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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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Rice Basketball Survives “Test of Our Mettle” vs Texas State

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Rice Basketball earned a big lead and lost it, rallying late and holding on to secure a home win over Texas State.

Physicality was on full display when Rice basketball hosted Texas State on Wednesday evening. A tight contest in the early goings was turned into a sturdy halftime lead in favor of the Owls’ behind one of the more dominant rebounding efforts the program has seen in some time.

Texas State committed just five turnovers in the first half and shot a respectable 42 percent from the floor. And yet, they trailed by 12 points in large part because the Owls outrebounded the Bobcats 22-10 with a whopping 11 offensive boards leading to 16 second chance points.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Then, it was as if the visitors flipped a switch. Texas State exploded out of the gates in the second half, nearly evening the rebounding battle in the next 10 minutes as they rallied to retake the lead in a 23-3 outburst. That Rice opened the half 2-for-9 from the field did them no favors.

Facing a six point deficit, Rice fought back. Trae Broadnax keyed the rally with several heads up defensive plays, putting the Owls back in front on a marvelous fadeaway followed by consecutive made free throws. Rice took a five-point lead into the final minute before Texas State cut it to one. Jalen Smith then made consecutive free throws to extend the edge to three before Nick Anderson iced things with a pair of foul shots of his own with 1.5 seconds remaining.

Rice Basketball improves to 4-6 with the win. The Owls are 3-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 77, Texas State 72

What They’re Saying

Key takeaway | Learning on the Go

Following a week of consecutive gut punches, Rice basketball found a way to finish on Wednesday in a game that felt much more meaningful than just a singular win. But of course, it wouldn’t come easily.

That Rice saw a double-digit advantage wither in minutes in the second half and still found a way to rally spoke volumes about how far this team has come.

“I think those are the moments that kind of define teams a little bit,” guard Trae Broadnax said. “It was like a test of our mettle and our toughness.”

“I think coming off the week that we had last week where we went 1-2 but we felt like we took a step forward. We tried to put our best foot forward today in some spurts, for sure.”

ESPN win probability gave Rice more than a 90 percent chance of winning in this game on three separate occasions. Between them, Texas State mounted their rally. Afterward, Rice saw the late game lead dwindle to one point. The next step will be finding ways to maintain that consistent advantage and render the need for a furious comeback moot

“I feel like these experiences we’ve had over the last 10 games have not been lost on the guys,” Lanier said. “They’ve learned from it and I think tonight was an example of learning from previous games.”

Up Next: vs Arkansas State (Sat, Dec. 13 at 2:00 pm)

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Big Fourth Quarter Propels Rice Women’s Basketball ast SHSU

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Rice women’s basketball battled through three close quarters before blowing the game open with a big fourth quarter run to take down Sam Houston at home.

Sam Houston entered their Wednesday night game with Rice women’s basketball 5-1, but largely untested to this point. The Owls were quickly forced to reckon with the quality of their opponent, falling behind 5-0 after the opening tip. Rice would close out the first quarter trailing by six, not truly finding their offensive rhythm until the midpoint of the second quarter.

A three from Louann Battiston jump started a five-minute rally in which the Owls outscored the Bearkats 14-4, turning a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead. Sam Houston would cut the gap to three just before halftime.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

The lead flipped four times in the third quarter. Then, with Rice leading by just one point in the opening minute of the final frame, the Owls’ deep shooting finally started to connect. The Owls hit more three pointers in the fourth quarter (five) than they did in the first three quarters, turning a razor-thin contest into one with a 15-point cushion in the final minute.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 66, SHSU 50

What They’re Saying

Key takeaway | Finding that Fourth Quarter

The Owls’ fourth quarter box score was immaculate. Rice women’s basketball shot 64 percent from the field, out-rebounded Sam Houston 11-4 and had three steals and two blocks. It was one of the best 10 minute stanzas this team has played all season.

“That fourth quarter outing was what I expect from my team,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “I’m excited to see that team show up more.”

When asked how Edmonds plans to get her team to replicate that performance, Edmonds pointed toward the growth her team has experienced so far this season and how much more poised they’re playing compared to this time last year.

“I don’t expect us to be, right now, as good as we’re going to be in March. We’re going to continue to get better. It’s their job to continue to get better. It’s my job to continue to get us better. And we will,” Edmonds said. “We will continue working on it. Every day I feel like we’ve done something better. I’m proud of that growth. I’m proud of where we’re at.”

Up Next: vs UNLV (Sat. Dec. 6 at 2:00 pm)

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