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Rice Women’s Basketball Overcomes Slow Start to Top Grambling

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A tied game after the first quarter wouldn’t stay even for much longer as Rice women’s basketball got things rolling to post a comfortable road win over Grambling.

It came as no surprise when Rice women’s basketball posted a strong defensive start in their Wednesday afternoon road tilt against Grambling. The Owls held the Tigers to 21 percent shooting in the first quarter, yet somehow ended the frame tied. That deadlock wouldn’t last much longer.

The three-ball started to fall in the second quarter, with three different players helping Rice build a nine-point advantage which was quickly stretched to 17 points in the early minutes of the third quarter. Grambling was able to get back within nine on a brief 8-0 burst, but it proved to be a last-gasp effort as Rice seized control after that.

MORE: Rice Football Recruiting — 2025 Winter Transfer Portal Tracker

The Owls led by 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter, lengthening that edge to as many as 28 points before a couple of free throws and a layup in the final minute kept the game from turning into a true blowout. All in all, it ended up being a rather expeditious win for Rice, even with the inasuspicious beginnings.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 9-3 on the season and 4-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 71, Grambling 47

Key takeaway | Heating Up

Grambling is bad. Full stop. The 2-9 Tigers had no business being competitive with Rice women’s basketball on Wednesday and, for the most part, they weren’t. All of a sudden the Owls have won six of their last seven, with the lone loss coming to a Big 12 team by a single point. Their only losses on their resume came to a pair of very good teams (South Dakota State and Princeton).

Houston Christian is the only game remaining between Rice and a 10-3 start and a short reprieve over Christmas break begins with a highly-anticipated road trip to South Florida. After a shaky start, much like how this game against Grambling began, Rice women’s basketball is heating up.

Up Next: vs Houston Christian (Sat. Dec. 20 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Cruises Past Southwestern Christian

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Rice Basketball blew the doors off Southwestern Christian in the Owls’ annual School House Mania game, swiftly dispatching the NAIA program at home.

Before a joyous crowd of young onlookers, Rice basketball delivered quite the show at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday morning. The Owls’ annual School House Mania game began with a 7-0 run from the home team and quickly ballooned to a 20-5 advantage in just eight minutes of action.

The entire roster got into the mix with 10 players recording a field goal in the first half alone as the Rice advantage skyrocketed to as many as 25 points before the break. A flurry of threes from Southwestern Christian’s Cole Allen was the only thing keeping their team in the gym. But he wouldn’t connect on any triples after halftime as the game turned definitively in favor of Rice.

MORE: Rice Football Recruiting — 2025 Winter Transfer Portal Tracker

A 16-0 run in the middle portions of the ensuing period, followed by a subsequent 8-0 run, came just shy of a 50-point blowout in favor of the Owls. Rice would have to settle for a 47-point victory with five players scoring in double figures.

Rice Basketball improves to 6-6 with the win. The Owls are 5-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 77, Southwestern Christian 76

What They’re Saying

“In a game like this, sometimes you’re trying to see if your team has the discipline and maturity to do the things that you practice every day. There were some obvious moments where that wasn’t the case, but overall, I think we competed. We were a little bit careless with the basketball. In a game like this, when you get a lead and it’s evident that you’re going to win the game, that’s not an excuse to not play the game a certain way. But I thought we settled back in. We shared the basketball and there was an emphasis on us doing a better job of playing with some force at the rim.” – Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | An Opportunity Awaits

There’s not too much to glean from a blowout win over a non-NCAA opponent other than breath a sign of relief that the game went as it was supposed to go. What the win did accomplish, however, was extending the Owls’ current winning streak to four games in a row. Should they beat Pepperdine on Saturday, Rice would finish out non-conference play 7-6. Do you remember how impossible that seemed after successive overtime losses at Coconut Hoops?

Pepperdine is No. 283 in KenPom, more than 70 spots below Rice basketball, which checks in currently at No. 210. It’s a winnable game and one the program would do well to win in order to ensure they can maintain the momentum they’ve built over the past few weeks.

Up Next: at Pepperdine (Sat, Dec. 20at 8:00 pm)

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Nick Anderson explodes late to lift Rice Basketball past Arkansas State

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Rice Basketball picked up another gut-check win on Saturday, rallying from a 16-point deficit in the second half to stun Arkansas State.

Beginning with a 6-0 run to open the game, Arkansas State controlled their contest with Rice basketball from the tip, maintaining a modest but slim advantage through most of the first half. The box score showed a relatively competitive game, but Rice led for just 29 seconds when the halftime buzzer sounded.

It looked as if the Owls had regrouped well when Trae Broadnax hit a layup to even the score right out of the break, but a thunderous 16-0 Arkansas State run put the home team in dire straights. Seven consecutive missed field goals contributed to that tilt and the game slowly began to work back into balance when the Owls started seeing those shots fall.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Body Howell was the one who gave them the initial spark but it was Nick Anderson, who had been shut out entirely in the first half, who took over when Rice needed someone to seize the moment. Anderson scored 14 points, all in the final 5:01, turning a double-digit deficit — Rice led by as many as 16 points — into a stunning Rice lead.

Anderson’s final three-pointer put Rice in front by one. Cam Carroll knocked down a pair of free throws to put Rice in front by three. Then the Owls had to make one final defensive stand following a jump ball to secure the comeback win.

Rice Basketball improves to 5-6 with the win. The Owls are 4-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 77, Arkansas State 76

What They’re Saying

“I’m really proud of the guys. It was a game where things weren’t going our way in the second half. We finished the first half strong. We started the second half tying the game and had a chance to take the lead, but we just couldn’t get stops. It didn’t look good. I told the guys before the year that I wanted us to go undefeated, in the sense that we don’t have a defeatist attitude. That when things aren’t going our way, we stay in the fight. Tonight, we learned that lesson, and I think it’s the best way to learn that lesson. Even though I wouldn’t have drawn it up like this. We’ve had our fair share of wins like this, and those are the most gratifying.” – Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Next Man Up

Rice basketball knows it can count on Trae Broadnax and Jalen Smith in big moments. Nick Anderson has become part of that trusted veteran corps, too. But what separates teams that can win occasional games and teams that regularly win the tough ones is how impactful that next wave of players can be.

The Owls are thin on proven depth, but those up-and-coming players have already started to shine this season. Carroll has been stupendous, but a season-high 11-points from Body Howell and 10 more from Eternity Eguagie were massive in this one-point win. Rice basketball won’t have to count on them every night, but if one or two players like that can step up, they’re going to start winning more of these coin flip contests.

Up Next: vs Southwestern Christian (Wed, Dec. 17 at 11:15 am)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Pummels UNLV at Home

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Dominique Ennis became the program’s leading three-point shooter as Rice women’s basketball rocketed past UNLV for a big home win.

Hailey Adams knocked down a jumper to open the scoring and then it sure looked as if Rice women’s basketball would be off to the races. The Owls scored the contest’s first seven points and opened the game on a 13-4 run only to watch that double-digit advantage dwindled in a matter of minutes in the second quarter.

UNLV would fight back, taking the lead with a 19-5 run of their own and daring Rice to recover. Dominique Ennis responded with a back-to-back threes. She would hit six during the game, officially becoming the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers made.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Victoria Flores added a triple of her own to close out the half before Ennis opened the third quarter with another deep make. That’s when the Rebels’ resolve seemed to run out.

A barrage of threes and free throws quickly extended the Owls’ advantage. Rice would lead by 23 at the end of the third quarter, pulling in front by as many as 28 points in the fourth and final frame. The three ball kept UNLV at a distance and helped clinch another home victory.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 7-3 on the season and 4-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 75, UNLV 50

What They’re Saying

What a game. What a 40 minutes by our young ladies. I am so proud of them. From start to finish we played a complete basketball game. We dominated on both ends of the floor. We had a different look in our eyes and were exactly the team that I knew we were capable of. So thankful that that group showed up today. This is a major win on our home court. We protected home, with Dom and Vic leading the way, along with others. It was just an awesome 40 minutes, and I am very proud. – Rice Women’s Basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Showing Up More

Following an impressive fourth quarter finish to pull away from Sam Houston on Wednesday, head coach Lindsay Edmonds made it clear that she was “Excited to see that team show up more.” While it wasn’t a flawless four quarters for Rice on Saturday — things got pretty hairy in the second — it was absolutely more of that high-quality version Rice women’s basketball than we saw over the first couple of weeks of the season.

One good quarter against Sam Houston turned into three good quarters against UNLV. That was enough to blow out the Rebels, who entered the game 5-3 with win over UTSA and Creighton as well a narrow loss to No. 7 Baylor. And Rice smoked them.

If Wednesday showed this version of the team exists, Saturday proved their is enough of it to rely on for more than sporadic high points. This team’s ceiling exists and they might just be starting to discover it.

Up Next: vs UT Arlington (Fri. Dec. 12 at 11:15 am)

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 221 – Rice Football Season Review and Signing Day Recap

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As we close the book on the 2025 Rice Football regular season, we review learnings from the year, signing day and what might be next for the program moving forward.

Rice football finishes the regular season 5-7 with a big win over UConn and many reasons for optimism. On this week’s show, we talk through how we got here, what we probably should have seen coming and what else might be in the future for the Owls with head coach Scott Abell at the helm.

We talked through it all. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 221.

Episode Notes

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Rice Football 2025 Regular Season and Early Signing Period Recap

  • The 2025 Rice Football team overachieved vs expectations
  • Scheme shifts are hard, and it’ll probably stay that way
  • This roster wasn’t as good as we had it hoped it would be
  • What additional benefits might consistency bring next season and beyond
  • Rice flips a player from Baylor, inks highest rated recruiting class in program history

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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