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Rice Women’s Basketball Surges Past UT-Arlington

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A close game at halftime turned into a blowout midway through the third quarter as Rice women’s basketball posted another home win, this time over UT-Arlington.

In front of stands of chattering youngsters at Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday morning, Rice women’s basketball notched yet another win. The Owls made things interesting in the early moments, missing their first six field goals and allowing UT-Arlington to go ahead 6-0, despite the Owls holding the Mavericks to a 3-for-17 start from the field.

That defense would pay off, though. Rice quickly retook the lead and kept the margin at a couple of possessions through the second quarter and into halftime. Aniah Alexis contributed 13 of the Owls’ first-half points, playing all 20 minutes as she paced the team on both ends of the court.

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When the second half arrived, Rice women’s basketball took over. Shelby Hayes helped spark a decisive Rice run to put the home team up by double-digits. The lead would only grow from there. A jumper from Hayes in the early moments of the fourth quarter put Rice up by 21, allowing the Owls to empty the benches and cruise to a comfortable victory.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 8-3 on the season and 5-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 75, UT Arlington 54

Key takeaway | Toughness Wins

This isn’t the first runaway win Rice women’s basketball has posted this season, but each victory has had its own unique flavor. Against UT-Arlington, Rice was able to use its physicality to dictate the game, wearing their opponent down through the course of the game and getting to the line 30 times, just the third time this season they’ve had at least that many free throw attempts.

But it’s those extra foul shots combined with a double-digit advantage in the rebounding department that turned this game into a rout. Rice has only had a rebounding margin this large on one other instance this season, against Illinois State, a game they won.

So much focus has been given to the developing offense this year, and rightly so, but this team already has the tools to get to the line and win under the basket. Becoming even more consistent on that front could make this squad truly lethal on days the offense is firing on all cylindars, too.

Up Next: vs UT Arlington (Fri. Dec. 12 at 11:15 am)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Pummels UNLV at Home

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Dominique Ennis became the program’s leading three-point shooter as Rice women’s basketball rocketed past UNLV for a big home win.

Hailey Adams knocked down a jumper to open the scoring and then it sure looked as if Rice women’s basketball would be off to the races. The Owls scored the contest’s first seven points and opened the game on a 13-4 run only to watch that double-digit advantage dwindled in a matter of minutes in the second quarter.

UNLV would fight back, taking the lead with a 19-5 run of their own and daring Rice to recover. Dominique Ennis responded with a back-to-back threes. She would hit six during the game, officially becoming the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers made.

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Victoria Flores added a triple of her own to close out the half before Ennis opened the third quarter with another deep make. That’s when the Rebels’ resolve seemed to run out.

A barrage of threes and free throws quickly extended the Owls’ advantage. Rice would lead by 23 at the end of the third quarter, pulling in front by as many as 28 points in the fourth and final frame. The three ball kept UNLV at a distance and helped clinch another home victory.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 7-3 on the season and 4-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 75, UNLV 50

What They’re Saying

What a game. What a 40 minutes by our young ladies. I am so proud of them. From start to finish we played a complete basketball game. We dominated on both ends of the floor. We had a different look in our eyes and were exactly the team that I knew we were capable of. So thankful that that group showed up today. This is a major win on our home court. We protected home, with Dom and Vic leading the way, along with others. It was just an awesome 40 minutes, and I am very proud. – Rice Women’s Basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Showing Up More

Following an impressive fourth quarter finish to pull away from Sam Houston on Wednesday, head coach Lindsay Edmonds made it clear that she was “Excited to see that team show up more.” While it wasn’t a flawless four quarters for Rice on Saturday — things got pretty hairy in the second — it was absolutely more of that high-quality version Rice women’s basketball than we saw over the first couple of weeks of the season.

One good quarter against Sam Houston turned into three good quarters against UNLV. That was enough to blow out the Rebels, who entered the game 5-3 with win over UTSA and Creighton as well a narrow loss to No. 7 Baylor. And Rice smoked them.

If Wednesday showed this version of the team exists, Saturday proved their is enough of it to rely on for more than sporadic high points. This team’s ceiling exists and they might just be starting to discover it.

Up Next: vs UT Arlington (Fri. Dec. 12 at 11:15 am)

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Big Fourth Quarter Propels Rice Women’s Basketball ast SHSU

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Rice women’s basketball battled through three close quarters before blowing the game open with a big fourth quarter run to take down Sam Houston at home.

Sam Houston entered their Wednesday night game with Rice women’s basketball 5-1, but largely untested to this point. The Owls were quickly forced to reckon with the quality of their opponent, falling behind 5-0 after the opening tip. Rice would close out the first quarter trailing by six, not truly finding their offensive rhythm until the midpoint of the second quarter.

A three from Louann Battiston jump started a five-minute rally in which the Owls outscored the Bearkats 14-4, turning a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead. Sam Houston would cut the gap to three just before halftime.

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The lead flipped four times in the third quarter. Then, with Rice leading by just one point in the opening minute of the final frame, the Owls’ deep shooting finally started to connect. The Owls hit more three pointers in the fourth quarter (five) than they did in the first three quarters, turning a razor-thin contest into one with a 15-point cushion in the final minute.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 66, SHSU 50

What They’re Saying

Key takeaway | Finding that Fourth Quarter

The Owls’ fourth quarter box score was immaculate. Rice women’s basketball shot 64 percent from the field, out-rebounded Sam Houston 11-4 and had three steals and two blocks. It was one of the best 10 minute stanzas this team has played all season.

“That fourth quarter outing was what I expect from my team,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “I’m excited to see that team show up more.”

When asked how Edmonds plans to get her team to replicate that performance, Edmonds pointed toward the growth her team has experienced so far this season and how much more poised they’re playing compared to this time last year.

“I don’t expect us to be, right now, as good as we’re going to be in March. We’re going to continue to get better. It’s their job to continue to get better. It’s my job to continue to get us better. And we will,” Edmonds said. “We will continue working on it. Every day I feel like we’ve done something better. I’m proud of that growth. I’m proud of where we’re at.”

Up Next: vs UNLV (Sat. Dec. 6 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Volleyball Earns 7-Seed opens vs Florida in NCAA Tournament

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Officially NCAA Tournament bound, Rice women’s basketball heard their name called in the NCAA Volleyball selection show on Sunday night.

Rice Volleyball (21-9) continues its impressive season with a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls earned a No. 7 Seed on Selection Sunday. They will head to Dallas, Texas to play Florida on Friday, Dec. 5 at 4:00 p.m. CT. Should they win, they’d play the winner of a matchup between 2-Seed SMU and Central Arkansas on Saturday.

American Conference regular season Champions, Rice won 17 consecutive games before falling to Tulsa in the American Conference Tournament Championship. Taylor Preston and Arissa Smith were named to the American All-Tournament team in recognition of their stellar performances.

This will be the Owls’ ninth NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Genny Volpe and their first since 2022.

The Owls’ regional looks like this:

Should Rice volleyball advance out of Dallas, they’d face the winner of the quartet including 3-Seed Purdue, Wright State, 6-Seed Baylor and Arkansas State. First things first, Rice will focus their attention on Florida.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Rice Women’s Basketball Drops Nailbiter to UCF

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Rice women’s basketball dropped a nailbiter to UCF in the Owls’ final game of the Puerto Rico Shootout. closing out the week 2-1.

The final Rice women’s basketball game at the Puerto Rico Shootout went down to the wire with the resilient Owls trailing for a large portion of the contest, but never backing allowing themselves to fall out of striking distance.

Aniah Alexis led all scorers with nine first-half points, keeping the margin close. She sank four free throws in the middle of the second quarter to cull a nine-point deficit and get the Owls back within four points at halftime.

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That basket or two deficit stretched into the fourth quarter before Rice mounted a final offensive. A three from Dominque Ennis and subsequent jumper from Victoria Flores gave the Owls their first lead since the early moments of the second quarter. Knights’ guard Leah Harmon would answer with seven straight points of her own, surviving a late three from Shelby Hayes to edge the Owls by one.

Rice women’s basketball falls to 5-3 on the season and 3-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | UCF 57, Rice 56

Key takeaway | We Have a Hayes

The emergence of Shelby Hayes in Puerto Rico was by far the most significant happening for Rice women’s basketball this week. The Owls have needed another key piece to rely on given their offseason attrition. Hayes came through in a big way in the comeback against Illinois State and Friday’s battle with UCF.

Hayes has scored in double figures in five of her last six games, the lone exception being the Morgan State blowout where her services weren’t required because of the lopsided score and she only played 17 minutes. She’s become a versatile, go-to piece in the offense that should continue to pay dividends for the Owls as the season progresses.

Up Next: vs Sam Houston (Wed. Dec. 3 at 5:30 pm)

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