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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2024

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2024 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 basketball defeats Memphis

It was a season of mixed results, but the high points were worth savoring for Rice basketball this year. Head coach Scott Pera’s team earned perhaps their most memorable win of his tenure on January 31, upsetting Memphis on the road.

9. Rice Football defeats Navy under interim coach Pete Alamar

Days removed from the dismissal of head coach Mike Bloomgren and following the second-longest rain delay in college football history, Rice football stunned the AAC by knocking off Navy, which had previously been undefeated in league play.

8. Soccer posts dominant home season

Rice soccer bounced back from a down season in 2023 in tremendous fashion, nearly completely an undefeated season at home before falling on Senior Day 1-0 to Charlotte. Nevertheless, a dominant 10-1-1 record at home was impressive after the squad went winless at Holloway Field the year prior.

7. Lots of new beginnings

This year, Rice introduced new coaches (Rob Lanier – basketball, Scott Abell – football) and new sports. The women’s diving team returned for the first time since 1991 and the Owls announced the coming addition of the women’s golf team which will debut in 2026.

6. Parker Smith drafted by hometown Houston Astros

A Houston native and multi-year Friday night ace for Rice Baseball, Parker Smith was a fourth round selection of the Houston Astros in July, the highest an Owl has been drafted since Trei Cruz went in the third round in 2020.

5. A two-fer of Tennis successes

Divna Ratkovic won the AAC women’s individual championship right at home, clinching the victory on campus at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The men’s team didn’t take home the AAC crown, but they did clinch their first trip since 2017 to the NCAA Championship as a team.

4. Genny Volpe posts 400th career win

If it feels like Volpe has been leading Rice Volleyball to successful seasons year after year for quite some time, that’s because she has. Volpe earned career win number 400 this season when the team beat Tulane in their AAC opener. All 400 of those wins have come at Rice.

3. Two podiums for Women’s Track and Field at NCAA Championships

Tara Simpson-Sullivan took home second and Mckyla Van der Westhuizen placed third in their respective events, hammer throw and javelin, at the 2024 NCAA D1 Outdoor Championships. Simpson-Sullivan broke her own school record and AAC record in the process while Van der Westhuizen delivered a personal best to reach the podium.

2. Luke McCaffrey drafted 100th overall

With the final pick of the third round, the Washington Commanders selected Rice football wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. McCaffrey became first Rice player drafted since Christian Covington in 2015 and the highest Owl drafted since Phillip Gains went in the third round to the Chiefs in 2014.

1. Rice women’s basketball wins AAC, makes NCAA Tournament

Following a tough stretch in February, 10-Seed Rice Women’s Basketball caught fire in March, running through the AAC Tournament on their way to the programs first ever AAC Tournament Championship. That earned them a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they gave 3-Seed LSU all they could handle before falling on the road.

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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Rice Women’s Basketball falters late to South Florida

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Rice Women’s Basketball lost a fourth quarter lead and the game, falling at home to preseason AAC favorite South Florida.

Rice women’s basketball came out of the gates slowly, falling behind 15-7 in the early moments of the first quarter before catching fire behind the sharp shooting of Victoria Flores — who led the team with 22 points on the day — put an exclamatory three-pointer on an 11-0 run. That shot put Rice in front by five near the end of the frame.

The game would stay close for some time after that, but Rice was able to maintain a three-point lead after one and a one-point lead at halftime. That advantage grew to as many as eight points in the third quarter, putting the Owls in a great position to notch a big conference win at Tudor Fieldhouse, but that would not come to pass.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

South Florida caught fire late, shooting 53.8 percent from the field in the fourth quarter as the Rice offense went silent. The Bulls went to the line 12 times and were able to keep the Owls off balance as their lead turned into a deficit in a matter of minutes. Rice would score just eight points in the final quarter, falling by 10 points in a that was highly contested for nearly 35 minutes.

Final Box | South Florida 74, Rice 64

Key takeaway | Fourth quarter foibles

A disturbing pattern has emerged in many of Rice Women’s Basketball’s defeats this season. Outside of a drubbing at the hands of a Top 25 Georgia Tech squad, the Owls have more or less been no worse than evenly matched against the remainder of their opponents. In many of those matchups, like in this one, they even led late in the game. The commonality? An inability to finish.

Rice led South Florida by six to start the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon. Playing even basketball down the stretch would have kept Rice in the game, at a minimum, instead, the Owls watched as the Bulls rattled off 13 straight points to open the frame, seizing a seven point lead. Before they could steady themselves, another 9-2 run essentially put the game out of reach.

The Owls made two field goals in the fourth quarter after shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor for most of the afternoon. A one-off poor quarter is understandable, but it’s hard not to notice a trend of winnable games this team has let get out of hand in the fourth quarter.

Entering the fourth quarter, Rice led South Dakota State by 13 points and lost. Rice trailed by two against Louisiana entering the fourth before losing by 10. They led Gonzaga entering the fourth and lost.

This team has the talent and the experience. Building that many fourth quarter leads isn’t possible without it. But finishing is a learned skill, and one the Owls had best figure out if they want to avoid more painful experiences like this one.

Up Next: at Tulane (Wed, 1/1)

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Rice Women’s Basketball overpowered by Georgia Tech

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Rice Women’s Basketball simply could not keep pace with a ranked Georgia Tech squad, dropping their nonconference finale on the road.

Rice women’s basketball visited Georgia Tech in the only matchup featuring a ranked team on that particular Wednesday afternoon slate. The No. 17 Yellow Jackets backed up their accolades on their home court, opening up an early lead on the Owls which they continued to lengthen as the game progressed.

Things were close in the opening frame with Rice trailing by five points following the first quarter. Georgia Tech would open the second period with three straight three-pointers, turning a close game into a 14-point deficit for Rice. The Yellow Jackets’ defense was just as fearsome as their shooting stroke, holding the Owls to 21.2 percent shooting from the floor in the first half.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Rice trailed 37-18 at the break, accounting for their fewest points scored in a first half this season. That margin proved to be a sign of things to come as Georgia Tech nearly doubled-up Rice in the third quarter, outscoring them by 12 to take a commanding 31 point lead into the fourth quarter, all but deciding the game before the final 10 minutes were played.

Final Box | Georgia Tech 88, Rice 57

Key takeaway | Measuring Stick Moments

Rice Women’s Basketball scheduled up in nonconference play. Their 7-5 record is a reflection of the quality of those opponents as much as it tells a story of where the Owls stack up against their own lofty preseason expectations.

Those opponents were meant to give Rice resume-boosting wins and Rice did grab a few, beating North Carolina A&T and Vermont. But with Wednesday’s loss to Georgia Tech — the final nonconference game of the season — Rice is running out of time to pad their resume.

Their upcoming game against South Florida is one of their last truly major games remaining on their schedule. It might also end up being their best win, if they can manage it.

Thus far, the attempt to accrue style points in nonconference play hasn’t gone according to plan. Barring an outstanding run through league play, leaping up the seeding list in the NCAA Tournament probably isn’t in the cards right now. That’s for the future Rice women’s basketball team to worry about. The current iteration has to find a way to take advantage of these last chances before they reach the thick of the AAC schedule.

Up Next: vs South Florida (Wed, 12/29)

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Rice Women’s Basketball buries Texas Southern

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Rice Women’s Basketball turned on the jets late in the second half, surging past Texas Southern in one of their most dominant wins of the season.

In front of a roaring crowd of school children on Friday morning, Rice women’s basketball jumped out to a 7-0 lead in front of intra-city foe Texas Southern at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Tigers composed themselves and fought back to within one before another Rice rally put the home team in front by 10 at the conclusion of the first quarter.

Both teams swapped scores in the second frame but the margin hung around double digits at halftime. Texas Southern put up a fight in the early portions of the third quarter but that was all the Tigers had left in the tank. Rice closed the frame on a dominant 21-5 run, taking a 23-point lead into the fourth.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Rice would go on to stretch their lead to 30 with Malia Fisher leading the Owls with 19 points and Emily Klaczek connecting on 3-of-4 from three. The 27 point win represents the largest margin of victory for Rice women’s basketball this season as the team moves to 7-4 on the year.

Final Box | Rice 89, Texas Southern 62

Key takeaway | Runaway Win

Rice women’s basketball defeating a 1-6 Texas Southern team is far from a Herculean feat. This year’s Tigers squad is not in the same weight class as the Owls, something which was quite clear on Friday. However, this is not the first time this season Rice has been head and shoulders better than their opponent.

Simply put, putting games away has been a problem for this team. They’ve been able to race out to double-digit leads with relative ease, but finding a way to turn a 10-point third quarter advantage into a 20-point fourth quarter lead has been lacking, until now.

Rice won by 27. And while margin of victory isn’t the most important statistic in the world, in this case it is instructive. The Owls found that next gear that’s eluded them to this point and that’s something that should be an encouraging sign for the program moving forward.

Up Next: at Georgia Tech (Wed, 12/18)

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Rice Women’s Basketball runs out of steam at Louisiana

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A close game got away from Rice Women’s Basketball down the stretch as the Owls fell to Louisiana on the road.

Rice Women’s Basketball found themselves in a defensive slugfest on the road against Louisiana early Saturday afternoon where points were at a premium and the score was harrowingly close for a full 40 minutes.

A 4-0 Louisiana lead to start the game proved to be just one basket shy of the largest lead by either side through the first 38 minutes. Louisiana led by three after the first quarter. The game pinballed back and forth to a 27-27 tie at halftime. Louisiana pulled back in front by two entering the fourth quarter before the game would be all tied up at 49 apiece with 5:09 to go in regulation.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Every indication suggested this one would go down to the wire. The contest featured eight ties and 12 lead changes culminating in a two-point Louisiana lead with 80 seconds to play. Then things went sideways for the Owls, who were held without a field goal for more than two minutes down the stretch while the Cajuns closed things out on an 8-0 run.

Final Box | Louisiana 64, Rice 54

Key takeaway | Not simply a player away

For the past month, it was tempting to look at this team’s offensive inconsistency and tendency to allow big leads to wither late and believe everything would be better when Malia Fisher returned to the floor. Rice Women’s basketball was victorious in her return game against Utah Tech, but the good feelings were stifled somewhat by a 10-point loss in what should have been a much closer contest against Louisiana.

If it wasn’t clear before, this team isn’t one player away from being “fixed”, whatever that was supposed to mean, anyhow.

The good news is that it’s not even the middle of December yet and Fisher is far from the version of herself she’ll hopefully be in the spring. But that same truth has to be indicative of this team, too. There’s a lot of growth that needs to happen over the next several weeks and months for them to become the juggernaut they dreamed of being this season. The AAC is a tough league and they’re not going to be handed another conference crown.

Up Next: vs Texas Southern (Fri, 12/13)

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