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The Roost Podcast | Ep 106 – Pressing questions for Rice Football this spring

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Rice Football spring practices kicked off this week. As the Owls hit the grass, this episode focuses on what we want to see from the team this spring.

Spring camp kicked off on Tuesday, March 8. Rice football was back on the field. As with every set of spring practices, there will be plenty of items to address and questions the team and fans have regarding the program. In this week’s episode of The Roost Podcast, we dive into which items are of the most concern and debate the likelihood that we get answers to those important issues over the next several weeks.

Disclaimer: Yes, there was some important Transfer Portal news that happened to break right after we taped this show… we’ll get to that on the next episode and have some comments on Patreon soon.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 106.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from spring practices and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.
      Become a Patron!
  • 2022 Rice Football Spring Camp – We talk about recent news items around the team and the hot-button items we’re most concerned about this spring and how likely those issues find answers, including:
    • Changes to the coaching staff
    • Future scheduling changes: Owls swap BYU for UConn in 2023
    • Position changes and key names to watch
    • Areas of the most concern on both sides of the ball
    • Offensive identity and what we want to see this spring

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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

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Rice Women’s Basketball’s Cinderella run halted by Charlotte

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For the first time in nearly a month, Rice Women’s Basketball lost in regulation, falling to Charlotte in the Conference USA Tournament.

Once sitting at 0-5 in conference play, Rice women’s basketball found themselves disappointed when they fell to No. 1 seed Charlotte in the third round of the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Owls had battled the 49ers to the wire, leading roughly midway through the fourth quarter but were unable to close things out.

“I think if you had told me that a month ago, I’d have been like, okay, great,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said in the aftermath. “Today, to be in it and to be so close. [I’m] not into a lot of moral victories so I would have liked to have seen that go the other way.”

It almost did. Rice women’s basketball led by as many as nine points in the first half, doing a tremendous job of keeping the Charlotte offense out of sync. The Owls fell out of rhythm themselves in the third quarter, but were able to settle down, buoyed by three-pointers from Maya Bokunewicz and Ashlee Austin, and keep the game within striking distance right up to the fourth quarter.

Last Time Out: Malia Fisher’s big day lifts Rice Women’s Basketball past Marshall

Trailing by four with 28 seconds to go, Rice would gather three offensive rebounds in the next possession, but none of their putback attempts would fall through the irons. Charlotte would take over, knock down a few more free throws and close it out.

“[I’m] just really proud of them, proud of their effort, proud of their fight,” Edmonds said. “There were times in this game we could have hung our heads, but we didn’t. That’s not who we are. That’s not what we’re about.”

Player Spotlight | Destiny Jackson

Jackson might not have received the accolades or attention some of her fellow young teammates have, but her impact on this basketball team cannot go unnoticed. She’s the glue on offense and led the team on Thursday with 14 points while still contributing a team-high four assists, nabbing four steals and finishing with six rebounds. When she’s productive this team is better. She was great against the 49ers.

Stat Corner | Free throw discrepancies

Both teams featured eerily similar box scores in this contest. They tied with 37 rebounds apiece. Rice had 14 turnovers, Charlotte had 15. Neither shot particularly well, with that shooting lull spilling into the fourth quarter. Free throws were the difference. Charlotte attempted 25 free throws to Rice’s 11 shots from the charity stripe. Had the Owls gotten to the line a few more times this game really could have gone either way.

Final Box | Charlotte 59 – Rice 53

Up Next |

Part of Edmonds’ postgame message was a rallying cry. “I told them I don’t want the season to be over with yet and that their mindset should still be locked in on basketball and continuing to play,” she said. They deserve to continue to play. The way we’ve been playing, they deserve to continue to play.”

Rice will receive consideration from the WNIT, who Edmonds said had been to see Rice play as well as the WBI. Either way, some sort of postseason berth seems like for this team, which ends the regular season as winners of seven of their last nine.

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Rice Basketball bounced by North Texas in CUSA Tournament

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In a game that never felt close, Rice basketball saw its Conference USA Tournament run come to a close in a blowout loss to favorite North Texas.

“Playing with house money” is the phrase Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera used when previewing Thursday night’s game against North Texas when he met with his team following the Owls’ opening win of the Conference USA Tournament over Charlotte. He knew the odds were stacked against his team against the league’s No. 1 squad. He was right.

North Texas hit Rice hard from the jump, converting their first nine two-point shots. Whether it was Max Fiedler or Myljael Poteat inside, Rice had no answer in the paint. At the same time, Rice struggled to get into any sort of offensive rhythm against Conference USA’s best defensive squad.

“We didn’t bring our A-game and that’s what happens,” Pera said, summing up a rough two hours of basketball in one quaint refrain.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball pounds the paint, tops Charlotte in CUSA Tourney

Trailing 14-9 in the first half, the Owls sputter became a slump.  A 14-0 North Texas run spanned part of a 10 minute, 34-second streak in which Rice didn’t hit a single field goal. They missed all eight of their shots during that time. By the time Max Fiedler finally got the Owls a bucket, the North Texas lead had ballooned to 20 points. Rice would go into halftime down by 18.

Rice wouldn’t find any relief after the break. Beat up and, as Pera put it without “a ton of juice”, things spiraled. North Texas’ first three field goals of the second half were three-pointers, giving them six triples to the Owls’ singular made three.

With the edge on the boards, in the paint and from distance, there wasn’t much Rice was able to do to fight back. North Texas would sprint through the half, closing out their third win of the season over Rice in convincing fashion.

Player Spotlight | Mylyjael Poteat

Poteat subbed in quickly once it became clear North Texas would have its way on the interior of both sides of the court. He struggled at times against the Mean Green, too, but finished with a team-high 10 points and four rebounds, missing time with an apparent injury suffered on his way to the basket. On a night filled with misses, Poteat made 4-of-5 and remains a bright spot for the future.

Stat Corner | Two

There were a myriad of stats that went against the Owls in a game that got away from them rather quickly. Perhaps the most fitting was the Owls’ hallmark measure: three-point shots. Rice made just two three-point shots, a season-low. They’d been held to three or fewer triples by just one other opponent this season, fittingly, North Texas who had held them to three apiece in each of their previous meetings.

Final Box | North Texas 58 – Rice 50

Up Next |

The Conference USA Tournament loss marks the end of all currently scheduled games for Rice basketball. As things currently stand, they’ll be in the mix for postseason action. Details of if the Owls make any field and who/when they’ll play next will be made available in the coming days.

Pera said he believes there might still be a postseason spot for this team. “Any time we can late in March in this program, that’s the goal. That’s what we’re striving to do,” he said of any potential postseason bid. “We’ll be exciting as heck to get that opportunity.”

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Rice Basketball attacks the paint, moves past Charlotte in C-USA Tournament

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On a night when the threes weren’t falling, Rice Basketball slammed the paint and overwhelmed Charlotte to advance in the Conference USA Tournament.

It became apparent very quickly the second-round game between Rice basketball and Charlotte wouldn’t be following the Owls’ conventional script. Rice started 0-for-6 from three but adjusted with quick feeds to Max Fiedler and attacking drives from their guards. Rice scored their first 12 points from the paint or the free throw line, rigorously working outside in and finding success.

Rather than steer away from what was working, Rice leaned into it. The Owls would make 3-of-6 threes to end the first half, but the bulk of their attempts came inside. It was Myljael Poteat who led the way in scoring for Rice in the first half, outscoring all of the Owls’ usual outside shooters and Fiedler. Altogether, the Rice interior attack allowed the Owls to control the pace of the game.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball fades down stretch, falls to UTSA

With Travis Evee struggling from the field (0-for-6), Rice kept the ball in the hands of Carl Pierre on drives to the lane (16 points) and their duo of big men, Fiedler and Poteat throughout the second half. Spurts of 5-point, 6-point and 7-point runs were able to outpace the Charlotte offense, which struggled.

“I can’t say it enough,” Pierre said after the game. “I’m really proud of our execution. We came out, we played hard and got the dub.”

The Rice defense held Charlotte to 34.8 percent shooting from the field, one of their better showings of the season when they needed it most.

When asked to envision a scenario in which the Owls won a Conference USA Tournament game by double-digits despite one three combined from Pierre, Evee and the (now injured) Quincy Olivari, Pera’s answer was immediate: “You’re crazy.”

But that’s exactly what the Owls were able to accomplish.

Charlotte’s final push came at the 8-minute mark. The 49ers cut the Owls’ lead to eight, but that’s the last time the game would be within double-digits. A three from Riley Abercrombie and subsequent baskets from Terrance McBridge extended the Rice lead to 15, allowing the Owls to coast to the victory.

“We rely on those guys so much. Obviously, and they’ve been so good for us all year long,” Pera said of Pierre, Evee and Olivari. “But you’ve got to learn to win in other ways, especially in March.” They certainly did that in this one.

Player Spotlight | Max Fiedler

Sometimes lost in the shuffle of the Owls’ three-point barrage, Fiedler was the glue for Rice on both ends of the court tonight. He tied for the team lead with eight rebounds and had 12 points, converting on 5-of-7 shots from the field. As if that wasn’t enough, he also had a team-high six assists. “That’s when he’s at his best,” Pera remarked, “really making those great passes.”

In many ways, Fiedler displayed the kind of veteran moxie teams need to make runs in March. Without him, Rice doesn’t win this game.

Stat Corner | Twos count too

Rice basketball went 4-of-18 from three on Wednesday night, normally a line that would have doomed this team to an early exit from the conference tournament, especially with Evee and Pierre combining for one successful three following their record-setting season as a three-point duo.

The Owls were able to overcome that because of their proficiency from close range. Rice made 23-of-35 two-point shot attempts (65.7 percent). They were making just about everything from inside and they kept shooting them. When it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

Final Box | Rice 73 – Charlotte 61

Up Next | Full Schedule

Officially moving on, Rice basketball draws North Texas, the No. 1 seed in the West in the next round. The Owls and Mean Green squared off twice in the regular season, the Owls lost both by wide margins. Both games came after shocks to the Rice lineup. The first contest was the first game back from a multi-week COVID-induced break. The next came shortly after Quincy Olivari’s season-ending injury.

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Malia Fisher’s big day propels Rice Women’s Basketball past Marshall

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Rice Women’s Basketball won its first Conference USA Tournament game on Wednesday, soaring past Marshall thanks to Malia Fisher’s big day.

Earlier this season, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds had talked about the importance of winning the third quarter. That need had progressed to winning the fourth quarter as the Owls struggled to close games out at the start of conference play.

On Wednesday morning in their opening game of the Conference USA Tournament, Rice won the second quarter, and they did so with such an emphatic blow it set the tone for the remainder of the contest, one in which they would go on to score 80 points, a Rice women’s Basketball Conference USA Tournament record.

The Owls took a three-point lead out of the first quarter and opened with an 8-0 run to kick off the second period. It was the Owls’ defense though, combined with a voracious desire to attack the basket, that left the most resounding mark. Marshall would make just two field goals in the second quarter, shooting a meager 11.1 percent from the field. Conversely, Rice went to the line 12 times in the frame and knocked down all 12 shots.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball rains down threes, beats UTSA

Leading 38 to 25 at halftime, all Rice had to do was buckle down and hold the line. That’s exactly what they did. Marshall would get their deficit back within single digits on a few occasions early in the third quarter, but from the moment Maya Bokenewicz drained her second three-pointer of the day with 6:17 to play in the third, it was a runaway win for the Owls.

“We’re definitely playing our best basketball,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds remarked. “The proof is in our record. We’re clicking.”

Rice would extend their lead to as many as 18, maintaining at least a 14 point advantage for the duration of the fourth quarter. Marshall never got within striking distance and the Owls were able to coast down the stretch to their first win of the tournament.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

With Ashlee Austin sidelined with foul trouble, Rice women’s basketball was going to need someone to help shoulder the load. Malia Fisher answered the call with one of the most spectacular outings of her young career. Days removed from being named to the All-Conference team, Malia Fisher put on a rebounding clinic in Frisco, TX.

Fisher ended the game with 16 rebounds, nearly tying her career-best 18-rebound game against FIU just a few short weeks ago. She also added 17 points.

“I wasn’t aware of [having a double-double] until I came out in the last couple minutes until I came out,” Fisher said. “You just go out there and play. I’m not really worried about the numbers. A win is a win.”

Coach Edmonds was elated to see Fisher’s success but stressed this was just the beginning of the freshmen’s abilities. “Her ceiling is extremely high. We’re tapping into that, but we’re not even close. The future is very, very bright for Malia,” Edmonds said. “She’s an unbelievable young lade. I’m glad she’s wearing that uniform.”

Stat Corner | Free throws and free points

Rice did a lot of things well against Marshall, but their dominance at the free throw line might have been the most impactful differentiator. The Owls hit 25-of-27 free throws (92.6 percent). Marshall attempted just 15, but made a woeful eight of those attempts (53.3 percent).

While the Herd handed away points at the stripe, Rice stockpiled them. It would have been enough to give Rice the win in a close game. As well as they played on Wednesday, it was enough to comfortably send them to the second round.

Final Box | Rice 80 – Marshall 62

Up Next | Full Schedule

With the win, Rice women’s basketball advances to the third round of the Conference USA Tournament where they’ll face Charlotte, the No. 1 seed in the East. The Owls and 49ers played a 4 OT thriller in the regular season with the 49ers coming out on top in that contest.

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