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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls shoot circles around Louisiana Tech

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Rice women’s basketball rebounded from a challenging road trip with an emphatic home sweep of Louisiana Tech. The wins kept the Owls atop C-USA.

The lede up to the Marshall games was different for Rice women’s basketball. The team wasn’t able to practice like they’re used to before fleeing a thawing city in the midst of ever-present COVID-19 concerns. Win or lose, last week was hard.

So win Jasmine Smith launched a half-court heave in the third quarter of Friday’s win over Louisiana Tech, the bench exploded. “Everything is so heavy right now,” head coach Tina Langley recalled after the game. “You can’t even see each other smile hardly anymore. So to be able to see [Smith] celebrate and have some fun, I think really brought us all a lot [of joy].”

That infectious energy imbued Rice to a two-game sweep of Louisiana Tech this weekend. The Owls jumped out to an early lead in the opening game, but Louisiana Tech fought back and held the Rice accountable for their miscues.

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A five-point halftime lead reflected what had been a fairly evenly contest to that point. Then the Rice women took a page out of the men’s playbook and began a barrage of three-pointers. Including the half-court bomb from Smith, Rice hit six threes in a row, blowing what had been a close game wide open. The Owls closed out the fourth quarter with a comfortable lead, capping off an emphatic bounce-back win.

Saturday was more of the same. The two teams traded blows early on, with Rice clinging to a two-point lead at halftime. Then came the third quarter and, once again, the three point barrage. Rice made three of their seven three pointers in the third quarter, extending the lead to double-digits to set up a relatively stress-free fourth quarter.

Player Spotlight | Nancy Mulkey

Mulkey notched her 1,000th career point with, what else, but a three pointer in the third quarter. She’s perfect from deep on her career, making all three of her attempts. As good as the Owls have been as a unit, Mulkey has been on another level.

As of the end of this series, the Owls’ center leads the team in field goal percentage, rebounding, blocks and points. She’s also the only member of the team to be shooting 1.000 from three.

Stat Corner | Going deep

This isn’t a team that takes a lot of three point shots. With Nancy Mulkey in the paint, there’s hardly much need to rely on volume from deep. It’s just never been part of head coach Tina Langley’s offensive philosophy. Until now?

“To be honest with you, we’ve been talking about [shooting more threes] for some time.”

Rice finished their Friday game with 14 made three-pointers, four more than they converted in their two-game set against Marshall last weekend and more than they’ve made in any game over the past three seasons. Four different players hit at least three three-pointers. The Owls 25 attempts were the most they’d taken since Feb. 14, 2019 in a win over FIU.

The volume was down Saturday, but the efficiency remained sky-high. Rice hit 50 percent of their deep balls, tied for their fourth-best shooting performance from three this season.

Up Next

While some programs have ended their regular season schedule, Rice women’s basketball has one more set of games lined up prior to the conference tournament. The Owls will make up previously scheduled games against North Texas. The Owls will play Thursday in Denton and finish the two-game set Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

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Rice Women’s Basketball splits with Marshall, loses perfect C-USA record

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Rice women’s basketball saw their perfect run come to an end, suffering their first conference loss in a road split at Marshall.

Any physical or psychological toll exacted on the Rice women’s basketball team by the events in Houston this week was not apparent in their series opening win against Marshall on Saturday. Almost immediately, the Owls jumped out to a 10-0 lead, then grew that advantage to 33-15 at the half. Led by Lauren Schwartz and Nancy Mulkey, Rice cruised through the opener with ease.

The Sunday finale was closer, but there wasn’t too much reason for concern until the floor seemingly dropped out from beneath them. Rice fell behind 13-6, but stormed back on a 21-3 run to regain control and walk into halftime with a comfortable 31-23 lead.

Marshall edged Rice in the third quarter by a point, but everything seemed to be working well up until the point when India Bellamy made an early fourth quarter layup to give Rice a nine-point advantage with just over nine minutes to play. Rice would go on to lose by 12, their first conference loss in more than a calendar year.

The Herd outscored Rice 18-0 in the final 3:53 and 23-2 in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. For a team that has accrued a certain amount of respect around the league for their ability to adjust in the second half and close things out, things just slipped away. Rice made two of their final 13 shots. Marshall made their last five, finishing perfect from the field over the final six minutes of regulation.

Going undefeated in conference play was never the goal. Head coach Tina Langley has always said as much. The focus for Rice has always been on getting better with each successive week. This team has always bounced back for the better. Now they’ll put that resiliency to the test once again.

Stat Corner | Just enough of an edge

The defense has been the Owls’ calling card ever since head coach Tina Langley took charge. Seeing Rice hold a team like Marshall to 15 points in the first 20 minutes of play on Saturday isn’t too surprising. Not anymore. That’s what this team does.

But Rice also holds the distinction of being the No. 1 shooting team in Conference USA. The Owls have outshot their opponents in every game this season, including in their two losses: a narrow defeat to Texas A&M and Sunday’s loss at Marshall. Even though they lose by double figures, Rice shot better from the field (42.9 percent vs Marshall’s 41.2 percent).

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball will play their final home series next weekend against Louisiana Tech. The Owls will host the Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday before finishing out their regular season scheduled against North Texas the following weekend.

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Rice Basketball: Owls’ cooled off in road sweep by Western Kentucky

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Rice basketball entered the weekend with a two-game winning streak, but Western Kentucky cooled the Owls down quickly with a sweep of their own.

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Rice basketball, which wrapped up a tough weekend on the road on Saturday with a second loss to Western Kentucky. It’s now been more than a month since Rice was able to trot out their five starters on the court at the same time. Dealing with injuries and COVID aren’t a unique challenge faced solely by the Owls, but the churn in the rotation hasn’t done them any favors.

Western Kentucky came out of the blocks red hot on Friday night, quickly pulling out to an 18-8 lead in less than five minutes. Rice stayed composed and battled back, but never got the game back within one score, despite relatively productive shooting nights from Travis Evee, Quincy Olivari and Riley Abercrombie.

The second game felt eerily similar to the first. Rice had their moments and made some big shots. They just always seemed to be a possession or two away from breaking through. A 15 point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome, especially when compounded by sub 40 percent shooting in the second half.

Player Spotlight | Ege Havsa

The turnover on the roster amid injuries and COVID-19 limitations has opened the door for role players to step into more prominent positions. Ege Havsa had his number called this weekend and he responded well. On Friday he played 23 minutes, the most action he’s seen in nearly a month. On Saturday he had career-high seven rebounds and a season-best 12 points.

Turnovers have been Havsa sore spot, but in short spurts, he’s proven to be an effective piece for head coach Scott Pera. Having players like him at the ready when they’re needed in the coming weeks will be huge for the Owls.

Stat Corner | Cooled off

This weekend saw the only two-game conference set in which Rice did not have any individual player score 20 points in a game. Travis Evee (19) Quincy Olivari (18) got close on Friday. No one topped 15 points on Saturday.

Rice basketball has more depth this year than they’ve had in recent memory. Even still, the quantity of shooters still isn’t quite where they’d want it to be. It’s a rare night for someone to do what Havsa did on Saturday and score double-digits off the bench. If the Owls’ starting guards aren’t converting at high enough of a clip, Rice hasn’t shown they can consistently find scoring volume elsewhere.

Up Next

The final scheduled home series of the season looms next weekend for Rice basketball. They’ll return to Tudor Fieldhouse to take on Marshall. The Thundering Herd entered the weekend in the middle of the pack in the East.

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Rice Women’s Basketball posts thrilling return with dramatic sweep of WKU

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Rice women’s basketball returned to the court in triumphant fashion, posting two big wins over Western Kentucky.

There were no signs of rust when Rice women’s basketball returned to the court for the first time in four weeks. Injuries and COVID-19 impacts forced a prolonged pause for the Owls, but their resiliency was put on full display in their two-game sweep of Western Kentucky.

Both teams started fast on Friday, trading shot after shot in an exciting first half. Both teams shot better than 40 percent from the field. Western Kentucky’s Raneem Elgedaway and Rice’s Nancy Mulkey combined for 34 of the 69 (49 percent) of all points before the break.

Rice took over in the second half, ratcheting up the defense. They held Western Kentucky to 20 points in the final two quarters combined, sealing yet another conference win.

The second game was another highly contested battle. Rice led for most of the game before Western Kentucky pulled ahead with a thrilling fourth quarter run. When push came to shove, Rice wouldn’t be denied. A six-point deficit with 3:41 to play was erased thanks to three huge triples from Katelyn Crosthwait. Rice would ice the game with their defense and earn the sweep.

Player Spotlight | Lauren Schwartz

Rice took the lead in the third quarter of Friday’s game but Western Kentucky did not go quietly. The Hilltoppers came close to a few fourth quarter runs, but Schwartz slammed the door with one of her most clutch shooting performances of the season.

Schwartz scored the Owls’ final eight points, connecting on two three-pointers to ward off any notions of a Hilltopper comeback. She only finished with five points on Saturday, but her five rebounds and three blocks helped paved the way for another Rice win.

Stat Corner | Locking down the third quarter

There may not be a better third quarter coach in college basketball than Rice women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley. No matter the situation or the stakes, her teams are always ready when the second half whistle blows. On Friday, Rice turned a one-point halftime deficit into an eight-point fourth-quarter lead. One more big shot to start the fourth turned a close game into a double-digit difference.

Western Kentucky outscored Rice by one point in the third quarter on Saturday, but the Owls never lost their rhythm. They outrebounded WKU and shot a better percentage from the field.

Winning the third quarter doesn’t win basketball games. Still, when a team that plays the level of fundamentally sound, physical defense that Rice does enterers the fourth quarter with a lead, they’re hard to stop.

It’s probably no coincidence their only loss of the season, a four-point defeat on the road against a ranked Texas A&M squad, was one of the rare outings when Rice was outscored in the third period. Western Kentucky came close on Saturday but still couldn’t outdo Rice down the stretch.

Up Next

The final scheduled road series of the season looms next weekend for Rice basketball. They’ll hit the road one more time to take on Marshall in Huntington, WV. The Thundering Herd entered the weekend in the middle of the pack in the East. Like the Owls, the Herd have had multiple series postponed over the course of the past month.

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Rice Basketball: Owls right ship, sweep Southern Miss

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Rice basketball put together back-to-back strong performances this weekend, propelling the Owls to a home sweep of Southern Miss.

Losers of five straight, Rice basketball needed to get back in their groove this weekend against a Southern Miss team that has hung around the bottom of the conference standings. If the Owls didn’t bounce back, they’d find themselves in the cellar with the Golden Eagles. Fortunately, that worst-case-scenario did not materialize. In fact, the Owls might have had the best possible weekend they could have asked for.

Rice controlled both games from the opening tip, starting with a runaway win on Friday afternoon. Southern Miss would take their largest lead of the game (two points) in the first three minutes, but it was all Owls from that point on. Olivari finished with 29 points and tied Max Fielder with a team-high seven boards. Freshman Mylyjael Poteat had a career-best 12 points on a career-high 17 minutes.

Saturday’s win required a bit more resiliency. Rice opened up a hefty 12-1 lead to start the game as Southern Miss struggled on offense, opening 0-for-7 from the field. The Golden Eagles cut the Owls’ edge to one near the end of the first half, but never took the lead.

Travis Evee finished the first half with a three, the first of a barrage of deep balls that buoyed Rice over the visitors. Rice hit five consecutive threes out of the break, staking themselves to a double-digit lead. Southern Miss would rally, but the Owls’ held the line, made their free throws and secured the win.

This was the second weekend sweep for Rice in conference play. They previously took both games from UTSA on January 1 and January 2, also at home.

Player Spotlight | Cameron Sheffield

The 6-foot-6 guard from Alpharetta, Georgia was one of a large influx of new players added to the roster in the past year.  The freshmen quickly settled into his role as a key reserve off the bench, averaging 10.3 minutes per game in non-conference play.

Sheffield saw a bit more action as the season progressed. It was only recently, though, that he became a regular in the rotation. He’s stepped up to fill minutes vacated by guard Chris Mullins who has been sidelined for the better part of two weeks.

He made his first start in Game 2 against UAB and has started four of the Owls’ last five contests. In that time, he’s tripled his playing time and scoring output while taking care of the basketball. Head coach Scott Pera was quick to point out he had zero turnovers in 54 minutes this weekend, speaking highly of the freshman guard, “that kid is going to be a really great player for us.”

Sheffield had a career-high nine points on a career-high three three-pointers on Saturday.

Stat Corner | Two for three

February 05, 2021 : During the game between the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and the Rice Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas. Rice falls to UNT 79-74. (Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics). Used with permission.

Rice basketball has an easily discernable identity. They’re going to shoot threes in volume and push you up and down the court. How closely that adhere to that ideal is a strong proxy for how the results of individual games will turn out.

A quick look at the box scores bears that out, and one only needs to look at the Owls’ top two shooters: Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee. Rice is 9-2 when that duo makes six or more three pointers and 3-6 when they don’t. Rice is 7-1 when they combine for 15 or more three point attempts (regardless of how many they make) and 5-7 when they’re held under that shot count.

It might just be that simple. If Olivari and Evee get volume, the Owls are probably going to win.

Up Next

Conference play is starting to wind down. The Owls will hit the road next weekend for what should be a tough test against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers have paced the East for the majority of the season. They will enter the weekend atop the East standings at 6-2 after an off weekend. Their scheduled series against Florida Atlantic was postponed.

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