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Rice Women’s Basketball rains down threes in rout of UTSA

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Rice Women’s Basketball utilized a barrage of three-point shots to post a dominant victory over UTSA in their final game of the regular season.

From the moment Maya Bokunewicz opened the scoring with a three-pointer it was abundantly clear Rice women’s basketball has not come down from their recent run from elevated play. Winners of five of their last six, the Owls came out firing in their season final against UTSA and showed continued composure when the Roadrunners were able to tie the game midway through the first quarter.

Rice wouldn’t run away with this game as they had in their previous outing against UTEP, but even when UTSA was able to trim the Owls’ margin, the Roadrunners never once took the lead. UTSA’s longest run of the first half was a 6-0 spurt which enabled them to tie the game. Every other burst was no better than a minor 3-0 streak in favor of the visitors.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball blasts UTEP in runaway win

Rice women’s basketball would break things wide open to start the second half. The Owls’ first five shots of the quarter were three-pointers. Four of them hit home, catapulting the home team to a commanding 19-point advantage. From that point on, Rice could have just played out the string. Instead, they poured it on.

The sizable lead grew even larger until the Owls’ advantage nearly doubled up the Roadrunners. The advantage grew to be as large as 39-points, further reinforcing Rice was playing their best basketball of the season on the cusp of postseason play.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

Winning games with a “team effort” might be a cliche as old as the sport itself, but it frequently rings true with Rice women’s basketball. The Owls spread out their scoring as they typically do, but it’s hard to ignore the consistent production of Ashlee Austin, no matter how effective her teammates have been. Saturday’s win over UTSA marked her tenth consecutive outing of double-digit points and her seventh 20+ point game. She finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Stat Corner | Going deep

The three-point shot has been part of the Owls’ offensive attack this season, although to a lesser degree than the Rice men. On Saturday, the women lit up the scoreboard with some long-distance shots of their own. Rice women’s basketball hit 14 three-pointers, crushing their previous season-high (10 at Middle Tennessee, Jan. 7.).

Bokunewicz led the charge, converting seven of the Owls’ 14 triples on her own, tying a school record.

Final Box | Rice 86 – UTSA 48

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball clinched a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament with their win over UTEP on Thursday. As Saturday’s games wrap up they’ll have a better understanding of where they’ll fall in the final seeding. Regardless, their first game of the Conference USA Tournament will be played on Wednesday, March 9.

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Rice Women’s Basketball blasts UTEP in runaway win

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Rice Women’s Basketball blasted past UTEP at home, locking up a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament win the win.

Maya Bokunewicz put up a three-pointer for the first shot of a midweek game between Rice women’s basketball and UTEP. It bounced off the mark before being recovered by Trinity Gooden who converted on the second-chance attempt to put Rice in front 2-0. In a dramatic divergence from the Owls’ last game where nothing would go in, even the missed shots turned into points on Thursday night.

The 2-0 lead quickly snowballed into a 22-7 lead which grew into a monstrous 28-point halftime advantage in favor of the Owls. That’s the sort of thing that happens when one team finds their stroke and shoots 57.6 from the field in the first two quarters.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball rallies past Southern Miss in huge road win

Bokunewicz and Malia Fisher each had double-digit points before the halftime buzzer sounded. Destiny Jackson, Ashlee Austin and Trinity Gooden would join them in double figures before the night was through. And although they would cool down, averaging just 46.4 percent from the field for the game, their sizable lead was never in jeopardy.

The win secures Rice women’s basketball a top-five finish in the West, even if UTEP should win this coming Saturday. Rice will earn a bye in the first round of the conference tournament whereas UTEP will face seventh seed UTSA for a spot in the Day 2 games.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher continues her bid for Conference USA Freshman of the Year with another dominant game, tying her career-high with 20 points on the way to another double-double. She also had three assists and two steals. Her versatility provides a spark to this team in a myriad of ways and has been crucial in their recent hot streak.

Stat Corner | 31

Two weeks ago following a narrow win over UAB, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds said she expected her team to be in a lot of close games. Games that — in her words — were going to “come down to the wire”. True to her prediction, Rice did play several neck-and-neck contests. Thursday’s win over UTEP was anything but close.

Rice led by as many as 31 points, essentially putting the game on ice by the midpoint of the very first quarter. It was one of the most dominant performances of the season and it came within days of the Conference USA Tournament.

Final Box | Rice 82 – UTEP 62

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has one more game remaining in the regular season. The Owls will host UTSA on Mar. 5, Senior Day. From there, it’s onto the Conference USA Tournament with the Owls’ final seeding still to be determined.

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Rice Women’s Basketball rallies past Southern Miss for gritty road win

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Rice Women’s Basketball trailed for most of the game and did not shoot well at all but the Owls still found a way to take down Southern Miss.

Blisteringly fast starts have been the hallmark of Rice women’s basketball this season. Depth issues and inexperience have made those early leads tenuous at times, but winning the first quarter has never been a serious problem. That’s what made Saturday’s slow start in Hattiesburg so surprising.

Rice shot 14.3 percent from the floor in the first quarter and fell eight points behind Southern Miss 15-7, Trailing by more points than they’d managed to score, the Owls had no choice other than to chip away.

Bolstered by a powerful defensive effort, Rice began their comeback. Southern Miss made two field goals in the second quarter and attempted just seven field goals. They turned the ball over seven times in the frame compared to three turnovers from the Owls, who held the home team without a field goal for more than six consecutive minutes. When the halftime buzzer sounded, it was a one-point game in favor of Southern Miss.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball runs out of gas, players in 2OT loss to LA Tech
While it probably won’t move the needle for those outside of South Main, this victory might very well go down as the win of the year.

The teams traded baskets in the third quarter but although Rice was able to tie the score twice, they never took the lead, instead allowing Southern Miss to gradually increase the margin to seven points midway through the fourth quarter.

Southern Miss outrebounded Rice 43-41. They outshot the Owls 36.7 percent to 27.9 percent. Through the first 38+ minutes of regulation, Rice never led. But when Malia Fisher secured a putback with 1:12 to play and Destiny Jackson followed with a layup with 18 seconds remaining, none of those numbers mattered.

Rice only led for 42 seconds, but it was the most meaningful 42 seconds of the game. For this shorthanded team to have so much go against them and still find a way to win is absolutely stunning. While it probably won’t move the needle for those outside of South Main, this victory might very well go down as the win of the year.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

On a day when nobody wearing blue and gray could find the basket, Ashlee Austin’s offensive contributions were massive. Austin led both teams with 18 points and added 10 rebounds, including three offensive boards. It was her first career double-double of the season, and every point and rebound was critical to complete the Owls’ thrilling comeback.

Stat Corner | 27.9 Percent

Rice women’s basketball came into this game averaging 40.4 percent shooting from the field on the season. Every team has its good days and its bad days when it comes to shooting, but the Owls had unarguably their worst shooting performance of the season on Saturday against the team atop the C-USA West Standings.

Entering Saturday, the Owls’ worst shooting percentage in a win was 38 percent against Texas Southern on Nov. 17.  They hadn’t won a game shooting worst than 30 percent since beating Old Dominion in February of 2019. Rice shot 27.9 percent against Southern Miss. And they won.

Final Box | Rice 51 – Southern Miss 46

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has two final games remaining on the regular season slate. They will host UTEP on Mar. 3 and then UTSA on Mar. 5, Senior Day. From there, it’s onto the Conference USA Tournament which could start for Rice as early as Tuesday, Mar. 8.

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Shorthanded Rice Women’s Basketball runs out of gas in OT vs LA Tech

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Rice Women’s Basketball fought to the end but ran out of gas in a double-overtime defeat at Louisiana Tech.

Winners of three straight, Rice women’s basketball headed to Ruston with confidence. The Owls had seemingly gotten over the hump and gotten into a rhythm. The Conference USA Division was so wide open, in fact, that Rice entered the game with a real chance to leap up the standings. To get there, Rice would have to defeat Louisiana Tech for the second time this season, a feat they came within two overtimes of achieving.

Things started quietly enough with both teams trading points in the first quarter. Louisana Tech would go on the game’s first big run, taking a nine-point lead into halftime. That lead would briefly reach 10 points midway through the third quarter, then Ashlee Austin took over.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball takes second straight from UAB

Following an eight-point outburst from Destiny Jackson, Austin would score the Owls’ final 14 points of the third quarter. No other Owls scored in that frame, but Rice wouldn’t need much more help at that point. The large lead was ground down to three points when the fourth quarter began.

It was Maya Bokunewicz who would step up next. She connected on back-to-back three-pointers early in the fourth quarter to give Rice its first lead since the beginnings of the second quarter. Not long after, India Bellamy was helped off the court by trainers who were able to hold on and force overtime.

Rice women’s basketball hung tough in the first extra period but had to watch as what might have been the game-winning last-second shot by Malia Fisher bounced off the boards. In the second overtime, Rice would not be as fortunate. Fisher fouled out as did Jackson and the shorthanded Owls were held without a field goal in the final period, falling on the road 90-80.

Player Spotlight | Destiny Jackson

Jackson has been a revelation over the last month of the season. She’s developed into a lethal scoring threat, but she did it all on Thursday night against Louisiana Tech, notching her first carer double-double. She had 10 rebounds to lead all Owls with 14 points and six assists. If good things were happening for Rice, Jackson was almost always involved.

Stat Corner | More than once, twice

Rice women’s basketball was extremely fortunate they were able to get Bellamy back on the court in overtime after a nasty looking fall in regulation. They needed her down the stretch in large part because this team seemingly doesn’t know how to quit, even when facing tired legs and endless extra periods. This game marks the second overtime game Rice has played this season and both games have included multiple extra periods. Rice lost to Charlotte in 4 OT on Jan. 22.

Final Box | LA Tech 90 – Rice 80

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has one last stop on the road this coming Saturday against Southern Miss, then it’s back to Houston for two final home games to wrap up the regular season. They’ll host UTEP on Mar. 3 and UTSA on Mar. 5, Senior Day.

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Rice Women’s Basketball comes up just short in 4OT game at Charlotte

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Rice women’s basketball came harrowingly close to their first C-USA victory season on Saturday, falling in quadruple overtime on the road at Charlotte.

From the moment the ball was tipped, Rice women’s basketball traded blows with Charlotte from Saturday afternoon into the early evening. The 49ers took an early advantage, leading 16-10 at the end of the first quarter. The shots didn’t seem to be falling for Rice at the start of the contest, but the team stayed composed, leaning on a strong defensive performance to erase the early deficit and go into halftime tied.

Charlotte shot 43.8 percent from the field in the first quarter. In the second Rice held the home team to just two field goals and six total points. Rice trailed for the majority of that time, leading by one point for 12 seconds before Charlotte knocked down a free throw in the final seconds before the halftime break.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball fizzles late, falls to Old Dominion

It was all Charlotte at the onset of the third quarter. The 49ers came out firing, jumping out to an 11-point lead thanks to a 16-6 run to start the second half. Rather than fold, the Owls dug deep and went on a 12-5 run of their own to put themselves in striking distance entering the fourth. From there, Rice closed the gap and Haylee Swayze gave Rice their first lead of the game on a jumper with 3:42 to go in the fourth quarter.

Charlotte would tie it up and send the game to overtime. Rice took the lead, then Charlotte hit a runner at the buzzer to force double overtime. Rice took the lead, then Charlotte hit a triple in the final seconds to force a third extra period. The Owls missed what would have been the game-winner at the close of the third overtime before Charlotte was able to wrestle the game away in the fourth and final overtime period.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

Ashlee Austin was one of the most productive scorers in Conference USA before the Owls almost month-long hiatus in late December. Before that break, Austin was averaging 18.1 points per game. In the four games following, she averaged 7.3 points per game. That’s part of what made her 30 point outburst on Saturday so impactful.

Austin was 10-0f-19 from the field, tallying 17 of those 30 points in regulation before a series of key buckets in overtime. In double overtime, it was Austin who put Rice ahead with less than two minutes to play. She added a pair of shots in the third overtime as the Owls traded blows with the 49ers. Finally, she rounded out her final box score with seven rebounds and two assists.

Stat Corner | Five

Five different Owls played more than 40 minutes to earn the win against Charlotte, that includes Destiny Jackson who fouled out of the game. Short benches mean more minutes for everyone, including a brief appearance from Savannah May, a student manager who was added to the roster on Friday the day before the game.

Stretching players that thin can’t be the recipe every outing, but with a five-day break looming and a real chance to earn the team’s first conference win of the year, everything was on the table. If recent weeks are any indication, the starting five are going to have to carry a heavy load the rest of the way.

Final Box | Charlotte 88 – Rice 83 (4 OT)

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball wrapped up their road trip on Saturday and will head home for a two-game stint next weekend. They’ll host Louisiana Tech on Thursday before playing Southern Miss on Saturday.

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