Rice women’s basketball took an early lead but wasn’t able to close it out, falling at home to Western Kentucky for their second straight C-USA defeat.

After a program-best 9-0 start, Rice women’s basketball’s last game before Christmas was an uncharacteristic loss to Middle Tennesee. Afterward, head coach Lindsay Edmonds was adamant it would not be the new norm.

“I’m going to remember this feeling. I hope the players remember this feeling,” she said. “We’re ready to get back to work so that we don’t feel this feeling too often.”

Early on it seemed like the team was cognizant of that warning. The Owls were at their best from the jump, outscoring WKU 26-16 in the opening quarter, but it wouldn’t be quite that easy. WKU would cut the Rice lead to one at the half, setting up a tight ballgame down the stretch.

Katelyn Crosthwait tied the game with two minutes to go on a big three-point shot. No longer staked with a double-digit lead, Rice was going to have to up their execution if they wanted to walk out of Tudor Fieldhouse with a win. Unfortunately, turnovers and missed free throws will make Rice wait at least two more days to get that ugly taste of defeat out of their mouths.

The Owls were 5-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, finishing 13-0f-21 (62 percent) at the line for the game. They turned the ball over 21 times, including twice in the final minute, marring a winnable game.

Spotlight | Kennedy Clifton

The depth of this roster continues to impress with relatively new faces emerging for big moments and big games at every turn. On Thursday night it was Kennedy Clifton’s turn to shine. She finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting (2-of-6 from three) with one rebound and one assist. On a quiet night from some of the Owls’ typical scorers, Clifton’s contributions were crucial.

Final Box | WKU 79 – Rice 74

FINAL | WKU 79 – @RiceWBB 74

After starting the season 9-0, Rice moves to 0-2 in CUSA. pic.twitter.com/KUNT42PylH

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) December 30, 2022

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball will have one last home game to close out the year, hosting UTEP on New Year’s Eve. That’s scheduled to be a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at Tudor Fieldhouse. It will be broadcast on CUSAtv.

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Rice women’s basketball falls for the first time this season, running out of time in their conference opener against Middle Tennessee.

After posting a sterling 9-0 record through non-conference play, Rice women’s basketball was thrown a tough test in their first Conference USA matchup of the season. The Owls squared off with the 7-2 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Tuesday afternoon with the winner set to climb to the top of the young conference standings.

While neither team came out of the gates shooting particularly well, Middle Tennessee was able to take an early advantage in the first quarter, leading by as many as give points before Rice battled back and finished the first frame up three thanks to a three-pointer by India Bellamy.

Dominque Ennis pushed the Owls’ advantage further in the second, making back-t0-back threes of her own to put Rice up seven before MTSU fought to close the gap to five at halftime. Rice would lead by as many as eight in the third until Middle Tennessee found its shooting stroke. They chipped into the Rice lead through the first before an 11-0 run put Rice firmly in comeback mode in the fourth quarter.

Following a four-minute scoring drought, Rice slowly began to climb back into contention. Ashlee Austin hit a jumper followed soon afterward by eight consecutive makes from the charity stripe as the Owls tied the game with 1:35 to play. Ultimately a Middle Tennesee three followed by a costly Rice turnover would be the difference as Rice found the loss column for the first time this season.

“Wins and losses do definitely happen,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said after the game. “It’s how we respond to this. Do we lay down? Or do we punch back at our next game and say, this is who rice women’s basketball is?”

Rice will play Middle Tennesee again in January, getting another crack at the Blue Raiders in the not-too-distant future.

Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher has developed a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Whether it was a key rebound or a decisive play to the basket, Fisher was everywhere down the stretch, scoring 11 of her team-leading 18 points in the fourth quarter. She also added six rebounds and two assists. This was the third time this season Fisher reached 18 points.

Final Box | MTSU 74 – Rice 68

FINAL | MTSU 74 – @RiceWBB 68

Owls find the loss column for the first time this season. pic.twitter.com/eTfYupmqYv

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) December 20, 2022

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball will take a brief holiday break over the course of the next week before they return to conference play towards the end of the year. They’ll host games against Western Kentucky (Thur, Dec. 29), and UTEP (Sat, Dec. 31).

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Rice women’s basketball edged out crosstown rival Houston in a double-overtime thriller, moving to 8-0 on the season and 4-0 at home.

After victories over TCU and Texas A&M, Rice women’s basketball entered Saturday’s contest against Houston with eyes on a non-conference Lone Star sweep. It wouldn’t be easy, but the Owls would eventually prevail, taking down Houston in double overtime.

Rice would be tested from the start. Hoston scored first and opened up a seven-point lead in the first five minutes of play. Both teams would exchange baskets through the remainder of the first quarter as the Owls cut their deficit down to one point near the beginning of the second frame. That was when Houston made their run.

The Cougars went on a 9-0 sprint, opening up a 10-point lead, the largest by either team in the game. Rice went into halftime trailing by double-digits and in need of a spark to maintain their perfect record.

That second-half spark came in the form of Destiny Jackson. The senior guard exploded down the stretch, scoring 12 points in the third and fourth quarters. She knocked each of her four shots from the field in that time and was perfect on four free throw attempts.

Rice trimmed their 10-point deficit down to two in the third quarter and took the lead for the very first time with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Owls would have a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but a Malia Fisher runner in the lane bounced off the irons and the game went to overtime.

Emotions were rampant in the extra minutes. Rice had three players foul out (Malia Fisher, Katelyn Crosthwait and Trinity Gooden). Houston lost two to fouls (Tatyana Hill and Kamryn Jones). All that would matter though, was how the team finished on the court.

An Austin three-pointer followed by a pair of free throws from Jackson gave Rice an 8-point lead in the second overtime. That proved to be a large enough advantage as Rice thwarted one final attempt at the buzzer to secure the win, the first overtime victory of head coach Lindsay Edmon’s career.

“Every win is a great win. Overtime wins are great because that gives you the confidence that, if we’re in this position again, we can say, ‘hey we’ve done this before,” Edmonds said. “Every win is a great man. I’m really excited about us protecting home court again and just taking care of business.”

Spotlight | Destiny Jackson

Jackson scored a season-high 33 points on Saturday, leading all scorers in the game. Through much of the game, it felt like she couldn’t miss, converting on 12-of-14 shots, her highest shooting percentage in a game in which she took more than two shots this season.

“Her teammates believe in her. I believe in her and she believes in herself. And I think that is just an unbelievable thing to have. As a point guard at her size, her ability to score the basketball but also find her teammates when she needs to. I thought she did a tremendous job,” Edmonds said.

“She’s a really hard matchup at point guard and when she has her mindset that she can get to the rim, she can get to the rim as much as she wants.”

Regulation would have been enough to reach her season-best, but her contributions in overtime were massive. She also added seven rebounds and five assists, the latter of which led the team.

Final Box | Rice 91 – Houston 88 (2OT)

FINAL | @RiceWBB 91 – UH 88

Owls move to 8-0 with a double OT win. pic.twitter.com/92jmrOTyHz

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) December 10, 2022

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has a string of home games coming up that runs through the end of the year. They’ll host Sam Houston on Friday, Dec. 16 in their final non-conference game before entering conference play with games against Middle Tennessee (Tues, Dec. 20), Western Kentucky (Thur, Dec. 29), and UTEP (Sat, Dec. 31).

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