The source for Rice sports news

Rice Women’s Basketball beats ODU to clinch C-USA Regular Season Title

By

Rice women’s basketball clinched the 2020 Conference USA Regular Season Title with a thrilling win over Old Dominion at Tudor Fieldhouse.

In a game that had all the makings of an instant classic, Rice women’s basketball emerged with a conference title-clinching victory. Neither team ever held a lead greater than eight points in a contest with 18 lead changes that came down to the final seconds.

Both teams came out firing. Rice shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half, but only found themselves up by four points at the break. That was due, in large part, to an incredible game from Old Dominion’s Victoria Morris. The junior finished with a season-high 29 points, 12 of which came before halftime.

The big game by Morris was countered by one of the Owls’ most complete team showings of the season. Senior guard Erica Ogwumike battled foul trouble but still finished with an impactful 20 points and five rebounds in her final game at Tudor Fieldhouse. She was one of five Owls that finished in double figure points.

Rice got key contributions from their bench, something they lacked in their loss to Old Dominion earlier in the season. That included a season-high 11 points from Katelyn Crosthwait off the bench and important minutes from Destiny Jackson as well.

Once their 30-game conference winning streak was over, Rice seemed vulnerable in C-USA for the first time in two years. Beating Old Dominion gave Rice a win over every C-USA team this season. In a sense, it restored some of the Owls’ swagger.

Rice had already secured at least a share of the title with their win over UTEP on Thursday. Saturday’s triumph put the Owls’ alone atop C-USA. More importantly, it locked up the No. 1 overall seed for Rice in the Conference USA Basketball Tournament, set to begin on Wednesday, March 11.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball clinches share of 2020 regular season C-USA title

By

It was another banner night for Rice Women’s Basketball, which defended their spot atop Conference USA, clinching a share of the regular season title.

Rice Women’s Basketball clinched a share of the Conference USA Women’s Basketball regular season title with a Thursday night win over UTEP. The Miners kept things close early before Rice used their seemingly inevitable third quarter surge to put things out of reach and lock down the win at home.

The victory clinched a fourth consecutive season of at least 20 wins for Rice women’s basketball. That’s a testament to the incredible work done by head coach Tina Langley, who earlier this season became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins.

Langley and the Owls aren’t done yet, though. The win over UTEP came in parallel with an Old Dominion loss to UAB in overtime. For the moment, Rice (15-2) holds sole possession of first place in Conference USA and the right to the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. That sets the stage for a winner-take-all contest this weekend between the Owls and the Monarchs.

Old Dominion (14-3) would leapfrog Rice with a win at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday by nature of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Even with a loss, Rice could fall no further than the No. 2 seed. Since the top four teams in C-USA get byes in the first round and the middle-tier of the conference is fairly robust, the difference between the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed might not matter much this year. Still, the optics of being No. 1 carry some relevance.

This season has been flush with highs (Erica Ogwumike’s 2000-point, 1000-rebound plateau, 30th consecutive C-USA win) and lows (Injuries to Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey, back-to-back C-USA losses, bad start to nonconference play). In the midst of all of the noise, Rice women’s basketball has proved to be resilient. Now it’s time to win when it counts — in March.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball: Season at crossroads after Charlotte loss

By

After going more than a calendar year since their last C-USA loss, Rice women’s basketball dropped their second conference game of the week, falling to Charlotte.

Wait, what happened? Those thoughts danced through the heads of Rice women’s basketball fans when the team fell to SMU all the way back on November 13. Rice came out rusty in their first road game and was stunted from start to finish by a team which did not have the athleticism to match the Owls — or at least, it didn’t seem like it on paper.

Three months later that guttural feeling has returned, placing the season at a crossroads. At this point last week the Owls were 11-0 in C-USA play, owners of first place and presumptive favorites to repeat as back-to-back Champions. Now they’re in second place, with fewer wins and more losses than fifth-place Charlotte, who handed Rice their most uncomfortable defeat since that ominous SMU affair.

Against SMU, Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey played well. Ogwumike led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds while Mulkey blocked 11 shots. For whatever reason, the team didn’t shoot well, finishing 24.1 percent from the field.

Rice couldn’t buy a bucket against Charlotte, either. Ogwumike had 14 points. Nancy Mulkey was limited by injury, scoring five points with six rebounds in 21 minutes, playing just four minutes in the second half. Kendall Ellig, Mulkey’s primary backup this season, had more fouls (three) than points (two). From start to finish, Rice was out of sorts, confused. They didn’t look much like the team that had overcome every obstacle for the past several months.

Returning to Tudor Fieldhouse and ending this forgettable road sweep will be a welcome homecoming. The pressure to be perfect is gone, but if the Owls have their eyes on a top seed in the C-USA Tournament and a repeat trip to the NCAA’s, there isn’t time to dwell on this dismal result.

The Owls will see their resiliency tested in the next three weeks. How they respond will determine the narrative that accompanies a season that began with lofty expectations.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball 2020: C-USA winning streak snapped by Old Dominion

By

The biggest game of the Rice women’s basketball season went to overtime before Old Dominion prevailed, snapping the Owls’ 30-game conference winning streak.

Rice women’s basketball knew they were in for a 40-minute slugfest when they stepped onto the court to face Old Dominion on Thursday. The Monarchs weren’t intimidated by the Owls’ 30-game Conference USA winning streak. That was evident from the start.

Old Dominion was aggressive. Errant Rice passes were turned into Old Dominion fastbreak points. Missed Rice free throws — they were a woeful 12-of-22 from the charity stripe — became momentum-shifting plays in favor of the home squad.

Most teams have opted to tread cautiously when matching up with the defending champs. Old Dominion attacked, capitalizing on lapses and forcing the Owls to play from behind for much of the contest. Rice trailed for more than 30 minutes. The third quarter, which has been the hallmark of the Owls’ dominance this year, left Rice trailing entering the fourth.

PODCAST | Breaking down the early signing period

While the Owls relied on Ogwumike to do the heavy lifting, Old Dominion provided one of the most balanced showings the Owls have seen this year. Ajah Wayne, Taylor Edwards and Amari Young all finished in double-figure scoring. Marie Reichert was just shy with eight points.

One game does not define a season. Win or lose, Rice women’s basketball was still going to play Old Dominion again before the regular season ended. If Thursday night was any indication, these two teams might be meeting again in the conference tournament. It took overtime to separate these two teams. Old Dominion had the edge this time.

A 30-game winning streak in conference play is unprecedented. It had to end at some point — all streaks do — but this result should not diminish any faith in this team. Their first C-USA loss since 2018 is proof the Owls’ know what it takes.

There’s no more pressure to be perfect. The Owls’ aren’t in the driver’s seat right now, but they’re still equipped to win the conference and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. That’s the goal. If anything, Thursday’s loss should add to the Owls’ intensity down the stretch.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Erica Ogwumike

This was the Erica Ogwumike show. Coming off an NCBWA Player of the Week selection, the Owls’ senior leader played an incredible game in a hostile environment. Rice played a thin lineup, trusting Ogwumike to carry the load — she delivered with 26 points, 18 rebounds. She needed someone else to step up, but that help came up just short.

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball wraps up the road trip on Saturday. They’ll head to Charlotte for a 3:00 p.m. game. That game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball 2020: Owls dispatch MTSU for 30th straight C-USA win

By

In a rematch of last season’s Conference USA Championship Game, Rice women’s basketball beat Middle Tennessee with relative ease.

For the 30th time in as many tries, Rice women’s basketball won a conference game. The Owls’ most recent victory, a 77-60 win over Middle Tennessee at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday served as the most recent reminder of this team’s dominance.

Rice had dispatched of every C-USA opponent they’d faced this season, but they had yet to play either Old Dominion or Middle Tennessee, the two programs still in striking distance of the Owls’ in the conference standings. Facing their toughest test of the season, Rice verified their supremacy with their trademark level of suffocating defensive intensity.

Middle Tennessee made two of their first 15 shots and nine of their first 32. The Lady Raiders entered with a 40% shooting percentage on the season. Rice held them to 33.8% shooting while knocking down 47.3% of their own shots.

Winning conference games is hard. Rice women’s basketball has made it seem easy. And beating one of the conference’s better teams by nearly 20 points only underscores the expectations the Owls are putting on themselves. Perfection isn’t the goal — the NCAA Tournament is — but the more Rice wins the closer they get to achieving that greater aspiration.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Erica Ogwumike

The impressiveness of Rice women’s basketball leading scorer Erica Ogwumike continues to be understated. On Saturday she tallied a double-double at halftime. That would have been her 10th consecutive double-double had she not been subbed out with nine rebounds when Rice had a commanding lead over UAB their last time out.

Ogwumike finished with ## points and ## rebounds. Her presence on the court gives Rice a chance to win every possession, something few teams in college basketball can say of any one individual.

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball will hit the road for their next two contests. On Thursday, Feb. 13 they’ll face Old Dominion in arguably their most important C-USA game of the season to this point. That game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday they’ll head to Charlotte for a 3:00 p.m. game. Both are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

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

Recent Posts