, opening the scoring with eight straight to claw back within a single point. Onlookers collectively drew in deep breaths, wondering if a fourth quarter collapse was looming or if the resilient March-tested version of Rice women’s basketball would emerge in a do-or-die moment. It was the latter.

A jumper from Aniah Alexis, sandwiched between a pair of threes from Victoria Flores turned a one-score game upside down. Up by nine points with 1:41 to play, the Owls were able to lean on their defense, knock down a few free throws, and walk away from the court with the biggest upset of the AAC Tournament thus far.

Final Box | Rice 62, UTSA 58

What They’re Saying | Post Game Press Conference

Key takeaway | Tournament Owls

Rice is undefeated in AAC Tournament games. That streak will end at some point, probably. UConn managed never to lose an AAC Tournament game, but barring historic dominance, a loss in the AAC Tournament will come. Rice is just hoping that eventual defeat holds off a while longer.

“There was a different aura about us, a different walk about us, a different talk about us,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said, reflecting on her program’s ability to flip a switch and play their best basketball in these do-or-die moments. “So “maybe it is a thing. Whatever it is, I want to bottle it up and I want to keep going for two more.”

Or, more succinctly in the words of an assistant coach to the team this week, “The Tournament Owls are back.

The version of Rice women’s basketball that took the court against UTSA on Monday afternoon sure looked like the one that was promised months ago. The team that talked about seedings and NCAA Tournament expectations had the talent and the swagger to take down a team that was receiving votes in the NCAA Top 25. But for whatever the reason, that team hasn’t shown up very often this season. Not until now.

“I think winning [the conference tournament- last year, we’ve taken a lot of that mentality. We know how to win. We know what it takes to come from the bottom and finish on the top,” she said. “We’re trying to bottle up that experience and take it with us now and finish with a ring.”

It might have been easy to look past the version of Rice women’s basketball that struggled through January and February. However, nobody is looking past the Owls right now who stand two wins away from an improbable return to the Big Dance.

Up Next: AAC Tournament Winner of 12-Seed Charlotte vs 4-Seed Temple

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball surges past UAB at AAC Tournament

By

Rice Women’s Basketball finished off an early lead with a dominant fourth quarter run to extend their season and defeat UAB in the American Conference Tournament.

UAB got out of the gates in a hurry in the first game of a full four-game Sunday slate at Dickies Arena, the hosting venue for the bulk of the 2025 American Conference Tournament. The eight-seed Blazers took a 10-3 over Rice Women’s Basketball as the Owls struggled to get their shots to fall in the opening minutes of the contest.

Rice would close the quarter on a 7-0 run to bring the score even at 15 apiece before building themselves a modest lead at halftime, furthered by a buzzer-beating three from Malia Fisher as the clock expired before the break. Fisher’s three put Rice up by eight and while UAB would inch closer in the third quarter, Rice was able to maintain a healthy lead and enter the final frame up by nine.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Defense

UTSA scored the first four points in the fourth quarter to get back within five but that was the moment Rice women’s basketball seized control and never looked back. Rice scored 12 unanswered points, turning a close game into a relatively comfortable win to survive an advance to the next round of the American Conference Tournament.

Final Box | Rice 76, UAB 63

What They’re Saying

I’m just incredibly proud of our group. Grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Conference Tournament. Grateful to get the first win. I thought we had a very well balanced attack and it was everything that we needed to make sure that we get this first win. – Rice women’s Basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Finding that fourth quarter fight

Closing out games has been the Achilles heel for Rice women’s basketball this season. So many fourth quarter leads have evaporated in the matter of minutes dropping the Owls down the standings all the way to the No. 9 seed.

There was a moment on Sunday afternoon when it felt like that nagging pain would resurface for one final, fateful time. UAB opened the fourth quarter on a quick 4-0 run, cutting a nine-point deficit down to five to get back within striking distance with a full quarter remaining.

Rather than fold, Rice rallied. The Owls rattled off 12 unanswered points, catapulting themselves to a 17-point lead, their largest of the game. That furious rally is what this team has been missing all too often this season. If they can showcase that fight just a few more times they’ll have a real chance to keep their season alive a few more days and replicate last year’s historic run.

“We start the year saying that are season is three seasons, non-conference, conference and then the conference tournament is our third season. It was 0-0 before today, the wins and the losses didn’t matter. We wanted to come out and be the best team that we could be today and get the first win. We talked about last year. We talked about the run that we had,” Edmonds said.

“Last year was incredible and we want to feel that again, but nobody is going to hand it to us. We got to make sure that we go and take it every single day. We need to be hungry for the wins that we need here.”

The task doesn’t get any easier, though. Rice draws No. 1 Seed UTSA in their next game. The Roadrunners edged the Owls’ 57-55 a few weeks ago on Senior Day.

Up Next: AAC Tournament (vs 1-Seed UTSA | Monday, March 10 at 12:00 PM CT)

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

Recent Posts

2025 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview

By

The 2025 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off in DFW this week. Here’s a preview of the action.

The Favorite: UTSA

Sitting at 26-3 overall and a staggering 17-1 in conference play, UTSA hasn’t lost a game since January and their only loss in the state of Texas, where the 2025 AAC Tournament will be played, came in their opening game at Texas A&M. With no guarantees the Roadrunners will receive an at-large bid, this team should be plenty motivated to finish what they started and a tournament championship to their regular season title.

The Contenders: North Texas, South Florida

South Florida has been to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four years and was the only AAC squad to beat UTSA in the regular season. As for North Texas, the Mean Green tied their own program record this season with 23 victories. Either might be a front runner in a typical season and each is perfectly capable of taking home the title this year.

The Dark Horse: Tulsa

Winners of the regular season championship a year ago, Tulsa finished fifth in the standings this time around but is playing their best basketball right now. The Golden Hurricane have won their last five games, including a victory over South Florida at home. If there’s a good bet outside of the upper tier of the standings, Tulsa is the pick.

The Wild Card: Rice

It was only a season ago that 10-Seed Rice ripped off four straight victories in this tournament to punch a their ticket to the Big Dance. This year’s squad has faced similar regular season struggles, but retains the core pieces like Malia Fisher, Dominque Ennis and Sussy Ngulefac who made last season’s run possible. Can lightning strike twice?

The Bracket

The opening play-in game will take place on Saturday, March 8, with first full day of action set for Sunday, March 9. Here is the slate for the first two days. The full schedule is available on the conference website. All early-round games can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship on ESPNU.

First Round | Saturday, March 8 (Super Pit in Denton, TX)

Game 1: No. 13 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 12 Charlotte – 12 p.m. CT

Second Round | Sunday, March 9 (Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX)

Game 2: No. 9 Rice vs. No. 8 UAB – 12 p.m. CT
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 Tulsa – 2 p.m. CT
Game 4: No. 10 Memphis vs. No. 7 East Carolina – 6 p.m. CT
Game 5: No. 11 Wichita State vs. No. 6 Tulane – 8 p.m. CT

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

Recent Posts