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Rice Women’s Basketball bounces back emphatically with win over WKU

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Rice women’s basketball recovered quickly from a Thursday night loss, racing past Western Kentucky to close out their road trip with a win.

More than once in the early goings of Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky, it felt like Rice women’s basketball was about to break away. The Owls amassed an early 19-point lead in the first quarter, but weren’t able to stretch their advantage beyond that and allowed the Hilltoppers to recover. That advantage became 11 in the second quarter, but the home team responded with a 10-0 run of their own to bring the game back within one.

Finally, in the third quarter, the dam broke. Western Kentucky was 1-of-14 from the field in the third quarter meanwhile Rice exploded with a 22-2 run to essentially put the game out of reach. Western Kentucky would get back within 17 at the end of the quarter and get as close as 12 in the fourth frame, but there was never any real threat as Rice held the line and walked out of Bowling Green with an important win.

Final Box | Rice 82 – WKU 64

Key takeaway | Have a ball, Bellamy

Rice women’s basketball hasn’t played a game at full strength since the first weekend of February. For two straight weekends, the Owls have been without the services of either Ashlee Austin or Malia Fisher, arguably their most differential players on the roster. They’re 3-1 in that span, thanks in large part to the efforts of India Bellamy.

In her first 16 games of the season, Bellamy averaged 8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, more than serviceable off the bench. But over the last four games, those averages have skyrocketed. Since February 9, Bellamay has been averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She’s nearly doubled her averages across the board.

There’s no word yet on how long the team will be without Fisher on the court, but regardless of how long Fisher is out, Rice is going to need this version of Bellamy to get to where they want to be. They got it on Saturday with a career-best 27-point game against WKU.

Up Next: vs UAB – Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball handed tough loss against UTSA

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Rice women’s basketball wasn’t ready to go away from home, falling to UTSA in one of their final road games of the regular season.

It would have been hard to draw up a more crushing start for Rice women’s basketball than the first half they played against UTSA on Thursday night. The Owls fell behind 18-1, then 29-9, shooting worse than 10 percent from the floor through much of the first quarter and only truly finding their stroke midway through the second stanza.

A 10-2 Rice run to end the half averted total disaster and gave the Owls a chance to regroup and try again. UTSA would keep things within that range for most of the third quarter before Rice gave one final push in the fourth and final frame.

Rice would get within five on a jumper from Destiny Jackson, but that was the point when they ran out of game. The Owls made two shots from the field in the final seven minutes, falling to UTSA by a final score of 66 to 53.

Final Box | UTSA 66 – Rice 53

Key takeaway | Austin essential in reemergence

Prior to Thursday night, Ashlee Austin hadn’t played in a basketball game since February 4. She’d been relegated to watching the past two contests by a coach’s decision. Rice won both games without her on the court, but it seemed improbable the Owls would rattle off an extended winning streak without the help of their leading scorer.

Austin came off the bench and led all Rice players in scoring with 14 points. She led all Rice players in rebounds with five and assists with three. Malia Fisher, a rock for this team since her arrival on campus, was limited to just five minutes. Someone else needed to step up. Austin did. It wasn’t enough tonight, but they’re going to need her down the stretch.

Up Next: at WKU – Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1:00 p.m.

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Bellamy, Fisher lead Rice Women’s Basketball past FIU at home

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Rice women’s basketball completed a weekend sweep of Florida schools, besting FIU at home on Saturday.

Still without leading scorer Ashlee Austin on the court, Rice women’s basketball didn’t have much trouble notching their second straight home victory. After a low-scoring opening quarter, Rice heated up quickly with a 24-outburst in the second frame, taking an eight-point lead into halftime.

India Bellamy and Malia Fisher were instrumental in helping Rice build their initial lead and then extending it to as many as 15 points in the second half. FIU would cut the margin back down to five points at the midpoint of the fourth quarter, but a layup from Bellamy and a three from Fisher pushed the Rice advantage quickly back to double-digits and helped secure the victory.

Rice has now won back-to-back games and sits at fourth in the conference standings with six games remaining in the regular season.

Final Box | Rice 67 – FIU 58

Key takeaway | Bellamy block party

Bellamy finished one point shy of tying a career-high in points, but it was her defense that was perhaps even more significant on Saturday afternoon. She led the team in defensive rebounds (five) and finished with four blocked shots, that’s a lot. For reference, Rice has only exceeded that total as a team on three occasions this year (they had five total against Sam Houston, WKU and their prior game against FIU).

“I’m really proud of India, her efforts are through the roof, the way that she has just been grinding, and even in those four-point games and five-point games, she was still impacting our team,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “But obviously the offensive side of the ball, we really need it right now and she’s doing a great job at stepping up where the team needs her the most.”

Up Next: at UTSA – Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball runs away from FAU late

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Rice women’s basketball took care of business at home, downing FAU in runaway fashion at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Just past the midpoint of conference play, Rice women’s basketball needed to find a way to take care of home court against a 5-8 FAU squad on Thursday night. It was the road Owls who delivered the first blow, though, jumping out to an 8-0 run before Rice was able to find the scoreboard.

Rice battled back quickly, finishing the first quarter on a 22-6 run and held serve in the second frame, taking a two-point lead into the half. It was the third quarter when Rice made its’ move, slowly building up from a 36-36 tie to an 11-point lead as the fourth quarter began. Then the hometown team really started to pour it on.

The Owls emptied the benches, turning a modest double-digit lead into a 20-plus-point shellacking. 12 different Rice players saw action, including minutes for Haylee Swayzee, Ashlyn Zhang and Fatou Samb, the three of which had combined to play 88 total minutes this season. It was officially cleanup time in the most dominant conference win for Rice women’s basketball this season

“It was amazing, it was fun. It makes basketball fun when you get to see the people you’re with 24/7 go in the games and play,” forward India Bellamy said. “It was also relaxing not to be stressed out.”

Final Box | Rice 85 – FAU 64

Key takeaway | Starting lineup shakeup

Rice women’s basketball has largely maintained the same starting five throughout the season. Once Maya Bokunewicz went down in the second game of the season it’s been Ashlee Austin, Katelyn Crosthwait, Malia Fisher, Destiny Jackson and Trinity Gooden taking the court as the first five night in and night out. That’s not how the Owls lined up on Thursday night.

Crosthwait wasn’t in the starting lineup and entered the game in the second quarter. Austin did not play at all. When asked for clarification on those decisions, head coach Lindsay Edmonds called it a “family matter” that she wanted to keep inside the locker room.

“I said it was going to be about what people showed me in practice. That was where the mixups kinda came from,” Edmonds said, referring to a challenge she gave the team last week. She added Austin is not injured and her availability going forward would depend on “what’s shown on the court.”

Being without their leading scorer didn’t seem to phase the Owls on the court, though. Rice scored 85 points, their highest against a conference opponent this season, getting big contributions off the bench from India Belammay and Jazzy Owens-Barnett.

Up Next: vs FIU – Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball falters late, falls to North Texas

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Rice women’s basketball hung around until the final minutes but was unable to get the shots to fall in Saturday’s road loss to North Texas.

Saturday’s back-and-forth slugfest between North Texas and Rice women’s basketball did not disappoint. The Mean Green were the aggressors early on, taking a seven-point lead midway through the first quarter before Rice was able to punch back, courtesy of some clutch three-point shooting from Ashlee Austin and Trinity Gooden.

The second quarter was more of the same; North Texas grabbed an eight-point lead and Rice thundered back via the three-ball, this time courtesy of Dominque Ennis and Malia Fisher. It wasn’t until the third quarter when Rice was able to get in front for a meaningful amount of time — and even then, the Owls led by just one point entering the fourth quarter.

The largest lead by either side in the final 10 minutes would be four points with the game hanging in the balance as the clock ticked below two minutes. Only one field goal was made from either side at that point, a North Texas three, which would break a deadlock and put the Mean Green ahead for good.

Final Box | North Texas 69 – Rice 66

Key takeaway | The shots won’t fall every night

Rice didn’t shoot particularly well at any point of the game against North Texas, but the fourth quarter was one of their least effective stretches and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Those perfectly timed three-pointers that helped Rice stay close throughout the afternoon disappeared late. Dominque Ennis was the only Owl to attempt a three in the fourth quarter and went 1-for-5.

Then there was Malia Fisher’s tough stretch at the free throw line. On Thursday night against Louisiana Tech, Fisher was unbelievably good. In the fourth quarter on Saturday, she wasn’t at her best, but she continued to get the call in part because of the trust she’s earned to this point. She was 3-for-7 from the line in the fourth quarter, effectively giving up four points in a game the Owls lost by three.

By no means does Fisher bear all the culpability for this defeat, but her final frame does serve as a reminder that the shots won’t fall every night. That’s basketball. Fisher is shooting 75.6 percent from the line this season, even with the rough game. She’ll be fine and Rice will be fine. The Owls have won six of eight and they probably won’t leak free throws on a regular basis going forward.

Up Next: vs Florida Atlantic – Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 p.m.

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