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Rice Women’s Basketball Rallies Past UIW

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A disastrous second quarter left Rice Women’s basketball in a hole, but the Owls rallied late to stave off an upset by UIW at home.

Rice women’s basketball fell behind from the opening tip, but kept things close through the first quarter, getting to the line and creating opportunities close to the basket. Still, they found themselves trailing by six points heading into the second quarter which is where things took a turn for the worse.

UIW opened the quarter on a 14-0 run, turning a modest advantage into a commanding 20-point lead. Rice would claw back a few baskets before halftime, but the offense was in complete disarray, managing just seven field goals in the half and no three-pointers.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Trailing by 15 points at intermission, Rice mounted a modest comeback in the early portions of the third quarter, propelled by four three-pointers from Dominque Ennis to help shrink the deficit to as few as two points but the real rally would come with Rice down 12 in the fourth.

Rice opened the quarter on a staggering 15-2 run, followed soon afterward by an 11-2 run. Just like that, a double-digit deficit turned into a comfortable home team advantage. Victoria Flores knocked down some last-minute foul shots to secure the win.

Rice women’s basketball improves to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 70, UIW 62

Key takeaway | Sputtering Shooting Leaves Reason for Concern

The fast-paced, explosive offense Rice women’s basketball hoped to showcase this season has yet to materialize in any real way. Whether it’s new personnel leaning to play together, execution issues or a fundamental error in the construction of the offense, Rice needs to go back to the drawing board, asap.

The Owls shot 20 percent from the floor in the first half and 29.2 percent in the game. They missed their first 13 three-point shots, finishing just 15 percent from deep. Bad shooting days happen and had the opponent not been a 1-3 UIW squad, it probably would have cost Rice a win.

They deserve all the credit for clawing back and seizing victory on a day when they weren’t at their best. Good teams do that. But if this team wants to become a sustainable winner, better offensive outings are going to be required on a much more consistent basis.

Up Next: Discover Puerto Rice Shootout vs Illinois State (Nov. 26 at 11:30 am)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Falters Late in Princeton Loss

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Rice Women’s basketball led early but couldn’t close, watching an early fourth quarter lead evaporate in a road loss to Princeton.

Things got off to a strong start for Rice women’s basketball in a pivotal road matchup against a Princeton team that was receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll. The visiting Owls opened the scoring with a three from Victoria Flores, furthering their early edge to eight points midway through the first quarter.

Princeton would not go away that easily, though. The Tigers opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run. No sooner had they taken their first lead of the game than did the Owl volley back, with clutch threes from Louann Battiston and Dominque Ennis to put Rice in front, where they would stay through the end of the half.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

With both sides having thrown punches, it looked as if a narrow back-and-forth would commence. Instead, even though Rice entered the fourth quarter ahead by one point, the the wheels fell off. Princeton outscored Rice 20-6 in the fourth, ending the game on an 11-2 run to turn a close game into a near blowout.

Rice women’s basketball falls to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Princeton 69, Rice 56

Key takeaway | Finding a Way to Finish

It’s hard to believe Rice women’s basketball entered the final quarter with the lead given how lopsided the final box score appears. Unfortunately for the Owls, it wasn’t just one thing that went wrong.

In that fateful fourth quarter Rice went 2-for-12 from the floor, was outrebounded 9-to-8, turned over the ball over six times and committed four fouls. The wide array of faults points to a team that wasn’t poised under pressure and collectively failed to execute when the lights shone the brightest.

This had the potential to be a resume building win for Rice. Instead, it’s a loss that looks much more one-sided than it actually was. Great teams finish. This team has talent, but closing out games still remains a key to-do as non-conference play marches on.

Up Next: vs Incarnate Word (Nov. 23 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball posts team win over MTSU

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Rice Women’s basketball grinded out a four-quarter battle against Middle Tennessee, outscoring the Blue Raiders in the final minutes to clinch the win.

Days removed from a relatively comfortable win over rival Houston, Rice women’s basketball found itself in a dogfight against former C-USA foe Middle Tennessee at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday. The two squads were tied after the first quarter and separated by just two points at the break following six dead even scores in the first half alone.

After falling behind briefly on an MTSU three-pointer to open the third quarter, Rice started to got on the offensive with a thorough 10-0 run made possible by tremendous defense. MTSU would shoot 31 percent in the frame as Rice went inside, dominating the paint with Hailey Adams and Shelby Hayes accounting for 10 of the Owls’ 14 points in that 10-minute period.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Even a nine-point lead wouldn’t prove enough, though. MTSU knotted things back up at 51 all with 4:31 to play in the final quarter. And then, with the game on the line, Rice got a succession of huge shots from Louann Battiston and some clutch free throws from Hailey Adams to salt the game away. The Blue Raiders would make just three shots from the field in the final three minutes, another stout defensive effort.

Rice women’s basketball improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 66, Middle Tennessee 59

Key takeaway | Team Mentality

When March comes around, Rice women’s basketball will need to find a player or two they can trust to make the big shot when it counts. As it stands, there hasn’t yet been one dominant player, but with where this team is at, that might not be a problem.

On Saturday, Rice got a team-high 18 points from Aniah Alexis. Her double-double paced the team, but the massive fourth quarter from Battiston and a four-steal, three-assist effort from Victoria Flores were equally vital to pulling out a close win. More often than not, a “team win” is cheesy line from a press conference. This time around, it really was a collective effort that made the difference.

Up Next: at Princeton (Nov. 19 at 6:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball edges Houston on the road

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Rice Women’s basketball secured its first win of the season in a hard-fought defensive struggle against rival Houston on the road.

Looking to rebound from an opening game loss to South Dakota State, Rice women’s basketball came out ready to play in their return to the city, albeit across town against rival Houston. The Owls opened the scoring on a 7-0 burst, taking an immediate lead which they would never relinquish.

Ahead by four points after the first quarter, Hailey Adams gave the team some breathing room with seven consecutive points of her own, part of a 10-0 Rice run that put the visiting Owls ahead by 14. Houston wasn’t going to fade the easily, though. The Cougars muscled themselves to the free throw line, clawing back from their double-digit deficit, entering halftime behind by just five points.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Margins remained tight for a while from that point with Rice women’s basketball never truly being able to take a deep breath until freshman Jordin Blackmon hit one of the team’s few threes to get the Owls back in front by double-digits with under nine minutes to play in regulation. Victoria Flores finished a sterling 16-for-16 from the free throw line, all in the second half, to help Rice secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 70, Houston 56

Key takeaway | Bested on the Boards

Points were at a premium on Tuesday night with neither side shooting the ball effectively. Both squads were below 35 percent shooting from the floor, further emphasizing the importance of each possession. A flurry of turnovers didn’t help, but the biggest pain point was the Owls’ frustrating night on the boards.

Houston out-rebounded Rice 50-39 and racked up a staggering 21 offensive boards. That made it all but impossible for Rice to pull away or give themselves any semblance of breathing room. It was a humbling performance against a program playing in its first games with a new head coach which looked very much so up for the challenge against the Owls, preseason picks to contend for the American Conference Championship.

Up Next: vs MTSU (Nov. 15 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball drops opener at South Dakota State

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Rice Women’s basketball didn’t get the level of offensive production they were expecting, falling to South Dakota State in their opening game.

A year ago, South Dakota State needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to spoil the Rice women’s basketball season opener at Tudor Fieldhouse, handing the Owls a loss in a game the home team had led for the vast majority of its duration. The opposite of that contest seemed to unfold in the early going in Brookings, South Dakota, on Friday night.

Rice scored the first points, but quickly fell behind. The Owls rallied to tie the game back up at the end of the first quarter thanks to five quick points from transfer Louann Battiston. The Jackrabbits kept their foot on the gas, though, growing their advantage to nine points in the second frame before another late push from the Owls resulted in a 38-34 halftime deficit for Rice.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

A three from Victoria Flores gave Rice a brief edge in the third, but a 9-2 South Dakota State rally put the Owls behind by seven, a deficit that would linger for the remainder of the quarter and stretch into the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when the offense would stall out for good.

Rice went nearly six minutes of court time without a made field goal in the final stretch as the South Dakota State lead grew to 11 and eventually 14. Unlike the last time these two teams met, there was no furious rally from the visiting team to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Rice fell to South Dakota State for the second consecutive season.

Final Box | SDSU 79, Rice 65

Key takeaway | Offense Comes Out Flat

During her comments before the season, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds was adamant her team would play fast and shoot threes, an intentional shift from season’s prior. The Owls’ attempted 35 three pointers (and made 15 of them) in their exhibition, one shy of their season-high a year ago, seeming to convey their eagerness to fulfill Edmonds’ vision.

South Dakota State is a much more challenging opponent than Mary Hardin-Baylor, so there needs to be an adjustment made for the quality of opponent Rice faced, but even still, this wasn’t nearly as high-flying of an offensive performance as the explosive exhibition suggested would be more normative.

Rice women’s basketball averaged 20.1 three point attempts per game last season. The team attempted 16 three-pointers through three quarters and 23 in the game on Friday. Even for accounting for a late outburst while trailing, the deep ball wasn’t as frequent or effective as it needed to be for Rice to win this game. After seeing what it can be at its best in the exhibition, this offensive showing was underwhelming. Hopefully better days are ahead.

Up Next: at Houston (Nov. 11 at 6:30 pm)

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