The source for Rice sports news

Rice Women’s Basketball edges BYU in first round of WNIT

By

Rice women’s basketball built an early lead and held on, surviving a late rally from BYU to advance in the WNIT.

Despite playing on BYU’s home court, Rice women’s basketball looked like they were right at home on Friday night’s opening round game of the WNIT. The Owls’ jumped out to a 10-0 lead, blitzing the Cougars from the first possession.

BYU got things going later in the first quarter, but Rice matched them blow for blow thanks in large part to a big day from freshman Shelby Hayes who made her first postseason appearance particularly memorable. Hayes had 10 points and four rebounds in the first half, setting the tone for the early portions of the game.

After holding BYU to 38 percent shooting in the first half, Rice turned up the pressure in the third quarter. The Owls led by as many as 13 in that frame, holding BYU to 29 percent shooting from the field, but the Cougars wouldn’t stay silent for much longer. BYU thundered back in the fourth quarter, closing within two points and forcing a Rice timeout.

BYU threatened, but never took the lead, missing a pair of three pointers in the final 20 seconds. Rice would grab the rebound and win the ensuing battle of free throws to secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 71 – BYU 67

Key takeaway | Full Strength Owls

Rice women’s basketball did not have Destiny Jackson available in the Conference USA Tournament, and her absence was felt. Her ability to create on the offensive side of the court and drive to the basket played a significant role in the Owls’ early exit from that tournament and might help keep Rice dancing longer in their WNIT run.

The closing seconds of the first quarter served as a reminder of what Jackson brings to this team. With the clock ticking toward zero, she took on several defenders, slicing through the lane and delivering a layup, the half’s final points. Her ability to score puts the Owls’ opponents on notice and opens the door for her teammates. If Jackson is back, even in limited minutes, Rice will be dangerous going forward.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Baseball stymied in road loss to Baylor

By

Rice Baseball offered little resistance in a Tuesday night road loss to Baylor, falling back below .500 on the season.

From the first Baylor batter, it was clear Rice baseball was going to be in for a long evening. A fly ball to left field was misplayed, initially ruled an error before later being revised as a leadoff triple. Regardless of how it was scored, a triple from the two-hole hitter on the next at bat put Rice behind early. Baylor would score two more runs in the first, pushing Rice into a 3-0 deficit after one.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball shows growth in HCU sweep

The second inning was more of the same. Rice was kept off the scoreboard and Baylor strung together more hits, this time a double followed by three consecutive singles to score a pair of runs. Up 5-0, the Bears leaned on their pitching staff the rest of the way with an insurance run added in the eighth. Rice was limited to two hits, and no runs in a quiet road loss in Waco.

What it means | Neither length nor strikes

Rice baseball hasn’t really gotten length out of any starter aside from Parker Smith. Given the number of arms the staff is working to break in, that might not be proof in itself of a problem, but those short stints combined with poor performances are alarming. And the damage they’ve done is unquestionable.

Tuesday’s starter, Mauricio Rodriguez, went two innings and allowed five runs. His season ERA has climbed to 8.83. He’s been roughed up in three of his last four starts, only finding success against UTRGV, but even that was limited to four innings.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

As exhibited on Tuesday, the Rice offense is not yet good enough to routinely overcome massive early deficits. They did so against Louisiana in the Sunday game. They did it again against Houston Christian this past Sunday. Those were the exceptions. More often than not, it’s bad news. If Rice baseball can’t sort that out and avoid the implosions, it’s going to be a long season.

ON DECK | at UAB (Fri-Sun)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Baseball shows growth in sweep of Houston Christian

By

Rice Baseball improved to 8-8 on the season, taking all three games against Houston Christian, some in thrilling fashion.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – HCU 1

Parker Smith held Houston Christian to one run in five innings on Friday night, putting Rice baseball in a prime position for a series-opening win. Matthew Linskey took the baton and delivered what was probably his best outing of the year, tossing four scoreless frames with five strikeouts to earn his first save.

With those two hurlers keeping the Owls’ opponent at bay — HCU scored just one run in nine innings — the Rice offense was handed an easier assignment. In the second, Paul Smith drove in the first run via a sacrifice fly in the second to put Rice in front. In the third, Drew Holderbach tripled to drive in what would become the game-winner, stole home a few moments later then added another insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth.

SATURDAY | Rice 14 – HCU 12

If Friday was for the pitchers, Saturday was for the bats. Rice delivered the first crooked number, taking a 7-2 lead after three innings, but HCU would continue to chip away. The Huskies big break came in the top of the seventh with a three-run home run to left field giving the visitors a 10-7 lead. It would not be enough.

The HCU pitching imploded an inning later. Rice batters walked five times in the inning and were hit by pitches twice. Rice collected one hit, a single by infielder Ben Royo, but scored seven runs to take a 14-7 lead. HCU would give Rice a scare in the ninth, but couldn’t overcome the deficit, allowing Rice to secure the series win.

SUNDAY| Rice 7 – HCU 6

Rice starter Mark Perkins worked around a hit batter in the first inning before running into trouble with the back half of the lineup in the second. Houston Christian took a 2-0 lead following a pair of doubles in the inning, then doubled their advantage to 4-0 on a two-run homer from their nine-hole hitter.

JD McCracken who keep the Huskies off the board for the next several frames as everyone awaited the awakening of the Rice offense, which came via a six-run bottom of the sixth, highlighted a trip of two RBI singles to put Rice in front. HCU would tie the game in the seventh with a home run off Krishna Raj before Rice went ahead for good in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Converted outfielder Jack Ben-Shoshan got the win on the mound.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball notched a series sweep, taking all three games against Houston Christian, led by former Rice great Lance Berkman. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Are we putting labels on things or not?

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?

ON DECK | at Baylor (Tues),  at UAB (Fri-Sun)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball bounced from C-USA Tournament by UAB

By

Rice basketball hung around for a while, but couldn’t keep pace with UAB, bowing out in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.

It was going to take an extremely well-played game for Rice basketball to give UAB a run for its money. The Owls did not get that out of the gate, turning the ball over frequently and falling behind 12-5 in the first five minutes. Rice collected itself and made some threes, retaking the lead 16-12 on an 11-0 run.

In that span, Rice looked comfortable on both sides of the court. They protected the basketball and took advantage of UAB’s mistakes. They hung tough through the ensuing UAB run, falling behind by 10 before firing back to make it a two-point game with one minute remaining before the halftime buzzer. Travis Evee and Max Fiedler provided almost all of the scoring on an unusually quiet night from Quincy Olivari.

It was at that one-minute mark when the poise of UAB made the difference. Rice fouled a three-point shooter, allowed a separate three-point shot and a dunk, all in the span of 57 seconds. Just like that, Rice was back down by 10 in a game they had largely played evenly with one of the conference’s best teams.

Rice would get within five early in the second half, but another rash of turnovers and the unstoppable play of UAB’s Jelly Walker proved too much. He made four consecutive three-point shots, sparking a 15-4 UAB run. Up 17 points at the under-12 timeout, Rice was unable to dig out of the hole, falling in the second round and seeing their regular season come to an end.

Final Box | UAB 87 – Rice 60

Key takeaway | Talented, but flawed

In many ways, the two-game sample of the Conference USA Tournament summed up the Rice basketball season. The Owls found a way to hang on to a win against a UTSA team below them in the standings, but it took a last-second prayer to make it happen. Then they rose to the occasion and gave a really good UAB team a scare, only for their inconsistent ball handling and spotty defense to be exposed late.

Evee hit just about everything on Thursday night. Fiedler was the key piece in the middle. Olivari had an off night, but we’ve seen him drop 20+ on a regular basis. Mekhi Mason and Cameron Sheffield have both produced throughout the year. One can’t question the raw talent on this team. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t enough.

Head coach Scott Pera is going to have to take a hard look in the mirror this offseason and find a way to reassemble the pieces in a way that produces more consistent results. The talent is there.

Up Next | ???

Rice basketball finished the regular season 16-16 last year and earned an invite to the CBI. At 18-15 this season, they’re probably in line to return to that tournament again, should they decide that’s something they’d want to do. Pera has talked in the past about how important postseason basketball is to the program, so it seems likely the Owls 2022-2023 campaign will have at least one more stanza.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

UTSA upset ends Rice Women’s Basketball’s CUSA Tournament run

By

Rice women’s basketball was upset in their opening game of the Conference USA Tournament, falling to 6-Seed UTSA in Frisco.

After earning a first round bye, Rice Women’s Basketball took the court on Wednesday afternoon against UTSA looking to punch their ticket to the semifinals. Things were tenuous early on, with both teams struggling from the field in the first quarter. Rice would hit two free throws to end the first frame before they really found their groove.

The second quarter was almost entirely all Owls. Rice scored the first 12 points of the frame, opening up a 15-point lead against the No. 6 seeded Roadrunners. The Owls held their opponents to 14.3 percent shooting from the floor in the quarter, winning the battle on the boards 16-8 and controlling the tempo throughout.

Up by 12 at the half, it looked like Rice had a golden opportunity to put the game away when UTSA leading scorer Jordyn Jenkins hit the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter. It never materialized. Rice couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense and UTSA stuck around. Despite the lull, Rice still led at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Entering Thursday, Rice was 20-0 when leading with five minutes left in the game. They’re 20-1 now after Jenkins returned to the game and spurred a 28-point quarter, UTSA’s largest output in a single quarter this season. While the Roadrunners heated up, the Owls wilted, ending a largely positive regular season in disappointing fashion.

Final Box | UTSA 62 – Rice 54

Key takeaway | Not destiny

What head coach Lindsay Edmonds was able to accomplish down the stretch given her lineup constraints was impressive. Rice played significant portions of February without at least one of Malia Fisher, Ashlee Austin, Destiny Jackson or Trinity Gooden available. Jackson couldn’t go on Thursday and her absence was felt, particularly in the fourth quarter when it seemed no one else was able to create their own opportunities.

Rice managed to lose just two games with that fluctuating roster throughout the month of February. Unfortunately, they lost their last one in March, and that’s the one that mattered most. Depth matters, but difference-makers do, too. UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins drove that point home with a game-high 22-points on Thursday.

Up Next | ???

It probably would have taken a stronger run through the Conference USA Tournament for Rice women’s basketball to have qualified for the WNIT. It’s possible the WBI is still in play, though. That’s scheduled to host eight teams from March 16 to March 19.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts