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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls are still built to win now

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Rice Women’s basketball is coming off a string of successful seasons, but the Owls have no intention of slowing down now. The future remains bright on South Main.

Winners of back-to-back Conference USA titles, Rice Women’s Basketball has no plans to slow down any time soon. Head coach Tina Langley has turned Rice into a power within its conference with eyes on bigger and better things. Even without star guard Erica Ogwumike, head coach Tina Langley can list endless reasons she believes in the returning roster.

From the top, there’s Nancy Mulkey, described by Langley herself as “one of the best centers in the country.” Jasmine Smith has been a starter since she arrived on campus. Langely called Synde Wiggins a “lethal shooter”, deservedly so after the junior finished Top-5 in Conference USA with her .358 three-point percentage. And then there’s a host of talented depth pieces and the surging freshman class.

On paper, this is going to be a very good basketball team. In practice, Langley has proven she can press the right buttons when the games matter most. Rice Women’s basketball has lost one game in the month of March in the past two seasons. That came in heartbreaking fashion in the NCAA Tournament. When that’s the only blemish on your March resume, things are trending in the right direction.

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Beyond the hedges, the Owls’ chief competitor has challenges of their own. Old Dominion knocked off the Owls in Virginia last season, snapping their 30-game conference winning streak. Following the season the Monarchs lost head coach Nikki McCray to Mississippi State. They’ll be breaking in new head coach next season. Western Kentucky, who tied for second with Old Dominion last season, will replace several upperclassmen starters.

Nothing will be handed to Rice next season. If the past two years are any indication, there could be some growing pains as the Owls work out the kinks before conference play begins. But when it comes to matching the coaching and the talent Rice possesses, it’s hard to make a case the Owls won’t be in the mix for another conference title next spring.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Lauren Schwartz shines in debut season

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Lauren Schwartz left her mark during her freshman season with Rice Women’s Basketball. Her career at South Main is only getting started.

The departure of senior Nicole Iademarco following the 2018-2019 season left an opening in the Rice Women’s Basketball starting lineup. The Owls were returning several role players who would be candidates to fill the final spot, but head coach Tina Langely opted for a new face over a familiar one.

Lauren Schwartz, a freshman from Union, Kentucky started the Owls’ opening game against Nicholls St. She earned a second start that same week against Arkansas-Little Rock. From that point onward, the job was hers. She became one of three players on the roster to start every game for Rice this past season.

Langley noticed Schwartz had the potential to be special from the start. “She has the little characteristics that can help someone be great,” she said. “The grit that you need and just the relentlessness that she shows on the court.”

Schwartz was third on the team in scoring (9.6 points per game) and third in rebounds (116). Eventual WNBA Draft selection Erica Ogwumike and center Nancy Mulkey were the only players who topped Schwartz in either statistic. For a freshman playing among some of the best to ever wear Rice uniforms, the game never looked too big.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

There was a learning curve as she adjusted to the college game, but she navigated those challenges well. She became more consistent as the year progress. Schwartz finished with double-digit points in six of her final seven games after tallying nine double-digit outings in her first 22 games. Even on nights when she struggled to find her shot, she found ways to make an impact.

“She’s driven in a way that you don’t teach, she has that internally,” Langely declared. “I think that’s going to help her continue to grow at a really fast rate and have a lot of success.”

Translation: For Lauren Schwartz, the best is yet to come.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 39 – Southern Miss Football Preview with Jamie Arrington

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The Roost Podcast welcomes Jamie Arrington, who covers Southern Miss football on To The Top Talk podcast and relive memories from old Conference USA.

Rice Football opponent previews continue this week with our third Conference USA guest. After talking UAB with Evan Dudley and UTEP with Adrian Broaddus we moved on to chat Southern Miss football …. and a few interesting tangents … with Jamie Arrington of To The Top Talk.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to our chat with Jamie on Episode 39.

Episode 39 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference. Make sure you follow Jamie Arrington on Twitter and the To The Top Podcast and let them know you enjoyed having him on the pod.
  • Subscribe on Patreon — If you enjoy the site and want to be a part of what we’re building at The Roost, please consider supporting us on Patreon. All who join the Starting Lineup tier or higher by July 1 receive a free copy of the 2020 Rice Football Preview.
  • COVID-19 updates — The first college football game cancelations happened this past week. Will those be outliers, or the start of something more significant?
  • Jamie Arrington joins the show — Jamie shares his insight on Southern Miss football under Jay Hopson and what to expect from the Eagles in 2020, including:
    • Jay Hopson’s uncomfortable (but not quite hot) seat
    • Reasons to Southern Miss fans should have hope in the offense
    • “Old” Conference USA and baseball rivalries between Southern Miss and Rice
    • Jamie’s time as the Southern Miss mascot
    • The Lightning Round

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.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: ’19-’20 season a reminder there are no sure things

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Rice women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley has come to terms with the team’s truncated season. For here, there’s more to success than wins alone.

Fans were disappointed when the final buzzer sounded in Reed Arena and Rice women’s basketball was eliminated from the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Erica Ogwumike, Nancy Mulkey and a core group of young players had fallen just short of upsetting Marquette in College Station.

The Owls had come close to keeping their tremendous season alive, but all was not lost. Rice would return almost the entire unit next year. Surely, Rice would get another chance at an NCAA Tournament win. It just wouldn’t come as soon as many had hoped.

Months later, Ogwumike and Co. walked onto the court in Frisco, TX to play their first game of the Conference USA Tournament. The Owls were favorites to win the game and the tournament. That would secure another trip to the Big Dance. But minutes before tip the game was called off and the tournament was canceled. With 48 hours the NCAA Tournament had been canceled too and any that second chance at an NCAA win with this group went up in smoke.

In the weeks and months that followed the NCAA would opt not to grant additional eligibility to basketball students who’s seasoned’ were shortened. Ogwumike would hear her name called in the WNBA draft. Life would move on.

In the aftermath, Rice women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley found comfort in another kind of success, one that she said carries just as much weight as championships.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

“We’ve never been a program that really evaluated ourselves based on winning and losing or whether we won a championship or not. It’s just did we become the best team that we could possibly become?” she asked before going on to answer her own question. “I’m just really proud of who we became.”

And perhaps that is the best way to evaluate a season without a true ending. Rice started slow, and saw a 30-game conference winning streak snapped midseason. They rebounded, winning their final five games. Although they didn’t know it at the time, the season would end with a home win over Old Dominion. That victory — weeks after the Monarchs had snapped the Owls streal — solidified the Owls as back-to-back outright champions. Like every coach hopes, they were playing their best basketball at the end of the season.

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Rice Football Recruiting 2021: Owls extend new wave of offers

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The first new batch of summer offers for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class was handed out on Wednesday evening. Here’s a bit more info on the newest names to know.

The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class but most of its base this spring. Eight of the Owls’ nine current commitments came between March 8 and April 30. The only summer commitment to date came from quarterback Shawqi Itraish. Rice as offered two players since April: Chandler AZ wide receiver Jalen Richmond and Park City UT lineman Coco Lukrich.

Rice made their most expansive swathe of offers of the summer on Wednesday evening. They offered five players. Here’s a bit more on each of the new names and how they might fit in the 2021 class.

All of these names have been added to the offer tracker.

RB Evan Jackson – Woodland, GA

A quick look at Jackson’s highlights shows you how dynamic an athlete he is. A high school quarterback with plenty of speed, he projects as a running back at the next level. Rice would be open to playing him at corner, too. Frankly, he’s you’d want to get on the field. His quickness and intelligence helped earn him a track offer from Stanford.

WR Troy Lewis – Matoaca, VA

Rice has emphasized speed in recent recruiting classes, particularly with the younger wave of receiving options. Troy Lewis is built differently. He’s 6-foot-3 and plays big. Someone is going to have fill the gap left by Christian McStravick and Brad Rozner and players with good hands and great height are few and far between.

CB Ore Adeyo – Mansfield, TX

Adeyo could probably play a few positions in the secondary, but he’s already and impressive corner. Rice needs guys that can play on an island and win one-on-one battles. He moves well and plays with an edge, perfect attributes for someone who has to make his own way on the edge.

Saf Joshua Williams – Linden, AL

Joshua Williams is more of a true safety but has some flexibility to play all of the spots in the Rice defense. That flexibility is a trait the Owls have coveted on the recruiting trail. He’s a four-sport athlete.

Saf Walker Warncke – Needville, TX

High school teammate of current Rice commit Blake Boenisch, Warncke has some position flexibility. Wherever he lines up, he’s going to run through people and does not shy away from contact. He’s one of two Texas offers in the Owls made tonight (Adeyi).

Saf Marcus Williams – Hoover, AL

A highschool linebacker, Williams would probably fall into a Viper role at Rice — think Treshawn Chamberlain. He’s athletic with good vision when the ball is in the air. And he can lower his shoulder and deliver the big hit.

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