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Rice Women’s Basketball loses big lead, falls to Georgia Tech

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Rice women’s basketball built a 17-point lead but could not hang on, allowing miscues to sink them late against Georiga Tech.

At least early on, the friendly confines of Tudor Fieldhouse seemed to be a welcoming backdrop for a resurgent Rice women’s basketball team that got things going quickly against Georgia Tech. Destiny Jackson delivered eight first-quarter points, propelling the Owls to an early lead, which grew to a double-digit advantage midway through the second quarter.

It looked as if the Owls would be able to put things in cruise control when their advantage reached 17 points in the early minutes of the third quarter. Instead, things started to sputter for the home team.

Georgia Tech traded blows with Rice for a while in the third quarter, but didn’t really began their comeback bid in earnest until the final minute of the frame. The Yellow Jackets finished on a 7-0 run, converting their foul shots and a key three pointer to pull within six. That deficit shrunk to one at the midpoint of the fourth quarter, putting the pressure back on Rice to find a way to finish.

Foul trouble and turnovers would prove to be the Owls’ undoing. Malia Fisher spent most of the final quarter on the bench before fouling out in the final minute. Limited minutes from Fisher late and six turnovers in the final quarter proved too much to overcome. Dominque Ennis had time to toss a pair of threes up to tie the game, but neither found home, handing Rice their second consecutive defeat.

“I’m not into moral victories,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said after the game. “I felt like that was one we let slip away.”

Final Box | Georgia Tech 78 – Rice 75

What They’re Saying

“I told the team, I reminded them, we did not schedule a cupcake non-conference and we did it on purpose. We wanted to challenge ourselves. We wanted to be battle-tested. We wanted to be put in these situations. And hopefully, these adversities that we’re dealing with now are going to bring blessings to us in March and we’ll be able to figure out how to win the games that we need, to have the toughness that we need to… Hopefully it’s going to help us in February and March, when it matters the most.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Take care of the basketball

Two stats sum up why this game ended the way it did: rebounds and turnovers. When games get close, teams that execute are the ones that tend to win. Yes, high-caliber shooting can bail anyone out on any given night, but over the long haul, it typically requires excelling in the fundamentals and doing the little things well.

Rice was outrebounded 41-34 for the game and 10-5 in the fourth quarter. Likewise, Rice committed one less turnover in the game than Georgia Tech did but gave the ball back to their opponent six times in the fourth compared to twice by the Yellow Jackets.

Up Next: vs St. Mary’s (Sun. Nov 19)

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 167 – Rice Football rolled by Roadrunners

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Rice football stayed close for a half, but couldn’t overcome a disastrous third quarter against UTSA, falling to the Roadrunners yet again.

For the eighth straight time, Rice football lost to UTSA. After being blown out in the last two contests with the Roadrunners, the Owls kept it close this time around with a backup quarterback under center. In this week’s episode, we debrief the game, talk about the offense, the encouraging defensive gameplan and debate what to do with targeting.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 167.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

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Recapping Rice Football vs UTSA

  • The offense was out of sync from the start, quarterback included
  • Not enough big plays made by skill position players
  • The defensive gameplan was creative and largely effective
  • You kept Frank Harris in check!… but did not score
  • Nobody knows what targeting is anymore
  • What’s next for Rice football and bowl aspirations

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.ri

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TCU snaps Rice Women’s Basketball’s nonconference win streak

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Rice women’s basketball saw a 13-game non-conference game winning streak come to an end on Sunday in Fort Worth, falling to TCU 67-42.

Baskets were at a premium on Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas. Rice women’s basketball made its first shot to take a 2-0 lead, but didn’t string together consecutive made baskets until the opening possession of the third quarter. TCU wasn’t shooting much better. The Horned Frogs edged the Owls 36.2 percent to 25.4 percent from the field, but a high-scoring game was never in the cards.

Despite the shooting woes, Rice hung tight with TCU through the first quarter of action. Things were neck-and-neck for a while until TCU went on a 17-2 run, pushing a level game to the brink of a blowout in the matter of roughly five minutes of time on the court.

Rice was able to chip away at the deficit in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Malia Fisher got the run started with back-to-back layup, others contributed a few timely shots behind her, but things went cold once again from the field shortly thereafter. Rice did not make a field goal in the final 6:20 of the third quarter. That allowed TCU to stretch the lead from 10 to 18 entering the final frame.

Without any sort of consistent offensive production, Rice had to watch TCU pull away and seal the game. The loss snaps a streak of 13 consecutive non-conference victories for the Owls.

Final Box | TCU 67 – Rice 42

Key takeaway | Who is going to step up on offense?

Rice missed four or more consecutive shots on four separate occasions in the first half against TCU. The Horned Frogs only had one such cold stretch during that period. Come the third and fourth quarters, Rice suffered through an 0-for-10 stretch from the field.

On some days, the shots are going to fall. That’s basketball. It happens. Finding ways to manufacture easy looks and get to the free throw line becomes the necessary alternative on those afternoons. Even that sort of Plan B never materialized from the Owls on Sunday.

The slow day on the offense exposed one lingering question for this team, which boasts as talented and as deep of a roster as they’ve had under head coach Lindsay Edmonds thus far: do they have a dominant scorer?

Edmonds’ teams have tended toward balanced production. No single player has carried the load on offense, it’s been a collective effort. In general, the approach makes a lot of sense and it’s worked for this program. But on days like today, Rice women’s basketball needs someone to take command and will the offense to score.

Nobody rose to the occasion against TCU. Will someone take up that mantle on the next tough day from the field? Rice is going to have more hard shooting days. They need to figure out a solution.

Up Next: vs Georgia Tech (Thr. Nov 16)

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Nightmare Third Quarter Dooms Rice Football at UTSA

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Rice Football hung around for a half, but couldn’t finish the job against UTSA, falling to the Roadrunners for the eighth consecutive time.

The first 30 minutes of Saturday night’s AAC matchup in the Alamodome felt like a heavyweight fight. Rice football traded blows with UTSA, matching one of the conference’s few remaining teams that was unbeaten in league play. Then things fell apart.

Suddenly the proverbial clock hit midnight and the Owls turned into a pumpkin, withering in the third quarter in what felt like a winnable game to that point. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The defense brought the heat

Rice football has seen plenty of UTSA quarterback Frank Harris over the past several seasons and they’ve learned a lot of what didn’t work. Harris has gashed Rice through the air and on the ground — and he got his fair share of yardage on Saturday night — but the Owls’ defensive gameplan against him proved effective.

Over and over again, Rice brought pressure in high-leverage situations. On third downs, Harris was met with white-clad Owl jerseys with haste, forcing the veteran passer to make split-second decisions with the football.

The strategy put a heavy burden on the Rice secondary. If the rush didn’t get home, the defensive backs had to make one-on-one plays. For the most part, they did and the Owls’ gameplan gave them a chance. Tack on a few key havoc plays, and Rice was very much so in this game.

UTSA entered the redzone five times, they scored three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came after the Roadrunners were gifted a free first down on a crucial fourth down play. Rice was all over Harris from the snap, forcing him to break toward the sideline. Michael Larbie came in late and was flagged for a roughing the passer. The call was correct. The play was devastating. UTSA scored three plays later.

It wasn’t a perfect day, but holding Frank Harris to 175 yards and one touchdown and making plays in the redzone was more than sufficient enough to give the Rice offense a chance. Defensive coordinator Brian Smith crafted a solid game plan. Against an elite offense, the defense did their part.

Quarterback quandaries

Turning to their fourth quarterback to see the field in the past eight days, the Rice football offense took a while to show life in this one. AJ Padgett, who drew his first start since the Lending Tree Bowl against Southern Miss, started the game 1-for-4, stepping into a drive-ending sack and overshooting running back Dean Connors on a screen with blockers ready on another third down opportunity.

On the Owls’ third drive, Padgett threw it into an empty area of turf, vacated by a running back cutting back toward the middle of the field and a tight end breaking out. It was clearly a miscommunication, but regardless of the culpable party, it killed another drive.

Every quarterback that takes a snap for the Owls this season will be compared — fairly or not — to the high bar JT Daniels set with this offense. Daniels has showcased an uncanny ability to make plays happen despite adverse conditions. He’s good for a few “did-you-see-what-he-just-did” plays in each game.

There wasn’t much time between the drive Padgett started to settle down and the UTSA defensive line turned into the Monstars, or at least, something frighteningly close. Padgett led the offense on a 22-second touchdown drive to close the half but the second half began with three consecutive three-and-outs.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren said afterward that, for the most part, the offensive line held its own. And while he did lead with the reminder that the quarterback gets too much credit and too much blame, he noted Padgett’s role in the negative plays was not insignificant.

There were moments when it felt like Rice might have won this game had Daniels been on the field, but the final score seems to suggest otherwise.

Offense out of sync

The result of this game swung on the play of the offenses. The Rice offensive line was under duress for most of the night. When you can’t win one-on-one, it’s hard to mount a formidable protection. Free rushers got past Clay Servin on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. On the next drive, Ethan Onianwa was the victim.

“I really want to hesitate to blame this on the line because we got to remember everybody plays a role in protection,” Bloomgren said, including himself in the following summation: “I’m putting this on everybody.”

UTSA led the AAC in sacks coming into this game. They’re a very, very good front. But Rice played good fronts in their past two games and found a way to protect the quarterback and move the football. It’s confounding to see them struggle so mightily in that respect tonight, but it was impossible to overcome.

The Rice defensive line was largely good. They gave up a few chunk gains on plays that were well-blocked by UTSA, but they always bounced back with a tackle for loss or negligible gain to give themselves a chance.

Do or die*

Rice football falls to 4-6 with the loss, two wins away from six and securing bowl eligibility. Their upcoming opponents, Charlotte and FAU, both lost on Saturday as well. They’re certainly very winnable games against much more manageable opponents than the murder’s row of AAC heavyweights Rice has played in the past three weeks.

First and foremost, if Rice football is as good as they’ve given onlookers reason to believe, then they’re better than 4-6 FAU and 3-7 Charlotte. Winning out would put them at .500 in the conference with potentially each of their four losses coming to a bowl-eligible team that finished .500 or better in league play, assuming USF can find one more win down the stretch.

And don’t shoot the messenger, but Rice could very well be in the mix for a bowl berth if they finish with five wins. The latest Action Network projections would have room for Rice in the field based on how things currently stand.

It has certainly not been the season Rice football fans had hoped for nor the year the team itself spoke of following their marquee upset victory over Houston so many weeks ago. But six wins is still on the table. It sure would be nice for all parties involved if they could reach that plateau for the first time in the Bloomgren era.

“This is November and you’ll always remember what happens in November. We’ve said that quote a lot. With that being said, it’s like we’re in playoff football. You win this week, you get another meaningful game,” Bloomgren said in closing.

“This team wants to win. This team is working their butts off to win. There’s a lot of individual performances on this film that are going to be really good, really fun to watch. Team results’ not good enough.”

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Early deficit dooms Rice Basketball in home loss to Harvard

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Rice basketball rallied from an 18-point deficit on Friday night against Harvard, but could not finish the job, falling to the Crimson at home.

Days removed from a comprehensive drubbing of St. Thomas, Rice basketball was handed a much tougher challenge in their second game of the season. Harvard came out in a furry, delivering Rice their loudest wakeup call yet in their young season. From the opening score — a three ball from Chandler Pigge – throughout a barrage of Harvard baskets, Rice seemingly had no answer.

Harvard couldn’t miss early in this contest. The Crimson shot 51.6 percent in the first half, starting the game 6-for-9 from three. That onslaught would have been tough to keep pace with if the Owls were shooting well, but it wasn’t that kind of night for the home team. Rice opened the game 1-for-11 from three and struggled mightily from the floor.

“We got punched in the mouth out of the gate. I don’t know if it’s guys’ effort so much as if they’re not having success how they handle it internally,” Pera said. “I didn’t think our effort was bad. I thought our execution was bad, especially when we go the lead.”

The segue to that lead came with Rice trailing by a game-high 18 points in the first half. Pera called a timeout. The players settled down and responded with an 11-0 run. Reaching halftime trailing by only 10 points felt like a victory in itself.

At the halfway mark in the second half the game didn’t seem any closer. Rice trailed by 12 at the under-12-minute media timeout. Then, out of the timeout, Rice got to work. The 12-point deficit was vaporized. Over the course of the next three minutes, Rice thundered back to take the lead. It would not last.

Harvard found the plays in clutch moments whereas Rice was held without a field goal for more than four minutes before an inconsequential layup from Max Fiedler fell, accompanied by the muted applause of a full Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice falls to 1-1 with the loss.

“In every category that matters, they outplayed us,” Pera said.

Final Box | Harvard 89 – Rice 76

What They’re Saying

“If you can do it in practice, you gotta be able to do it in a game. It’s gotta transfer. I gotta figure out why that didn’t happen so that the next time we play, whether it’s Texas or Saint Thomas, we do what we’re supposed to do and what we work on. That is the frustration for me.” – Head coach Scott Pera.

Key takeaway | Defensive frustrations

Fair or not, the defense will be the first culprit assigned blame when Rice loses. To this point of Pera’s tenure, it’s been his largest vexation and the most frequent offseason talking point. And to his credit, Pera never promised — nor should onlookers have expected — a top-tier defensive unit. The aim was always to be competent enough and the offense would do the rest.

The bar was rather low. Rice lost their opening contest last season at Pepperdine 106-67. Keeping Harvard to a slightly more stomachable 89 points is technically an improvement, but the progress rings hollow when the result isn’t a win.

“In practice, we do the right things. It’s just effort, paying attention in games and locking in instead of having these little mental lapses,” guard Anthony Selden said. “Mental lapses at this level, teams are going to take advantage of it. I think we can’t afford to have little mental lapses every possession.”

The defense was better in stretches after half time. Rice doesn’t get back into this game without five key second half turnovers and two blocks to help spur their comeback bid. Ultimately, though, it was an inability to maintain that level of defensive intensity for more than a few possessions that sank the Owls on Friday night.

Three times in his postgame comments Pera used the word disappointing, frustrations evident from the loss. For coaches and players, the disconnect from practice to the game was agonizing. And they don’t have very long to figure it out. Rice plays Texas in four days’ time.

Pera’s message was crystal clear. “Forget about beating Texas or beating Harvard. Just play like we’re capable of playing. You have an opportunity then, because we have good enough players, that you’ll give yourselves a chance to win the games,” he said. But if you play like this for 30 minutes tonight, you’re not winning.”

Up Next: at Texas (Wed. Nov 15)

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