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Max Fiedler triple-double lifts Rice Basketball past UTSA

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Rice basketball fell behind big, but rallied late with Max Fiedler’s triple-double outing powering the Owls past UTSA on the road.

Following a stretch of games in which Rice basketball had built early leads and tried to hold on, the Owls found themselves in the exact opposite scenario on Monday night at UTSA. The Owls went ice cold from the three-point line while UTSA began the night on a heater. Rice began the night 2-of-12 from long range. UTSA started with makes on 8-of-14 triples. And just like that, an 18-point UTSA lead materialized.

Somehow, Rice thundered back. With 4:02 to play, the Owls trailed by 10. With 1:45 to go, they trailed by six. Finally, with 1.1 on the clock and the Owls nursing a miraculous one-point lead, Rice sent UTSA’s Japhet Medor to the line to shoot two. He made one and overtime commenced.

Cameron Sheffield and Mekhi Mason put Rice in front by five, then Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari followed with a combination of threes and free throws to build a nine-point advantage. They’d win by that margin, capping off one of the more improbable comebacks in the conference this season.

Final Box | Rice 88 – UTSA 79 (OT)

Key takeaway | Triple-Double Max

Max Fiedler has been praised for his ability as a facilitator for years. The veteran big man is one of the best in the game when it comes to getting the ball to his teammates, but cracking the double-digit mark in assists on Monday (11) set up an even more impressive feat. With 13 rebounds and 24 points, Fiedler became the second player in program history to record a triple-double.

The assists came in overtime, part of an incredible performance that sparked the thrilling come-from-behind victory. It’s not uncommon for Fiedler’s contributions on the court to go well beyond what shows up in the box score. Against UTSA, that box score reflected his significance loud and clear.

Up Next: at North Texas – Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball rallies to beat UTSA

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Rice women’s basketball fought through some early shooting woes and exploded from the three-point line to beat UTSA.

Rice women’s basketball was clearly looking for an early three-point bonanza against UTSA but the expected fireworks fizzled early on. The Owls shot a miserable 1-for-12 on three-pointers in the first quarter alone, accounting for nearly seventy percent of their average of 18.6 three-point attempts for the game in the first 10 minutes as they fell behind 20-12.

Despite falling behind, Rice did not abandon the game plan. They took 10 more three-pointers in the second quarter, this time hitting four of them, and rallied to retake the lead in the final minute before halftime.  After trailing by as many as 11, the Owls were right back in the mix at the break.

Both teams traded blows in the third before Rice appeared to have opened up a commanding fourth quarter lead, going up 11 points on a three by Katelyn Crosthwait with 3:19 to play. UTSA would claw back to within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Rice did enough to hang on for the win.

Final Box | Rice 78 – UTSA 76

Key takeaway |  Three-point throwdown

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds and her staff had noticed UTSA play more zone in a recent game and was ready to act on it should the Roadrunners do something similar against the Owls on Monday. They did, and the Owls took to the air.

Even with some early misses, Edmonds stayed the course, despite turning to the scorer’s table at one point to check how many threes they had taken to that point — 14 — “Oh my goodness,” was her only reply.

“A lot of our threes were coming from three of our best three-point shooters,” she said afterward. “Those are what those players do, So I have no problems with them taking good shots.”

Edmonds did admit the quality of shot improved as the team entered the heart of the second quarter, moving the ball more effectively and playing inside out. That set up leading scorer Katelyn Crosthwait for a massive evening. She connected on 7-of-14 threes, scoring a team-high 23 points.

“Threes are my thing. That’s what I rep every single off day,” Crosthwait said win a grin.

Up Next: vs North Texas – Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB vs UTEP

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Both Rice basketball teams were in action against UTEP on Saturday. Here’s a brief rundown of how the men and women faired and what’s next for both.

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball fended off an early UTEP run then made a thriller at the buzzer to notch their first conference home win of the season.

After failing to hold sizable leads in previous games, Rice basketball was handed a very different game script on Saturday against UTEP. The game began with a modest back and forth before a 13-3 UTEP run late in the first half put Rice into a perilous position. Quincy Olivari quickly keyed an 11-2 Rice spurt to return the game back to near level in the waning minutes of the first half.

Already survivors of an early scare, Rice entered the second half motivated. Olivari and Travis Evee strung together a trio of three-pointers and a few more buckets, a 13-0 run, which put Rice back in front for the first time since the 11:25 mark in the first half.

It wouldn’t be easy, though. UTEP took the lead on a free throw with six seconds to play. Then Evee took the ball down the court and put one up at the buzzer, watching it fall through the net for the game-winner.

Final Box | Rice 83 – UTEP 82

Key takeaway | In the hunt

Entering Saturday, eight of the 11 teams in Conference USA were within one game of .500 in league play, with most hovering somewhere between 2-3 and 3-3. If Rice basketball had hopes of contending for an upper-half finish in the conference they needed to avoid falling too far in the race early on in the season. They did that this weekend, earning an important win to move back to .500 in league play.

The Owls were one of only two teams in the conference without a home win in league play prior to this important victory. Head coach Scott Pera is quick to preach the significance of taking care of home court, and they achieved that today.

Up Next: at UTSA – Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball was able to build a lead and maintain it, taking down UTEP on the road for their second conference win.

On New Year’s Eve, Rice women’s basketball beat UTEP to stop a losing skid. On Saturday, they did it again, taking down the Miners for the second time this season. The game was tight early, with the Owls holding small leads in the first and second quarters with both teams shooting well early on. Things began to shift in the third quarter when the Rice defensive effort was cranked up to another level.

UTEP was held to 7.1 percent shooting in the third frame, making just one shot from the field. That stingy defense, combined with a 50 percent shooting mark of their own from the floor, helped Rice open up an 18-point advantage which proved too big for the Miners to climb out of, even with a stronger fourth quarter.

“I felt we imposed our will for 40 minutes. We really executed the defensive gameplan and we then we had a really balanced attack on the offensive end,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. ” You saw a lot of effort and energy, but most importantly, I just liked our focus.”

Final Box | Rice 73 – UTEP 62

Key takeaway | Confidence builder

With the loss, UTEP falls to 4-2 in conference play, undefeated in games against all other foes except for the Rice Owls. The win was important, if for no other reason that to soothe any anxieties associated with a prolonged losing streak. But more than that, it was a win against a very good conference foe.

UTEP is second in the conference standings right now and Rice has already beaten the Miners twice. Middle Tennessee (6-0) is playing exceptional basketball right now, but everyone else in the conference is on the Owls’ level — as things currently stand — and we’ve seen this team hang with great teams over the past year and a half.

Every team has tough stretches of its season for one reason or another. Notching a second win against this team proves that this Rice women’s basketball squad can be a real force if they’re clicking at the right time.

Up Next: vs UTSA – Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: 2022-2023 New Year’s State of the Program

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After a program-best start, Rice women’s basketball has hit a rough patch. Here’s where the Owls stand with the bulk of Conference USA play ahead.

Rice women’s basketball couldn’t have asked for a better start to its 2022-2023 season. The Owls roared out to a 9-0 start, picking up a slew of in-start victories over rival programs and a few hard-fought wins on the west coast as well. Everything was going right… until it wasn’t.

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A cold spell to open conference play has put this program in a lurch. Can they right the ship, and if so, how quickly can the turnaround begin? Let’s dig in.

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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB each fall to LA Tech

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Both Rice basketball teams were in action against Louisiana Tech. Here’s a brief rundown of how the men and women faired and what’s next for both.

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball was on the wrong end of 14 lead changes in a back-and-forth affair, falling at home to Louisiana Tech on Thursday.

There was little separation between Rice basketball and Louisiana Tech on Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. From the opening tip until the waning moments of the game, the two teams traded barbs. The Owls led by as many as nine before the Bulldogs powered back to tie the game for the seventh time with just under nine minutes to play in the second half.

Travie Evee and Quincy Olivari, the Owls’ leading scorers, were tremendous, combining for 44 points and eight three-pointers. Evee’s final heave of regulation was tremendous, falling through at the buzzer to force overtime.

Louisiana Tech would connect on 6-of-8 shots in the extra period and both three pointers. Rice came within two points of equalizing, but missed two crucial free throws down the stretch before running out of time.

Final Box | Rice 72 – UTEP 67

Key takeaway | Defense no longer optional

Rice basketball dubbed itself “Green Light U” last year in reference to their willingness to shoot the ball early and often. That’s been a staple of their game since head coach Scott Pera arrived on campus. It’s been the defensive side that, so far, has been the missing component in the Owls’ arsenal.

No one is going to bang the gavel and declare Rice a defensive juggernaut just yet, but the frequency with which individuals continue to make significant defensive contributions is increasing. Even after an up-and-down first half, they came up big plays in key moments.

“We did make some plays when we had to, yeah, some big ones,” Pera said. “Because these kids are playing hard. They’re trying like heck and they’ve gotten better at a lot of those things.

Cameron Sheffield had two blocks and 11 defensive rebounds. Seryee Lewis forced a kick out pass, then corralled the rebound on the ensuing deep three. Max Fiedler forced a shot clock violation in the final 90 seconds with a strong position in the lane. Little by little, these individual moments are beginning to cascade.

Ultimately though, it was not enough. Rice doesn’t get to OT without some of those big defensive plays, but they’re going to need more of them to finish off games like this.

Up Next: vs Middle Tennessee – Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball never got it in gear on the road, falling to Louisiana Tech in Ruston, falling to 1-3 in conference play.

Aside from a single three from Katelyn Crosthwait and seven points from Ashlee Austin, things got off to a rocky start in Ruston for Rice women’s basketball on Thursday night. Crosthwait and Austin were the only Owls to score in the opening quarter as the team fell behind 20-10 on a meager 26.7 percent shooting from the floor.

Rice chipped away a few points from that double-digit deficit in the second quarter and a few more in the third. After a rough beginning, they trailed Louisiana Tech by five entering the final frame and would have their chance to recover but the shots just weren’t falling. The Owls started 1-for-6 from the field, going over seven minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter alone.

“We dug a deep hole and even though we fought and won the last three quarters, it was just too much to overcome,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said.

They were able to extend the game on free throws and get within three in the final seconds, but things never quite clicked and Rice women’s basketball is now 1-3 in conference play.

Final Box | LA Tech 79 – Rice 74

Key takeaway | Mid season slump is real, but not irreversible

You wouldn’t know it from watching their start to conference play, but this team began the season 9-0 and blazed through a couple of Power 5 programs in-state to get there. It’s been tough sledding ever since.

Unfortunately for the Owls, every game remaining is a conference game and the stakes will continue to raise with each successive contest. Non-conference wins won’t count in their quest for a top seed in the C-USA Tournament. They know that, though. And they’ve shown the ability to course correct before, even within their winning streak.

Oddly enough, this program went through a similar stretch last season. Edmonds sent the team home after an 0-5 start and they came back and finished 8-4 in their final 12 regular season games.

Up Next: at Middle Tennessee – Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m.

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