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Rice Women’s Basketball Outlasts Florida Atlantic

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Shots were falling for both teams on Saturday as Rice Women’s Basketball made the trip to Boca Raton for a battle with one of the American Conference’s other Owls. The hosting Florida Atlantic Owls took an early lead, which would last for a matter of minutes before a three-pointer from Dominque Ennis put the visitors in front for the first time. Rice would never trail again.

A 10-0 run in the second quarter looked like it would give Rice the cushion to coast to the finish, but Florida Atlantic began the third quarter with a 7-0 run of their own to get their deficit back to one point. Try as they might, Rice was never able to build a lead that was truly comfortable until the final minutes of the contest.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Already ahead by nine, Victoria Flores delivered the finishing blow with a layup (and one) and a three to put Rice ahead by 15 with a little less than two minutes to play. Florida Atlantic made one last push, but the home Owls had run out of time and Rice hung on to win.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 12-3 on the season and 6-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 83, Florida Atlantic 75

Key takeaway | Taking Care of the Basketball

Both teams shot better than 49 percent from the floor on Saturday and made a combined 19 three-pointers. Scoring was a constant and defensive stops were few and far between. The difference was how well the Owl took care of the ball. Rice turned the rock over 13 times, the majority of which occurred during a sloppy stretch in the second quarter when they gave the ball away seven times.

Florida Atlantic committed 19 turnovers, proving to be a bit more slippery-handed than Rice. That six turnover delta proved significant. Rice outscored Florida Atlantic 21-11 off turnovers. They won the game by eight.

Up Next: vs Charlotte (Wed. Jan. 7 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Football Falls to Texas State in Armed Forces Bowl

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Rice Football kept it close for a half before Texas State prevailed in the Armed Forces Bowl, riding explosive plays and turnovers to a lopsided final score.

More than a month removed from their final regular season game, Rice football came out of the gate with some gusto against Texas State. Without their starting quarterback, the Owls leaned on their defense, reaching halftime with three points of the traditionally high-scoring Bobcats. Turnovers pushed the game out of reach in the second half. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Defense Bounces Back

It was a tough end to the regular season for the Rice football defense which saw a significant drop in effectiveness in the second half of the year. They were expected to have their hands full against a Texas State offense that was one of the most explosive units in the nation during the regular season and brought its full complement of skill players with it to the Armed Forces Bowl.

Rice pitched a first quarter shut out. Stonewalling the Bobcats on fourth down before Andrew Awe delivered a crucial third down sack to end the next drive. Texas State broke through on their third possession, which came following a Rice turnover. Even still, they needed a fourth down conversion and a defensive holding penalty in the redzone to make it to the endzone.

More: Top 10 Moments from Rice Athletics in 2025

Rather uncommon penalties for running into an official on the sideline and defensive blocking below the waist buoyed a Texas State field goal drive and a missed tackle resulting in a breakaway touchdown reception, but otherwise, it was tough sledding for the Texas State offense, at least for a half.

Texas State’s 144 first half yards were their second fewest in a first half this year, roughly half of the 267.3 yards they average in first halves this season. The Bobcats would finish with 436 yards, just below the 475.8 yards they averaged during the season. A handful of late breakaway touchdowns accounted for most of that second half bump.

The big touchdown plays still count, but down to down, the defense faired well, especially considering the short fields they were handed after turnovers and the lack of support from their counterparts on offense.

QB Debuts

Quarterback Chase Jenkins started every regular season game for Rice football in 2025 before opting out of the bowl game after Christmas break. That meant the Owls were going to have a new QB1 for the bowl game and, perhaps, longer.

Lucas Scheerhorn got the start and played two drives before ceding to Patrick Crayton Jr, who had his two drives before the ball rotated back to Scheerhorn. Neither quarterback had seen much action this season, with much of it coming in emergency relief in the blowout loss at UTSA.

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The offense remained stuck in neutral for much of the first half before Crayton helped jumpstart it with a 68-second scoring drive at the end of the second quarter, tossing this field-flipping deep ball to fellow freshman Payton Matthews:

Crayton would finish as the Owls’ leading passer with that heave, but no Rice passer tallied more than six completions. The passing game proved an afterthought after consecutive Rice drives ended in fumbles, with a few more balls put on the deck which the Owls managed to recover.

Although the product was messy, head coach Scott Abell said his team was still thankful for the opportunity, particularly so that those young quarterbacks could get that experience.

“I’d say yes again [to the bowl invite],” he said. “The three weeks off practice. “I can’t replicate that moment out there on the field today for Lucas [Scheerhorn] or PJ [Crayton], and that was part of the problem. You can’t replicate that in practice. When are you going to get that kind of look for young quarterbacks so you can help them grow whether its good, bad or indifferent.

Abell declined to offer a path forward at the position in his postgame remarks, but the Owls will undoubtedly exhaust all options to ensure they’re in the best position possible at that crucial quarterback position in 2026, whether that means turning to Scheerhorn, Crayton, or someone else.

Pushed Around Up Front

Given several weeks to prepare for the Owls’ unique offensive approach, the Texas State front was ready come game day, swarming the Rice line and closing running lanes with haste. Aaron Turner was able to get off tackle and burst ahead for a 30 yard gain in the first quarter, cutting back through the middle of the defense, but that was about it for Rice when it came to explosive plays on the ground.

Tyvonn Byars delivered a powerful run to move the chains on fourth and two, but that was about it when it came to big moments from the running game. There didn’t seem to be much running room for any of the Owls’ backs.

More: Stay Tuned for the Recap on The Roost Podcast

The same was true in the passing game. Rice quarterbacks were sacked three times on the game, not counting several plays with forced scrambles or misfired throws driven by a collapsing pocket. “We struggled to protect in any conventional pass set,” Abell said, bluntly.

The second series of the third quarter summed it up acutely. On second down, pressure off the edge forced a high pitch which was fumbled and recovered by Rice. On third down the pressure got to Crayton, knocking the ball out of his hands. Texas State recovered.

The line had its moments, finding enough success to get the offense up and down the field a handful of times, but if this team is going to have the consistency it desires, they’re going to half to be more productive in the trenches.

Searching for that Next Step in the Postseason

Friday’s appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl marked the second time in program history in which Rice had been to three bowl games in a four season span. That they managed to do so this year in the first year of a new coaching staff was notable, but the Owls’ most recent bowl run looks starkly different than the last time Rice was a regular in the postseason.

From 2012 to 2013, Rice went to three consecutive bowl games, finishing the season above .500 with two wins in those three extra contests. Those teams finished the regular season with momentum and carried it over into bowl victories, earning some hardware for the Brian Patterson Center foyer along the way.

Rice football is now riding a three-game losing streak in bowl games and has been largely uncompetitive in those contests. They snuck into two of those games as a five-win team, expected underdogs by oddsmakers. Altogether, that’s 11 consecutive seasons without a bowl win, a long time for a program with eyes on regular postseason attendance.

Taking that next step and turning what Abell would go on to call a “frustrating” season into a bright future remains the North Star for the Owls’ undaunted head coach and the program.

“It’s kind of what I’m built for. It’s what I’ve done in my career,” Abell said. “This is not foreign land to me. I’ve been here. This is why I was brought to Rice.”

That work begins immediately. The Transfer Portal opened at midnight before the Owls’ bowl game. Members of the coaching staff were already departing the stadium to catch flights back home to Houston to continue building for that future. The bowl result wasn’t what they wanted, but this staff remains confident they’re on the right track on South Main.

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Rice Basketball Outgunned by Tulsa on the road

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Rice Basketball couldn’t keep up with an explosive Tulsa offense, falling behind early during a New Year’s Eve loss to the Golden Hurricane.

Dreams of a Happy New Year’s Eve on the road for Rice basketball turned to nightmares in short order as the Owls were on the wrong end of a 10-0 start to open their game against Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. The Owls missed their first five shots, falling behind from the first possession.

Rice would cut the deficit down to one on and 11-0 run, spurred by excellent shooting and timely free throws from Nick Anderson, who would go on to paced the team with 17 points on the afternoon. Rice would never lead, though. Tulsa volleyed back, pulling out to a 13-point advantage at the halftime buzzer.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

The margin hovered around double-digits for much of the second half until a series of threes from Tulsa’s Jaylen Lawal put the game out of reach, for good. Up by 25 approaching the eight-minute media timeout, the Golden Hurricane would hang on for a comfortable win.

Rice Basketball falls to 6-8 with the loss. The Owls are 1-6 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tulsa 97, Rice 48

Key takeaway | Stars Silenced

Tulsa entered this contest as the top shooting team in the American Conference. That the Owls would give up points to the Golden Hurricane shouldn’t be that surprising. Rather, their inability to mount an effective counterpunch is the more concerning component of this loss.

The emergence of Cam Carroll and the reliability of Nick Anderson have gone a long way to buttress a Rice offense that has been inconsistent this season. But those two alone can’t support a balanced attack than can challenge the likes of Tulsa.

Veterans Trae Broadnax and Jalen Smith combined for 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting with eight boards. It would be decidedly unfair to saddle them with the blame for this defeat, however, it’s hard to envision Rice basketball winning many games in American Conference play if those two are barely going to crack double digits together.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sat, Jan. 3 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Stuns South Florida on the Road

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Rice women’s basketball opened up conference play with a statement win, taking down American Conference frontrunner South Florida on the road.

Rice Women’s Basketball set the tone quickly in the opening minutes against preseason American conference favorite South Florida on Tuesday night. The Owls opened the game on an 8-2 run, but the hosts would equalize a few possessions later. Then the game was on.

The two sides traded leads six times in the remainder of the first quarter. While each team would have a spurt of offensive success, the Owls’ one-upped an 8-0 South Florida run with a 12-0 run of their own to push the lead to double-digits, the first such advantage for either side to that point.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Rice led by six at the half and maintained a modest advantage through the third quarter before having their chance to run away with a thunderous 11-0 run but try as they might, they couldn’t put South Florida away.

After trailing for almost all of the second half, the Bulls took their first lead after halftime with 2:09 to play on the heels of a 9-0 rally. Down by one on their final possession, Shelby Hayes knocked down a short jumper to go back in front. Rice made one more defensive stand to complete the massive road win.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 11-3 on the season and 5-3 away Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 70, South Florida 68

Key takeaway | Top Dog

South Florida received 11 of the 13 first place votes in the American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. UTSA got one. Rice got the other. With one conference game in the books in 2025, the Owls have officially made their bid to be considered the conference’s top dog.

Rice and South Florida aren’t strangers to each other on the hardwood. The Bulls won all three matchups last season including the conference tournament championship game last March. For Rice to get revenge on the road in both team’s first game of the conference slate sets the tone for the remainder of the year to come.

This win will go down as one of Edmond most impressive at South Main to this point. And as far as this season goes, Rice had won nine of their last 10 and proven themselves dangerous on both sides of the court. And if you asked Edmonds, their best might still be to come.

Up Next: at Florida Atlantic (Sat. Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)

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Shooting Can’t Keep Up as Rice Basketball Falls at Pepperdine

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Rice Basketball was outgunned by a red-hot Pepperdine offense, closing out nonconference play without a single road win.

Cam Carroll opened up the scoring but Rice basketball still found itself playing from behind for most of their contest against Pepperdine on Saturday evening. The Waves took the lead right back from the Owls and held a minor advantage through much of the first half, although there were three more lead changes before the break.

The early minutes of the second half proved to be the Owls’ undoing. Pepperdine opened the period on a 10-4 run, stretching their lead to 13 points and putting Rice on the defensive. It took some time, but the Owls started to find their shooting stroke as they attempted to keep pace with their sharpshooting hosts. Pepperdine shot 49 percent from the field, straining a Rice offense that couldn’t recover from a much slower start.

MORE: Rice Football Recruiting — 2025 Winter Transfer Portal Tracker

A 7-0 run just after the midpoint of the second quarter would briefly get Rice back within single digits, but Pepperdine rallied, keeping the margin right around 10 points for the next several minutes as the clock wound down. It was then that Pepperdine connected on five consecutive three-point attempts, effectively ending any hopes of a Rice comeback.

Rice Basketball falls to 6-7 with the loss. The Owls are 1-5 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Pepperdine 84, Rice 62

Key takeaway | Road Woes

Had things gone differently in Fort Myers at Coconut Hoops, the Owls’ shockingly awful record away from Tudor Fieldhouse would be much easier to swallow. Yes, the quality of competition Rice has played on the road has been stout. Yes, many of those games have remained competitive, even going to overtime. Still, Rice has won one basketball game outside of the city of Houston in six tries.

The American Conference might not be chock full of sure-fire powerhouses as it has been in recent years, but the level of competition will still be rigorous. Half of those games are going to be played away from Tudor Fieldhouse. Plain and simple. Rice basketball has to find a way to win away from home.

Up Next: at Tulsa (Wed, Dec. 31 at 1:00 pm)

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