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Rice Women’s Basketball blasts PVAMU

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Trinity Gooden returned to the court and Rice women’s basketball rolled to a win, routing Prairie View A&M at home.

Rice women’s basketball was slow out of the gate in their last game against Gonzaga but turned things on in the second half. Even though they didn’t win that game, the Owls found a way to keep that intensity going into their next game against Prairie View A&M.

Buoyed by the return of Trinity Gooden to the lineup after a month’s absence, Rice quickly turned a minor three-point advantage into a double-digit lead. Gooden, Dominque Ennis and Maya Bokunewicz sparked that run with a three-pointer apiece. With the lead in place, the Owls would continue to add to it from that point onward.

That initial run would prove to be a harbinger of things to come as Rice women’s basketball delivered one of their most balanced attacks of the season thus far. Seven different players scored double-digit points as that 10-point lead grew to 20 and eventually to 33 points.

Final Box | Rice 85 – PVAMU 59

What they’re saying

“It feels good to get a win. It’s always good to get a win at home. I thought we played pretty well today. Again, coaches, we’re never happy, right, but I thought for three quarters, we really competed and played Rice women’s basketball [and then] we had a little bit of slippage in the fourth. What I am really proud of is that we had seven in double figures, so a well-balanced attack.

We took care of the basketball even against their pressure and only had 12 turnovers. I thought this was a good game after we had a week off for exams to get us back going and to get us in the win column and get us ready for the next one.” – Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Rounding into form

A healthy Trinity Gooden makes this team better. It also allows coach Edmonds to iron out rotations and roster combinations. Had this game been played in early November, the benches would probably have been emptied and we would have seen 15 players play in the blowout win. Instead, just 10 Owls saw action, with all of them seeing at least 10 minutes of court time apiece.

It’s clear a core group of starters and top bench pieces are forming. How players like Fatou Samb and Kennedy Clifton fit into those permutations is something this staff would prefer to figure out sooner rather than later. Saturday was a good start to those efforts.

Up Next: at Houston (Wed, Dec. 20)

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Rice Basketball coasts to road win over Northwestern St

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Rice basketball posted a second consecutive win, taking care of business on the road against Northwestern State.

Northwestern State scored the first five points on Saturday, holding Rice basketball scoreless for more than three minutes until Travis Evee got the visiting Owls on the board with a jumper, adding another point on an and-one opportunity as Rice began to vault themselves back into the game.

Rice tied the game at nine shortly afterward, then took a 15-13 lead on a three-pointer by Mekhi Mason. The shots would start falling from that point onward. Rice grew their lead to double digits in the first half with Mason delivering the final points of the frame to ensure Rice was in front by 10 at the break.

The second half was all Owls, which began with a 12-2 Rice run, stretching a sizable lead into a blowout. The game was never in doubt from that point onward a Rice utilized solid defense and just enough shooting success to post a third-consecutive victory.

Final Box | Rice 76 – Northwestern State 51

What they’re saying

“We’re really carrying things over right now from the game plan and in practice, on to the court defensively. This team has really taken a good turn defensively. They’re taking pride in it. They’re not wasting possessions. I was really proud of our overall effort and production defensively. Offensively, in the second half, we made layups that we missed in the first half. That was the difference. Any road win is a good win and I’m proud of the team.” – Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera

Key takeaway | Building blocks

Rice basketball has now held consecutive opponents to below 40 percent shooting from the field. The Owls only managed to do that once last season and Northwestern State was included in a three-game stretch of defensive prowess.

Last season serves as a subtle reminder that a good two-game run of defense does not necessarily mean that has become the norm within the program, but it’s a step that shows strong defense is in there somewhere.

On Saturday, Rice dominated the boards, outrebounding Northwestern State 45-29 and limiting shooting opportunities. When those chances did come up, Rice closed quickly and was generally able to impact shots. Northwestern State went 2-of-20 from three.

Up Next: vs Prairie View A&M – Dec. 20 (Wed.)

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Rice Basketball wins School House Mania game over UIW

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Rice basketball fought through a slow start, riding Travis Evee’s second half burst to a win over Incarnate Word in the Owls’ School House Mania game.

Things got off to a bit of a bumpy start for Rice basketball in their annual School House Mania game. Playing host to Incarnate Word, the Owls found themselves trailing their visitors in the early minutes. UIW built a five-point lead before Rice finally got its footing.

Near the midpoint of the first, Rice thundered back with a 17-4 run. A deficit turned into a 10-point advantage as all the Owls on the court got involved in the scoring. They moved the ball well and started to knock down open shots, albeit still without much success from three.

Those failures from long range would create an opening for Incarnate Word’s Josiah Hammons who made a pair of long balls to quickly neutralize the Rice advantage. The Owls would go into halftime with just a three-point lead which disappeared entirely on the first UIW possession after the break.

Travis Evee would break the gridlock. The veteran guard connected on a trio of three-pointers in the span of a few possessions, turning a one-score game into another double-digit advantage for Rice. Incarnate Word would chip away down the stretch, but Rice was able to keep their opponents at arm’s length and ride Evee’s hot hand — he scored a game-high 29 points — to a much-needed win.

Evee notched his 1500th career point in that winning effort, becoming just the 10th player in program history to reach that mark. It was the defense, though, that drew some of his most effusive praise.

“I thought the communication on defense was really good today. There weren’t many self-inflicted wounds on defense. We made them make a lot of tough shots,” Evee said. “We made them take one shot, they didn’t get many offensive rebounds today. Our guys are boxing out. We were flying around with energy.”

Final Box | Rice 80 – UIW 57

Key takeaway | Defense?

Rice hasn’t proven itself to be a team that can play 40 minutes of excellent defensive basketball yet, but Wednesday was an encouraging sign things might be slowly moving in the right direction. While the offense struggled in the early goings, the defense managed to keep this team in the game, something Pera called out almost immediately in his postgame comments.

“I might start chanting defense, defense!” Pera joked. “I think for one of the first times in a long time our defense energized our offense. Whereas in the past, so many times our offense is what got our defense going. I’m happy about that and I think our effort in the second half was outstanding”

Rice held Incarnate Word to 33.9 percent shooting for the game and 24 percent shooting in the second half. The Owls crushed their opponents on the boards after the break, winning that battle 27-12. There have been signs of defensive growth over the past few weeks, but this was one of the better performances we’ve seen from this group so far. Getting a full 40 minutes is the next step.

Up Next: at Northwestern State – Dec. 16 (Sat.)

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Early deficit dooms Rice Women’s Basketball against Gonzaga

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Rice women’s basketball was unable to climb out of a massive early hole against Gonzaga, falling to the ranked Bulldogs at home.

The visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs were the No. 23 team in the country entering the game and gave every indication they belonged among the nation’s best from the star, opening their contest against Rice women’s basketball on a 15-0 run before Shelby Hayes broke their scoring streak nearly halfway through the first quarter.

Trailing by 15, the situation grew more dire as Zags shooter Eliza Hollingsworth delivered a career-best performance, matching her best-ever totals for points and three-pointers by the middle of the second quarter. That enabled the visitors to extend their lead to 21 before the Owls scratched the deficit down to 14 in the final minutes before halftime.

Rice was able to trim the hole to single digits in the final moments of the third quarter, leaning on a complete team effort on both sides of the court to get within seven points. After falling behind big early, to have the game in reach entering the fourth was encouraging, but the deficit would prove too big to overcome.

Gonzaga would do just enough offensively in the fourth quarter — including a pair of dagger three-pointers — to keep the game out of reach. Rice threatened, but could never close the gap, ultimately falling to 5-4 on the season.

Final Box | Gonzaga 80 – Rice 72

Key takeaway |  When the threes don’t fall

Rice women’s basketball is 4-1 when making at least eight threes this year and 1-3 when they don’t (they made three today on 18 attempts).  Their lone victory when they didn’t shoot the three particularly well came against Houston Christian, a team the Owls should be more than capable of handling regardless of how well their outside shooting fairs — Rice made 32.2 percent of their threes (6-for-21) in that game.

The Owls have had some career performances from long-range this year. Maya Bokunewicz tied the school record with seven triples against Saint Mary’s. Dominque Ennis had a personal best six threes against Texas Southern. When someone wasn’t lights out from deep, though, this team has struggled to find its groove offensively.

Finding a solution to that problem is becoming increasingly more important and Saturday’s third quarter might have served as one of the most tangible signs of progress yet. When Rice took possession for the first time in the period, they trailed by 16 points. They made just one three but entered the fourth quarter down by just nine.

It took some strain to get there, but Rice was able to attack the rim, get to the line a couple of times and make their foul shots. That’s a recipe for success, regardless of what’s happening from long range and it’s one Rice might need to lean on again in the near future if the cold streaks from three continue.

Up Next: vs Prairie View A&M (Sat. Dec 9)

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Rice Basketball falls to Houston for eighth straight time

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Rice basketball trade blows with crosstown rival Houston in the early goings, but couldn’t sustain it for 40 minutes against the No. 3 Cougars.

Wednesday night’s battle of intracity foes started off with an exchange of long-range shots. Houston connected on the first three. Then Travis Evee drained one for Rice basketball. Then Houston hit another and the Owls responded with a pair, one apiece from Alem Husenovic and Mekhi Mason, to take their first lead of the evening. It wouldn’t last long.

Trailing 9-8, Houston went on a 22-4 run in the middle portions of the first half. The Rice defense had held its own early, but offensive turnovers and foul trouble for Max Fiedler put the Owls in peril rather quickly.

With Fiedler on the bench, Houston went on the attack. The Coogs took a 16-point lead into the half and opened the second frame on a 9-2 run. Their advantage continued to balloon from that point onward, cresting to 39 points at one point, unofficially putting this game far beyond the Owls’ reach.

Houston entered this game as the No. 3 team in the nation. It was going to take a perfect game to have a chance for Rice to keep pace with this team. The Owls didn’t come close.

Final Box | Houston 75 – Rice 39

Key takeaway | Max or Bust?

It’s possible no college basketball player means more to their program at this very moment than Max Fielder does to Rice basketball. The veteran big man is one of the best facilitators in the sport and the key cog that makes the Owls’ offense go. So when he picked up his third foul midway through the first half — a half in which he only played six minutes — alarm bells had to be sounding in head coach Scott Pera’s head.

The offense without Fiedler on the floor was not nearly as effective. That’s to be expected, but it’s also something Rice probably needs to have a better solution for moving forward. Rather than funneling the ball through the top of the key, movement was pushed toward the edges and it felt like Rice was settling for shots rather than taking the most opportune chances.

Frankly, the simple reality could be this team probably isn’t nearly as dangerous when Fiedler is off the court. But given the number of shooters they have and the players capable of creating opportunities for others, that doesn’t feel like it out to be the case. The offense might be different, but it should still work. For better or worse, Rice basketball got some practice with that scenario Wednesday night.

Up Next: vs Incarnate Word – Dec. 13 (Wed.)

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