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WBB: Owls hoping to build NCAA Tournament worthy resume

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Rice women’s basketball is in the midst of an incredible run which the team hopes will end in an NCAA Tournament berth. How close are the Owls to the postseason?

March is nearing and Rice women’s basketball is looking for their dancing shoes. The squad has been one of the most dominant teams in the nation for the entirety of 2019. They’ll hope to capitalize on their storybook season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The necessary preparations for a postseason run are being put in place.

The Streak

The circumstances are almost irrelevant — this team doesn’t care. All they do is win. The Rice women’s basketball team has won 20 of their last 21 games and has yet to suffer defeat in conference play. With just two road games remaining against 5-6 North Texas and 1-10 UTSA, the Owls have a real shot at winning out and reaching 25 wins before the conference tournament.

Rice has won 13 games in a row, the most consecutive victories in school history and the third longest active streak in the nation. Every win literally makes history. The Owls have won 11 straight conference games, reaching 20 wins early in February. For comparison, Rice won their 20th game on March 3 in 2018,  March 19 in 2017 and only reached 18 wins combined between the ’14-’15 and ’15-’16 seasons.

Bracketology

There’s no doubting the Owls’ impressive run will force the NCAA selection committee to look long and hard at all this team has accomplished this season. With five regular season games remaining, Rice is projected as an 11-seed in ESPN analyst Charlie Creme’s latest Bracketology. That seed line could creep higher if Rice continues to win, but a higher seed isn’t all that’s at stake right now.

Multiple CUSA teams have reached the field in the somewhat recent past. MTSU and Western Kentucky both made the field in 2014, the Blue Raiders first year in the conference. Multiple CUSA squads haven’t made the field together since the conference contract to 14 teams in 2015.

Conference USA has traditionally been a one-bid league. Win the conference tournament and you’re going dancing, regardless of how your season has faired up until that point. Lose the conference tournament, and more often than not, you’re out.

If Rice can win out, but falls in the conference tournament, they’ll still have a strong chance of making it in, which is another testament to the incredible job these ladies have done this season. Rice is closing in on lock status, but the Owls can’t truly be sure of their NCAA fates without cutting down the nets in Frisco.

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WBB: Owls stake claim as one of nation’s hottest teams

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Rice women’s basketball just keeps winning. Their latest pair of wins have put them in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

The calendar is quickly approaching February, and Rice Women’s basketball hasn’t lost a single game in 2019. For the Owls, Conference play tipped off on Jan. 3 against Southern Miss. Since then they’ve won seven-straight, compiling the only perfect record in Conference USA. With nearly half of the conference slate complete, Rice 16-3 (7-0) now sits at the top of CUSA in lone possession of first place.

After starting out 0-2, the Owls have thundered out to a 16-1 record over their next 17 games including their current nine-game winning streak. The only program to beat Rice during that time, North Carolina, upset No. 1 Notre Dame this week.

Meanwhile, the team’s most recent games may have been their most impressive performances yet. Rice beat Middle Tennessee and UAB in a pair of road contests. Those two programs had combined to lose three games on their own courts so far this season prior to Rice besting both of them in the span of a few days.

Middle Tennessee entered their game against Rice 15-5 and 6-0 in conference play. They, too, were undefeated in 2019. Rice beat them 60-45 behind a season-best 20 points from center Nancy Mulkey who blocked a school-record eight shots and grabbed seven rebounds.

As usual, Erica Ogwumike came on strong registering a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rice held Middle Tennessee to 36.2 percent shooting from the field; their 46 points was the fewest they’ve scored in conference play this season.

After snuffing out the Blue Raiders, Rice did the same to UAB. The Blazers scored just 43 points on 28.3 percent shooting. Once more, Mulkey once again had eight blocks and the team combined for 40 rebounds, 10 of which were snared by Mulkey, herself. Nicole Iademarco picked knocked down five field goals, tying with Mulkey for the team lead with 14 points.

Like Middle Tennesse, UAB was never able to get going on offense. The Owls’ suffocating defense has held all of their conference opponents to 54 points or fewer. The offense has averaged 67.9 points per game over that time period.

The Owls have been playing their best basketball of the season so far in 2019. Mulkey was named Conference USA Player of the week for her efforts over the past two games. If the team can maintain their top position through February and into March they’ll secure the No. 1 seed in the Conference USA Tournament with eyes set on an NCAA Tournament bid.

Rice has played in the WBI and the WNIT in the past two seasons but hasn’t appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2005. A victory in the Conference USA Tournament would clinch an auto-bid for the school.

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WBB: Owls own only perfect record in CUSA West

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Everything is going the right way for Rice women’s basketball in 2019 as the Owls enter the heart of their Conference USA schedule.

Rice women’s basketball dropped their first two games of the season. They’ve since won 13 of their next 14 games, thoroughly outclassing their Conference USA opponents. Rice sits at 13-3 with a perfect 4-0 record in conference play, 16 games into their 28 game regular season schedule.

It’s been a team effort the whole way. As good as Rice has been with the ball in their hands, their defense has been even better. Rice ranks second in scoring defense allowing a meager 48.2 points per game in their conference games to date. They allow the second-fewest rebounds per game and own the third-best assist to turnover ratio. The Owls’ opponents aren’t getting good shots and when they miss they’re not getting many extra chances.

Scoring leader Erica Ogwumike continues to be the consistent spark who moves the offense along, but she’s had plenty of help. Nancy Mulkey is converting on 61.7 percent of her field goals and Jasmine Smith is fourth in CUSA with 20 assists in conference play.

Meanwhile, Nicole Iademarco has secured her space in the Rice record books. Iademarco broke the Rice women’s basketball three-point scoring record against UTSA, passing former teammate Maya Hawkins. The senior tacked on a few more long balls against UTEP on Saturday. She’s now drained 170 three-point shots with plenty of time to add to her own record before the season is through.

Last 4

  • W, 58-47 at Southern Miss
  • W, 61-51 at Louisiana Tech
  • W, 85-54 vs UTSA
  • W, 76-42 vs UTEP

Up Next

The end of January sets up to be extremely important for Rice. The Owls stand atop the Conference USA standings but will play three of the next four (North Texas, Middle Tennessee, UAB) before the end of the month. Wins in those games, plus another against Western Kentucky in mid-February could cement this team as clear front-runners going into the conference tournament.

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WBB: Owls riding high entering conference play

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Rice Women’s basketball finished off a strong non-conference slate and looks forward to CUSA play beginning in the new year.

The Rice Women’s Basketball team began the 2018-2019 season strong, rounding out a 9-3 record in non-conference play with a road win over Incarnate Word on Saturday. The Owls have held serve against the vast majority of their opponents, with their three losses all coming at the hands of quality teams.

Rice lost a pair of mostly competitive games to Texas A&M and UCLA, both NCAA Tournament teams last year, as well as a road contest against a North Carolina squad which could make a postseason bid of their own in March. A win in one of those games would have been big, but the effort the Owls put forth is an encouraging start.

As far as individual efforts go, Erica Ogwumike picked up right where she left off last season. The Owls leading scorer averaged 17.9 points per game last season and has matched the same scoring clip so far this year, averaging 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. She’s scored in double-digits in all but one of the Owls’ first 11 games with six double-doubles.

Joining Ogwumike in the everyday lineup has been senior Nicole Iademarco and freshman Jasmine Smith. Lauren Grigsby has been important off the bench, averaging 9.7 points with 15 steals, second most on the team. It’s been a true team effort with 10 players averaging 12 or more minutes per game.

The Owls will get a few days off for the New Year before CUSA play starts with a pair of road trips. They take on Southern Miss on Jan. 3 and Louisiana Tech on Jan. 5 before returning home for their first conference home game on Jan. 10 against UTSA.

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Rice Athletics 2018: A Year in Review

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Rice athletics produced some memorable moments in 2018. Here’s an overview of how the Owls faired on the court, the field and in the gym over the past year.

Baseball

The Wayne Graham era at South Main came to an end this year. Graham’s 27-season tenure at Rice included 1,173 wins, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven College World Series appearances and one National Championship in 2003. He owns the best winning percentage in school history (.689). Following the season, new head baseball coach Matt Bragga was introduced as the Owls’ next manager.

Basketball (men’s and women’s)

The men have a  roster filled with young players who have fought through growing pains in 2018. The Owls won seven games last season and enter CUSA play with five wins already under their belt.

After making it to the second round of the WNIT last March, the women’s team started strong again in the 2018-2019 season. The squad went 8-3 in non-conference play with one game remaining on Dec. 29 and has aspirations of a CUSA Title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Football

2018 was an important year for Rice football. Mike Bloomgren earned his first win regular season win and first conference win as a head coach against Prairie View and Old Dominion, respectively. Owls’ star running back Trevor Cobb was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The team finished the year by signing 17 players during the early signing period including Jake Bailey, a Top 15 recruit in Conference USA.

Tennis (men’s and women’s)

The women’s team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, dropping a heartbreaker to Texas A&M in the Austin Regional. The men failed to make the NCAA Tournament, but Eric Rutledge and Sumit Sarkar were awarded All-CUSA First Team honors in doubles. Rutledge was named to the first team for singles. Sarkar was named to the second.

Soccer (women’s)

The team hung in through a tough 2018 campaign. Needing a tie in their final regular season game to clinch a spot in the CUSA Tournament, Rice topped Charlotte in the finale. The Owls finished the regular season at 4-5-1 before a loss in the conference tournament. There were a couple close calls with a 3-0 shutout of Louisiana Tech marking the top performance of the year.

Swimming (women’s)

Rice ended their year with a bang. The Owls finished second out of 31 scoring teams at the CSCAA National Invitational in March. Kaitlyn Swinney broke the school record for the 400-IM at the meet.

Volleyball

It was a banner year for the Owls’ volleyball squad. They set a program-best winning streak, reeling off 15-straight victories on their way to a Conference USA regular season championship. They’d add a CUSA Conference Championship too, thereby securing their fourth NCAA Tournament berth in school history.

Nicole Lennon, Lee Ann Cunningham and Grace Morgan were named to the CUSA First Team while Anota Adekunle and Carly Graham were selected to the CUSA All-Freshman team.

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