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Rice Women’s Basketball: 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

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It’s been an up-and-down year for Rice Women’s Basketball and head coach Lindsay Edmonds. Here’s where the Owls stand as American Conference play begins.

Sitting at 8-6 (1-1) with two league games under their belts, Rice women’s basketball is wrestling with unmet expectations and a long season still ahead. The Owls are finally healthy as they enter the heart of league play, posting perhaps their most impressive win of the season the last time they took the court.

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Can the Owls rebound from a tough schedule and rough start with another late-season rally? That’s the unknown staring back at this squad as they fight through the middle of the season. Here’s where the Owls stand at the halfway point, a few important milestones and notes from the journey to this point and a recalibration of expectations for the rest of the way.

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Clutch Fourth Quarter powers Rice Women’s Basketball past Tulane

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Rice Women’s Basketball delivered a much-needed fourth quarter rally, dominating Tulane late for their first AAC win of the season.

Dominique Ennis hit the first shot of the game to give Rice an early 2-0 lead, but the Owls’ advantage wouldn’t last long on the road against the Tulane Green Wave. Their hosts delivered an 11-0 run to seize an advantage in the first quarter.

A defensive slugfest in the second quarter would keep the game around a one-point margin for a while until a 7-0 run from the Wave put Rice in trouble at the half, down eight after scoring just five points in that frame.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

The game would largely hover around that level for the next quarter of action. Both sides traded baskets as the scoring picked up, but Tulane was able to maintain at least a two possession lead until Rice began to make their move in earnest at the beginning of the fourth period.

Ennis went three-for-three from deep in the fourth, supplemented by an 8-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist quarter from Malia Fisher, who delivered one of her most impactful performances of the season to date. That tandem, with timely contributions from Hailey Adams, Sussy Ngulefac and Victoria Flores, all of which played the entire quarter, propelled Rice to a come-from-behind victory.

The 33 points Rice scored in the fourth quarter made for the third-most points in a quarter in program history. Rice finished the game making 10 of their last 12 shots from the field. That’s quite an impressive way to ring in the New Year.

Final Box | Rice 72, Tulane 64

What They’re Saying

“Road wins are so tough in the conference. I’m really, really proud of our team’s effort and toughness. We dug a hole, but we rallied together and found a way to get a win on the road in conference play. I thought just our resiliency was incredible. Our fourth quarter performance was really, really tough and really special, and exactly what we needed.” – Rice Women’s Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Resilient Rally

The fourth quarter has been the boogeyman for Rice Women’s basketball all season long, a refrain explored in detail just days prior in a loss to South Florida. For Rice to win this game against Tulane on the road in this manner was crucial. Not just to get the win and avoid an 0-2 start in league play, but to prove to themselves and those watching that clutch gene is in their somewhere.

Rice shot 71 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. Tulane shot 27 percent, but was only marginally better on the afternoon, shooting at a 33 percent clip from the floor. The Owls’ defense more or less held serve while the offense found that extra gear that had eluded them so many times this season.

This team isn’t going to shoot 71 percent in any quarter very often, but avoiding the deficit in the first place is something they’ve largely proven themselves capable of and there’s something to be said of the impact on the team’s psyche gained from finally getting over this hill. It’s just one win on the ledger, but it felt like much more.

Up Next: vs UTSA (Wed, 1/8)

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Rice Women’s basketball comes up short at Gonzaga

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Rice Women’s Basketball traded blows with Gonzaga for four quarters before running out of steam late, falling on the road.

Emily Klaczek and Hailey Adams were determined that Rice women’s basketball would get off on the right foot in their first foray out from the confines of Tudor Fieldhouse. Klazcek got things started with seven first quarter points including a three-pointer to get the Owls back within one-score after a hot start from Gonzaga. Adams had seven in the frame too, becoming the driving force for the team in the early goings.

Adams would lead all scorers in the first half with 13 points, already a season-high. She added six boards along the way, all before the halftime buzzer. Her final basket of the half put Rice ahead of Gonzaga for the first time with 2:28 to go in the second quarter. Gonzaga would take a one-point lead into the half, but thanks to that tandem of Klaczek and Adams, the game was on.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

The lead would exchange hands seven times in the third quarter. Neither side led by more than two possessions and the game was tied twice but it was the visiting Owls in front when the fourth quarter commenced.

Back and forth they went with the lead changing 12 times before the final buzzer sounded and it the outcome of the game hung in the balance until the final minutes. The teams were tied at 64 points apiece with 2:24 to play in the fourth quarter. That’s when Rice missed a few key shots and Gonzaga rolled to a crushing 10-0 run.

The final margin would be just three, representative of a game that truly went down to the wire. Unfortunately for the Owls, they came down on the wrong side.

Final Box | Gonzaga 72, Rice 69

Key takeaway | Missed opportunity

Gonzaga was picked to finish first in the West Coast Conference in the preseason polls. When it comes to building a non-conference resume for a potential NCAA bid, these are the kinds of games you need to win. The Owls came up short.

Malia Fisher still has yet to play this season. Gonzaga had just recently had a streak of 36 consecutive home victories ended last week by Cal. This won’t be an ugly when it comes time for resume comparisons in March, but it’s a missed opportunity all the same.

Over the course of their non-conference slate thus far this team has proven they can hang with anyone. That’s undeniable. But there are only so many opportunities left before AAC play arrives. That sets up an important week ahead in Cancun.

Up Next: vs BYU (Thr. 11/28), vs Vermont (Fri. 11/29)

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2024-2025 Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

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Expectations are high for the 2024-2025 Rice women’s basketball season following an NCAA Tournament appearance under now fourth-year head coach Lindsay Edmonds.

Rice women’s basketball has hit its stride under Lindsay Edmonds, raising the bar in each successive season with her at the helm of the program, culminating in an NCAA Tournament appearance last season. That taste has everyone on the roster — which returns the vast majority of its key players, sans one — eager for an encore this coming season.

“This is the most veteran, the most mature team that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Edmonds said. With that experience comes a different level of urgency and an even greater sense of purpose. “We’re going faster and the expectations are just higher,” Edmonds declared.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: The most unselfish team in (the) America(n)

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Rice women’s basketball isn’t led by one singular star, instead leaning on a deep roster that shares the ball and just keeps winning games.

Rice women’s basketball is not your conventional team, at least not in today’s era of the sport where one superstar can take you a long way. The Owls sit within striking distance of the top spot in the AAC standings but you won’t find any individuals near the pinnacle of their respective leaderboards.

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