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Lights out free-throw performance lifts Rice Women’s Basketball past FIU

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Rice Women’s Basketball was lights out down the stretch, closing out their home tilt with FIU to secure their first 2-0 weekend in league play.

The first points of the afternoon went to FIU, but Rice women’s basketball followed up a pair of their opponents’ free throws with a 14-5 run, starting strong in their effort to secure their first 2-0 weekend in conference play this season.

The Owls the Panthers to 12.5 percent shooting in the first quarter but it wouldn’t come that easy. FIU punched back in the second frame, outscoring Rice 21-11. Rice led by as many as five points in the final two minutes before FIU closed the quarter on an 8-0 run including a three-point heave at the buzzer to break a 25-25 tie.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball edges UAB at home

The three-point shot would continue to play an important role in the game moving forward. Both teams hit from long range on two of their first three baskets of the second half as the Owls worked to whittle down a Panthers’ lead that reached six points early in the third quarter.

The game would stay within reach for both sides until the midpoint of the fourth quarter when Rice slammed the door. A 9-0 Rice run — with seven of the nine points coming from the free-throw line — put the game out of reach. The Owls did not make a field goal in the final 3:37 but were still able to maintain a comfortable margin as they closed things out.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher was tremendous in the Owls’ defensive efforts down the stretch, securing 18 rebounds, the most in a game by any Conference USA player this season. She made 11-of-13 free throws, scoring 17 points. She also tied for the team lead in assists (four) and had the Owls’ only block of the game. A true freshman, Fisher’s ascent is only just beginning.

Stat Corner | Free throws = Free points

The free-throw line was where Rice women’s basketball won this game. Rice hit 31-of-36 attempts from the charity stripe, building their fourth quarter lead on foul shots and maintaining the differential with near-perfect accuracy from the line. The Owls made 20-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.

Final Box | Rice 73 – FIU 67

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball will have a quick turnaround. The Owls start a three-game road trip on Monday when they travel to Birmingham to play UAB for the second time in five days. From there, they’ll finish out the trip the following weekend with games at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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Rice Basketball blown out on the road by red-hot UAB Blazers

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Rice Basketball never got things going against UAB on the road and paid for their slow start with a blowout loss to the Blazers.

Rice basketball was flying high the last time they met UAB on the court. On that night the Owls dispatched the Blazers, notching one of the most preeminent victories of Scott Pera’s tenure. This Thursday, UAB got its revenge. Rice missed its first six shots from the field and fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first quarter. Rice played more than 15 minutes of the first half trailing by double-digits.

The insertion of Terrance McBride into the starting lineup could not mask the void left by guard Quincy Olivar, who was lost for the season following a wrist injury suffered two weekends ago against UTEP. McBride scored six points and had four rebounds and five assists, but was otherwise just as quiet as the remainder of the Rice offense which didn’t really wake up until a string of threes from Carl Pierre in the latter portions of the first half.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball forced to adjust with Olivari done for season

After trailing by as many as 18, Pierre’s threes helped Rice begin to chip away. They were able to get the deficit to 11 before a UAB dunk and subsequent free throw pushed the halftime differential to 14 points in favor of the home team.

Rice would offer feeble resistance in the second half, keep the margin in the teens for a few minutes before UAB pulled even further away. The Blazers would lead by as many as 30, winning by 24 at the final buzzer.

Player Spotlight | Cam Sheffield

Occasionally overlooked by the higher volume shooters, Cam Sheffield has served as the Owls’ sixth man dating back to last season. He’s a reliable shooter and a stout defender. He was as effective on both sides of the court as any other Rice player was on Thursday, knocking down both of his three-point attempts and tying for the team lead with four rebounds despite playing only 22 minutes. Sheffield doesn’t always light up the box score, but he makes his minutes count.

Stat Corner | One

Part of what made the Rice basketball offensive so scary, on paper, was the myriad of ways they could score, particularly from distance. Rice has an arsenal of players that can shoot the three extremely well, at least, that’s usually the case. It wasn’t on Thursday. Rice had one player make at least one three-point shot in the first half. One. By the time the Owls had more help from deep in the second half it was too little, too late.

Defensive breakdowns played just as big of a role in the one-sided affair as the shooting woes, but if the Owls don’t have multiple threats from deep, their offense is going to sputter. Travis Evee can shoot with the best of them, but Rice might need someone else to step up as well with Quincy Olivari sidelined.

Final Box | UAB 92 – Rice 68

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will conclude this brief road trip on Saturday at FIU in Miami. From there they’ll return home where they’ll host Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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Rice Women’s Basketball holds on, edges UAB at home

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Rice Women’s Basketball was forced to battle for a full 40 minutes, but the Owls left Tudor Fieldhouse with a hard-fought win over UAB.

Following an 0-5 start to conference play, Rice women’s basketball had just started to settle into a rhythm, earning at least a split of games over two consecutive weekends before falling to North Texas twice in four days. Seeking to get back on the right foot, the Owls opened their current homestand with a hard-fought victory over the UAB Blazers.

Rice scored first and shot well from the field early, but UAB had an answer for seemingly every basket the Owls sunk. A 12-3 Rice run in the first quarter expanded their lead to as many as six, but they’d end the first quarter with only a two-point lead despite shooting 50 percent from the floor.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball drops two-game set against UNT

UAB would push ahead early in the second quarter, but the margin never grew beyond four points in favor of either side. The Blazers spread their points around. The Owls saw contributions from a group of shooters as well, but it was the sharp shooting of Maya Bokunewicz that made the difference. Her step-back three gave Rice a 40-39 lead at halftime, proving an exclamation point for her 17-point first-half performance.

Rice was able to extend that lead in the third quarter, stretching it to eight points on a step-back jumper from Ashlee Austin which put Rice up 55-47. It was at that point the Owls seemed to have established themselves in the driver’s seat only to watch UAB storm back and tie the game back up at 65 midway through the fourth quarter.

“A lot of our games are going to come down to wire,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said in the aftermath. “We have to be better in those moments, myself included.”

Said with the memory of fourth quarters that didn’t go the Owls’ way, Edmonds and company settled down and locked in. The game would come down to fouls and free throws in the final seconds. In need of one last surge, the Owls got it done with two free throws from Bokunewicz to ice the win.

Player Spotlight | Maya Bokunewicz

Bokunewicz redshirted last season before becoming a fixture in the Rice women’s basketball starting lineup in her second campaign on South Main. Before Thursday, her career-best game had come on the road against Middle Tennessee on January 7 when she scored a career0high 20 points and added five rebounds. She entered the starting lineup the following game and has been there ever since.

She scored 17 points in the first half against UAB, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. She credited the big game with more confidence in her shot, saying she’s “definitely slowed down and just kind of gotten into a rhythm with the game.”

Stat Corner | 58%

When asked about Bocunewicz’s scoring outburst, Edmonds mentioned a conversation she’d had with the redshirt freshmen in the preseason in which Bocunewicz had admitted to being reluctant to shoot three-pointers. Edmonds told the young guard to get comfortable. “I love the three,” Edmonds said recalling that conversation.

On Thursday. Bocunewicz was 3-of-5 from three and the Owls connected on 58 percent of their shots from deep. Those early three kept Rice in the game. The late triples helped them put it away.

Final Box | Rice 81 – UAB 76

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball won’t have much of a reprieve before they meet UAB on the court once again. The Owls host FIU on Saturday but make the trip to Birmingham to play the Blazers on Monday, Feb. 21. They will finish that road trip the following weekend with games at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls grind out narrow win at UTEP

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Locked in a close game with UTEP from wire to wire, Rice women’s basketball made the shots when it mattered to secure the road win.

It might be worth finding someone to whisper “it’s the first quarter” into the ear of every Rice women’s basketball player before they take the court. The Owls continue to be one of the fastest-starting teams in Conference USA as their trend of early scoring continued on Saturday against UTEP.

Rice jumped out to a 9-3 lead to start the contest, pushing their advantage to seven points late in the first quarter before UTEP was able to find any sort of rhythm. The Miners would narrow the deficit in the second quarter and tie the game up before a Destiny Jackson jumper at the buzzer put Rice back in front, 32-30.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball can’t keep up with sharpshooting USM

The third and fourth quarters would be more of the same. Despite Rice outshooting UTEP 49.0 percent from the field compared to UTEP’s 39.3 percent, neither team led by more than three points in the second half until Haylee Swayze hit a three with 5:51 to play. From that point onward Rice simply had to weather the storm.

Turnovers by both teams made the finish tighter than the Owls would have hoped for, but Destiny Jackson delivered five free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the win. After starting 0-5 in conference play, Rice women’s basketball has now won two of their last three.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Extended playing time for some of the Owls’ up-and-coming players was one of the subtle blessings of a short bench this season. Malia Fisher showcased the benefits of having her on the court quickly, notching double-doubles in three of her first six career games.

On Saturday against UTEP, it seemed as Fisher couldn’t miss. She connected on her first six shots from the field, ending the game 7-for-14 with seven rebounds, fives assist and two steals. The Owls’ streaky offense was sparked time and time again by a big play from Fisher.

Stat Corner | Five deep

Rice women’s basketball has relied heavily on their staters all season long. With little reinforcements behind them, the Owls’ starting five are going to have to carry the load. That’s exactly what they did on Saturday. Rice got two points from their bench, courtesy of India Bellamy’s lone shot attempt, splitting the remaining 70 points across their five starters. UTEP would only score 69 points with their starters and bench combined.

Four of the Owls’ five starters reached double-digits with Haylee Swayze coming up just short (eight points) but delivering the crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter that all but put the game out of reach. It was a stellar performance from the starters. Rice will need more of that going forward.

Final Box | Rice 72 – UTEP 69

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball gets a home-and-away two-game slate with North Texas next weekend. The Owls will travel to Denton on Thursday, Feb. 10 and host the Mean Green on Sunday. Feb. 13.

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Rice Basketball: Owls’ rally falls short against UTEP

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Rice Basketball fell behind quickly but battled back to turn a lopsided affair into a one-possession game before narrowly falling to UTEP at home.

From the moment UTEP’s Jamal Bieniemy drained a three-pointer to open the scoring, Rice basketball was in catch-up mode at home. The Owls would take a brief 4-3 only to watch it evaporate with a 17-2 run by the Miners. That effectively set the script for the afternoon. If Rice wanted to notch their third consecutive conference victory they would have to claw their way back.

No sooner than Rice had seen their deficit reach double digits, the rally began. Rice answered. Trailing 20-9, Rice tightened up on defense and answered UTEP’s big run with a 14-2 run of their own. All of a sudden, the game was on. It wasn’t until Quincy Olivari’s final shot of the first half, a deep three, that Rice would once again take the lead, entering halftime up 30-28 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball closes strong, tops UTSA at home

The two squads traded shots and scores throughout the early portions of the second half. Neither side was able to take a meaningful lead until Quincy Olivari left the game following a hard foul as he went towards the basket. While Olivari was being attended to in the locker room, UTEP started a run courtesy of four triples from Bieniemy in the final 11 minutes of regulation, propelling him to a career-high in scoring.

Rice was able to trim an 11-point deficit down two, but ran out of time as the clock struck zero on a buzzer-beating layup from Carl Pierre. With the loss, Rice basketball falls to 13-9 on the season and 6-5 in conference play.

Player Spotlight | Max Fiedler

It has been an extremely quiet winter for center Max Fiedler. Once a fixture on the floor, improved play from Mylyjael Poteat had dropped Fiedler’s minutes from the mid 30’s to the low 20’s. His scoring fell off too. Fiedler hit double-digits in the scoring column just once between the Owls’ Dec. 11 tilt against Houston Baptist and a 14-point outing against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 27.

Fiedler appears to have gotten back into the groove ever since. He had 22 points at home against UTSA on Thursday before scoring 12 points on Saturday against UTEP. He also had eight rebounds. Rice basketball is better when Fiedler is on his game. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

Stat Corner | 14

Maturity is hard to quantify in a box score, but it can be seen when you look a bit closer than the standard points, rebounds and assists. Rice basketball trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. And then they didn’t. The growth and poise exhibited by this team cannot simply be boiled down to 14 points, but that margin (and the vigor with which the Owls erased it) does speak volumes about this team.

In previous seasons, a 10-point deficit felt overwhelming. Now Rice can weather the storm, keep shooting and play staunch enough defense to pull themselves back in just about any contest. Bieniemy’s three-point onslaught proved too much to overcome in the final minutes, but the Owls were in this game. There are no moral victories. A loss is a loss. But Rice didn’t lose this because they were outmatched. This team can hang with anyone.

Final Box | UTEP 72 – Rice 70

Up Next | Full Schedule

Originally scheduled to play North American next week, Rice basketball will instead host Jarvis Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 8. They’ll finish their four-game homestand the following Saturday, Feb. 12 against North Texas.

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