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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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Rice Football Ends Season in Loss to South Florida

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Rice Football dropped its final game of the season on the road against South Florida, coming one win shy of a bowl trip in head coach Scott Abell’s debut season.

South Florida struck first and kept laying it on in what proved to be the final game of the 2025 Rice Football season. Unable to win a sixth game and earn bowl eligibility, the Owls’ season ends at 5-7 with a one-sided loss in Tampa. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Long Ball Provides Early Gut Punch

South Florida struck for three quick touchdown drives to put Rice football on the defensive from the start. The Owls’ defense allowed 10.2 yards per play on those first three drives, providing little resistance to the admittedly ultra-efficient South Florida offense.

That South Florida was able to move the ball was one thing, but the ease with which they racked up multiple long touchdown plays was most problematic.

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Rice entered this game ranked dead last in the American Conference with 20 scrimmage plays of 40+ yards allowed. No other team had allowed more than 16. The Owls added to that number early against the Bulls as quarterback Byrum Brown threw touchdowns of 47 yards and 60 yards before the midpoint of the second quarter.

The deficit would only grow from there, leaving the offense quite a sizable hole to attempt to climb out of over the course of the next two quarters and change. But while all three phases showed there’s room for improvement, the lack of resistance the defense provided of any sort left this game out of reach before the offense and special teams had a chance to get going.

Steady Special Teams

Punters don’t get a lot of airtime, and while there have been a lot of things that haven’t gone according to plan in a season that ends without a postseason appearance, Alex Bacchetta has been a bright spot. The Owls veteran punter was largely serviceable, at best, a season ago. Ranking 11th in the conference in net punting, with 37.7 net yards per punt and ninth with an average of 41.2 yards.

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Entering Saturday, Bacchetta has boosted both of those marks. This year, he’s up to 40.4 net yards per attempt and a 44.8-yard average. Against USF he punted six times, averaging 43.3 yards per punt with a long of 51 yards. Those numbers will likely elevate him into the top five in the conference in average and keep him near a 40-yard net. That’s a solid season worth some recognition.

Backup Quarterbacks Get Cameos

Quarterback Chase Jenkins became the first Rice football quarterback to start every game in a regular season since Driphus Jackson in 2015, but unfortunately, he would not finish all 12 games. Jenkins left the UTSA game with a lower-body injury several weeks ago and was knocked out of the Owls’ final game in the late minutes of the second quarter following a blow to the head.

Drew Devillier replaced him and got his longest extended look as the quarterback in this offense thus far. Some of his passes in that emergency fill-in drive went long, but he did get the team within field goal range and looked much more composed when he returned in the second half.

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Devillier took that first snap after the break 10 yards on the ground, showcasing his ability as a runner, even if he might not be as fleet of foot as Jenkins. He orchestrated a 7-play, 61-yard drive sparked by a long run from Aaron Turner before giving way to Lucas Scheerhorn, who opened the fourth quarter.

Scheerhorn didn’t complete any passes, but ran the ball effectively, with a long carry of 20 yards. Originally recruited to run an option system at Kennesaw State, his level of comfort in the offense was evident, in spite of a fumbled low snap that resulted in a turnover. Ultimately, Jenkins still projects as the future at quarterback for this program, but live game reps should prove valuable for both moving forward.

Making Sense of the Season

There will be plenty of time to dissect this season — and we’ll have plenty of analysis on The Roost in the days ahead — but for the time being, the dichotomy of expectations rings as the defining dissonance that will forever mark head coach Scott Abell’s first season on South Main.

On paper, this season was a success. They beat Vegas’ preseason 3.5 win total expectations by a game and half and posted wins over two bowl teams: Louisiana and UConn. But games aren’t played on paper, nor are programs constructed on them.

“You always reflect on year one and you ask yourself the question, Hey, did we set the culture? I mean that’s got to be the primary goal. And so, without question, we did,” Abell said in his post-game comments.

In some ways, the hope inspired by the 3-1 start challenged the conventional wisdom that wins weren’t the conventional currency of Year One. Abell’s team inspired hope in a year that was meant to be a table setter for the seasons to come.

“How do we rate success this year will be when we really evaluate how we grew, and then are we ready to take the next step for the program? The next step is to compete with these teams,” Abell said, referring to the upper tier of programs in the American like Memphis, North Texas and South Florida.

“And when you show flashes of it, you get excited, but that’s all we did this year against this top tier, we showed a flash here and there. We showed a quarter here and there. We got to play four quarters. We got to get back the development time, which this program desperately needs. We need to continue to build the roster. I’m excited about doing that. Looking forward to doing that.”

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Rice Women’s Basketball Drops Nailbiter to UCF

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Rice women’s basketball dropped a nailbiter to UCF in the Owls’ final game of the Puerto Rico Shootout. closing out the week 2-1.

The final Rice women’s basketball game at the Puerto Rico Shootout went down to the wire with the resilient Owls trailing for a large portion of the contest, but never backing allowing themselves to fall out of striking distance.

Aniah Alexis led all scorers with nine first-half points, keeping the margin close. She sank four free throws in the middle of the second quarter to cull a nine-point deficit and get the Owls back within four points at halftime.

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That basket or two deficit stretched into the fourth quarter before Rice mounted a final offensive. A three from Dominque Ennis and subsequent jumper from Victoria Flores gave the Owls their first lead since the early moments of the second quarter. Knights’ guard Leah Harmon would answer with seven straight points of her own, surviving a late three from Shelby Hayes to edge the Owls by one.

Rice women’s basketball falls to 5-3 on the season and 3-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | UCF 57, Rice 56

Key takeaway | We Have a Hayes

The emergence of Shelby Hayes in Puerto Rico was by far the most significant happening for Rice women’s basketball this week. The Owls have needed another key piece to rely on given their offseason attrition. Hayes came through in a big way in the comeback against Illinois State and Friday’s battle with UCF.

Hayes has scored in double figures in five of her last six games, the lone exception being the Morgan State blowout where her services weren’t required because of the lopsided score and she only played 17 minutes. She’s become a versatile, go-to piece in the offense that should continue to pay dividends for the Owls as the season progresses.

Up Next: vs Sam Houston (Wed. Dec. 3 at 5:30 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Routs Morgan State

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Rice women’s basketball raced past Morgan State on Thanksgiving Day, moving to 2-0 at the Puerto Rico Shootout.

Morgan State scored the first points, but didn’t offer much of a fight for the final 39 minutes of their Thanksgiving Day contest with Rice Women’s Basketball at the Puerto Rico Shootout. The Owls responded to that opening basket with a thunderous 18-3 run to finish the quarter, putting the game out of reach with haste.

The teams played a more even game across the next two quarters. A 13-point lead after the first quarter still grew, but reached only 17 points at halftime and stayed at that margin entering the fourth quarter. It was then at that the Owls started to pull away in earnest.

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Rice began the final period on a 10-1 run, eventually expanding their edge to as many as 32 points on a layup from Jill Twiehaus in the final minute. Morgan State would add a free throw to cull the final margin by a point, but the magnitude of the victory was unchanged.

Rice women’s basketball improves to 5-2 on the season and 3-2 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 75, Morgan State 44

Key takeaway | Taking Care of Business

Morgan State is not a good basketball team. The Bears are 1-7 on the season, with that lone victory coming over an NAIA program. This win won’t be mentioned as a resume builder down the road. However, that the game was a snoozer in itself shouldn’t be summarily dismissed.

For a Rice program that’s had its fair share of ups and downs already this season, a blowout win in this fashion was just what the doctor ordered. Good teams beat bad teams like this; that’s how it’s supposed to work. A close win would have counted the same way on the ledger, but it’s worth noting Rice is established enough now that they shouldn’t have to sweat games like this in the future.

Up Next: Puerto Rico Shootout vs UCF (Nov. 28 at 2:00 pm)

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