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Rice Women’s Basketball soars past Saint Mary’s on the road

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It wasn’t quite wire-to-wire, but Rice women’s basketball started fast and maintained a comfortable lead in their road win over Saint Mary’s.

Despite the late tip-off, 10:oo p.m. Houston time, Rice women’s basketball showed up ready to play in Califonia against Saint Marys. The Gael’s won the 2022 WBI Tournament and were picked to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference this season. Rice was undeterred.

The Owls jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter, holding Saint Mary’s to 29.4 percent shooting from the field. Shelby Hayes created a mismatch in the interior, scoring eight points in the opening frame. When the defense collapsed to account for her, it opened up shooting lanes for Ashlee Austin and Kaitlyn Crostwait from deep.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

The lead quickly grew to double-digits, as Rice mixed in contributions from a host of different contributors. The Owls got points from nine different players in the first half alone, seeing their advantage grow to as many as 17 points.

The third quarter was more contentious. Saint Mary’s continued to chip away, taking the Rice lead down from double digits to as few as five points. Fortunately for the Owls, every time the Gaels went on a run, they had an answer. The five-point lead ballooned back to 15 early in the fourth quarter. Rice would knock down their free throws to ice the road win.

Player Spotlight | Kaitlyn Crosthwait

On a night when so many different players contributed in big moments, Crosthwait seemed to find herself involved in a good portion of them. She scored 11 points, knocking down three of the Owls’ five three-pointers. She also had six rebounds, playing a team-high 30 minutes.

Rice was able to get so many players into the game on Wednesday night, but that sort of widespread rotation is possible because the team has veteran players that can help direct traffic no matter who is on the court. Crosthwait’s play and direction made a difference in this one.

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball continues its four-game road trip in the coming days. They’ll take on Pacific on Friday before returning to Texas to play Texas Southern (Wed. Nov. 23) and Texas A&M (Sun. Nov. 27) before their next home game at the beginning of December against TCU.

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Rice Women’s Basketball rallies past ACU at home

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Rice women’s basketball rallies in the second half to take down Abilene Christian, opening the season 2-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Maya Bokunewicz got the scoring going with a jumper, but that proved to be just the first points in another back-and-forth affair at Tudor Fieldhouse. There were five ties in the first quarter and three more in the third, with the vast majority of the first half being played within a four-point margin to either side.

Jazzy Owens-Barnett gave Rice a six-point lead on the final shot of the first quarter, but that advantage was quickly erased in the first minute or so of the second frame. ACU then closed that quarter out on a run of their own, taking a seven-point advantage into halftime courtesy of back-to-back threes.

Down at halftime, the Owls resolved to keep fighting. “We challenged them and I thought they stepped up and showed who they can really be in that third quarter,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

Rice went on the offensive in the third quarter, quickly erasing the halftime deficit and creating a new lead of their own. The Owls outscored ACU 24-11 in the third with Ashlee Austin leading the way. Up by six entering the final quarter, Rice was able to withstand ACU’s final push and secure their second-straight win to open the season.

“I thought we showed up a little unfocused and not ready and our defense showed that,” Edmonds said after the final buzzer. “And then I think the second half I think we showed up and showed how we can be the defensive team that we can be. We rebounded the basketball and because of our defense and our rebounding we were able to create easier offensive opportunities for us.”

Five Owls reached double-digits, Austin’s 10 points coming entirely in the second half. The team shot 50 percent from the floor after halftime, turning a seven-point deficit into a 16 point victory.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

This season Rice women’s basketball boasts one of the deepest rosters it has had in some time. Given that influx of young talent, coach Edmonds has been able to spread the ball around, getting contributions from several different players early in the season.

On Sunday though, trailing by seven at half to ACU, Rice needed someone to take charge and seize control. As she’s done time and time again, Ashlee Austin rose to the occasion.

“Our main message coming out of halftime was just to be us,” Austin said. “Especially as a senior, I personally felt a need to be as perfect as possible and try and do everything I can.”

Austin finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, a modest line by her standards, but it was when that production came that mattered most. Austin tallied eight of those points and four of those rebounds in the third quarter, leading the comeback charge and putting the Owls ahead for good.

Final Box | Rice 85 – ACU 69

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball won’t be back in Tudor Fieldhouse until early December, playing their next four games away from home. That road trip begins on Wednesday at Saint Mary’s — a late tip scheduled for 10:00 p.m. CT — then at Pacific on Friday. Both games will be streamed on WCC Sports.

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Rice Women’s Basketball outlasts SFA to win season opener

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It took all four quarters, but Rice women’s basketball was able to outlast SFA in their season opener with superior depth and Malia Fisher’s big game.

On Monday night, Rice women’s basketball was waiting for their season to begin. Meanwhile SFA, the Owls’ first opponent, was notching a season-opening victory over fellow C-USA member UTSA. That was notice enough for the Owls to be ready to battle with the Lady Lumberjacks from tip, and that’s exactly how things transpired at Tudor Fieldhouse on Thursday.

Rice came out ready, scoring eight quick points before SFA was able to battle back and get on the board. From there the game was tied at 10, tied at 12 and tied at 20, all before the first quarter was through. The SFA press made Rice work for every possession.

Malia Fisher hit a floater at the buzzer to close out the first quarter to give Rice some breathing room. The Owls followed with a composed second quarter, slightly lengthening that one-possession lead to a six-point halftime advantage.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

The Owls knocked down several foul shots in the process. The lead might have been longer had they been more effective from the charity stripe, converting just 10-of-18 (56 percent) from the line in the first half and 25-of-35 (71 percent) free throws in the game, thanks to a perfect 11-of-11 day at the line from Destiny Jackson.

It was the freshmen who provided the second-half spark. Already buoyed by a strong shooting performance from distance by Dominque Ennis, the Owls got big baskets from Shelby Hayes and Jazzy Owens-Barnett, extending their third-quarter lead to as many as 10 before SFA cut it down to two to start the fourth.

Every time SFA would go on a run, Rice had an answer. And it was usually a different face making the next shot. After working most of last season with eight healthy players, Rice played 10 different players against SFA, eventually outlasting the Lumberjacks thanks to that depth, outscoring SFA 34-19 in bench points.

“That’s a really good basketball team that we just played and they’re gonna win a lot of basketball games,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said in the aftermath. “But I think it just goes to show how talented we are, how deep we are and how good I think we can be this season.”

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

It took less than two quarters for Malia Fisher to notch her first double-double of the season and the ninth of her young career. Fisher led Rice and all Conference USA freshmen in double-doubles last season and is already on pace to do so again.

That wasn’t the only milestone Fisher reached on Thursday night. She became the sixth Owl to reach 20 rebounds in a single game, a number she wasn’t even aware she’d reached until after the game.

“I’ll take that every single night,” Edmonds said in jest as a smile beamed across her face, a fitting end to a hard-fought night that ended just like it was supposed to: with a Rice win.

Final Box | Rice 89 – SFA 77

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has one more game at Tudor Fieldhouse before they hit the road for the first time this season. On Sunday, the Owls will host Abilene Christian. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. That game will be streamed on CUSAtv.

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2022-2023 Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

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The 2022-2023 Rice women’s basketball season is around the corner and the team can’t wait to build on last season’s successes.

The most common word Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds would use to describe last season was whirlwind. Coming in as a first-time head coach in the midst of a program in transition with a minimal roster and the lingering challenges of COVID-19 was never going to be easy. Edmonds and her team persevered.

One year later the program seems poised to continue its ascent. For one, they have more bodies. Edmonds added the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA to supplement a much more experienced roster than they had at this point last season.

Edmonds joked that one of the biggest differences from last year’s squad to this one is readily apparent when you walk into the gym. “Last year we took half of a court to stretch,” she laughed. “[This year] we take up an entire sideline!”

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No 2022 postseason for Rice Women’s Basketball

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Rice women’s basketball did not make the field for the WNIT or the WBI, signaling the end of the Owls’ 2022 season.

The Rice women’s basketball regular season came to an end earlier this week when the Owls dropped a hard-fought conference tournament battle to Charlotte, who would go on to cut down the nets in Frisco. At the time, it felt like that wouldn’t be the last we’ll see of the Owls on the court this spring, though. Head coach Lindsay Edmonds predicted as much in the aftermath of that loss.

“I told them I don’t want the season to be over with yet and that their mindset should still be locked in on basketball and continuing to play,” Edmonds said. “They deserve to continue to play. The way we’ve been playing, they deserve to continue to play.”

That next opportunity would not come.

While postseason play once seemed like wishful thinking, it became more and more reasonable for this team to expect one more chance. Rice had won seven of their last nine games with their only two losses since Valentine’s Day coming in overtime to Louisiana Tech and to eventual Conference USA Tournament Champion, Charlotte in the conference tournament.

Rice women’s basketball won the WNIT last season. In fact, WNIT officials had visited the Owls recently. If things didn’t work out on that front, the WBI was also thought to be an option. There was an expectation that tournament would have a place for the Owls if the WNIT did not. By late Sunday night, both fields had been announced. No Rice.

The omission is a disappointment, but the Owls hope to turn it into motivation. Or as Edmonds, reacted late Sunday night, they’ll use it as fuel to the fire.

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