Women's Basketball: Game Notes-Lady Tiger Classic
11/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Game Notes as PDF file
Quick Facts
Rice (1-1) vs. Samford (0-1)
Friday, Nov. 26, 1999, 8 pm (CST), Elma Roane Fieldhouse (3,000), University of Memphis Campus, Memphis, Tenn. Game one of Lady Tiger Classic. Non-conference game.
Radio/Internet
None
Television
None.
Series
This is the first meeting for Rice with Samford, Memphis and Providence.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
Samford: www.sanford.com
Memphis: www.gotigersgo.com
Providence: www.friars.com
Probable Starting Lineup (1999-2000 scoring, rebounding averages)
RICE LADY OWLS (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
F 23 Kim Smallwood 7.0p, 6.0rF 33 Kirra Jordan 13.0p, 9.5rF/C 22 Kenya Tuttle 4.5p, 6.5rG 21 Kim Lawson 6.5p, 1.0rG 25 Marla Brumfield 12.0p, 3.0rTip Off
The Lady Tiger Classic marks the first tournament appearance of the year for Rice. The Lady Owls face Samford (0-1) in Friday's opener, then either Providence (1-0) or host Memphis (1-1) on Saturday... Samford lost its season opener on Nov. 23, an 88-51 decision at Alabama... Providence defeated George Mason 82-70 in its opener... Memphis has split its first two game, a 71-50 loss at Mississippi followed by a 93-67 win at home against Austin Peay... Rice has never played any of the teams in the tournament...
Meet the Coaches
Rice: Cristy McKinney (North Carolina State, 1979) is in her seventh season as the head coach of the Rice women. During her tenure at Rice, McKinney has posted a 95-77 overall record which brings her total as a head coach to 122-105. Last season, McKinney guided the Rice women to their second-straight NCAA post-season appearance, advancing to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Women's National Invitation Tournament. She has led the Rice women to six of their seven best finishes in league play. McKinney is assisted by seventh-year assistant coach Wooly Hatchell (South Carolina, 1982), fourth-year assistant Shanice Sandford (Oklahoma State, 1993) and third-year assistant Shane Brown (Eastern Kentucky, 1991.
Samford: Janet Cone (Furman, 1978) is 117-182 in 11 years as aheas coach and 11-42 in two years at the helm of the Bulldogs. Coane is aided by assistant coaches Sue Harris and Ernest Rozier.
Memphis: Joye Lee-McNeils (USM, 1984) has a 150-90 record in er ninth year with the Lady Tigers, including a 22-10 mark last season. She is assisted by Blair Savage-Landsen, Maurice Stafford and Brenda Welch-Nichols.
Providence: Jim Jabir (Nazareth College, 1984) is 29-53 beginning his fourth year with the Friars and has accumulated a 187-174 in 14 years as a head coach. Jabir is assisted by Kerri Reaves, Gary Martinelli and Kelly Bond.
About the Opponents
Samford, the Owls first-round opponent, is coming off a 8-19 season in 1999, finishing sixth in the Trans Atlantic Conference with a 7-9 mark. The Bulldogs return all five starters from a year ago, including senior Jodi Morris, who led her team with 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game as a junior. In the second round of the Lady Tiger Classic, Rice will face either Memphis or Providence. The host Tigers are 1-1 this season after posting a 22-10 mark a year ago. Memphis returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last season's lineup. Providence won its season opener after finishing 5-22 in 1999. The Friars return 10 letterwinners, including four starters from last season's squad.
Rice Recap
After a quick start to open the game, the Lady Owls were unable to hold on to their early momentum and were over-powered by 17th-ranked Texas Tech in the second half before falling 69-52 Tuesday night at Lubbock. The first half scoring for both teams was streaky as Rice raced to a quick 8-0 lead. Texas Tech responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead before the Lady Owls had another 8-0 run to regain the advantage. The Lady Raiders closed the gap and took a 25-23 lead into the lockerroom. The second half was a different story as Texas Tech pressured Rice into three quick turnovers and pushed the lead to 12 points. The Lady Owls were able to close the gap to seven, but could get no closer. Senior Kirra Jordan led the Owls at both ends of the floor, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds, while committing only one turnover. Jenny Cafferty, also a senior, was the only other Owl to score in double digits, tallying 10 points on four-of-five shooting from the floor including a perfect two-of-two from beyond the three-point arc. Freshman Kim Lawson, making her first start, added eight points, including two three's.
Tournament Time
The Lady Owls are making their first of two regular season tournament appearances. The Rice women will spend Thanksgiving in Memphis, Tenn., where they face Samford in the first round of the University of Memphis Tournament on Friday, then either Memphis or Providence on Saturday. Rice's next home appearance will be Dec. 3-4 when it hosts the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational, featuring Massachusetts, Michigan and New Mexico State.
Behind The Line
After going just 3-13 from behind the three-point line in the season opener, the Lady Owls stepped up their long-range attack at Texas Tech. As a team, Rice shot 4-7 from downtown. Senior Jenny Cafferty keyed the attack going a perfect two-of-two, while freshman Kim Lawson was almost perfect, shooting two-of-three.
For Openers
Since her arrival in 1993, the Cristy McKinney coached Lady Owls are 6-1 in season openers, with the only blemish on the record a 53-51 heartbreaker last season at Lamar. At Autry Court, the Rice women are a perfect 7-0 in home openers, including a 66-51 victory over Illinois State to open the season, since McKinney took the reins.
Senior Record Watch
Now in their fourth year in the Blue and Gray, seniors Marla Brumfield, Jenny Cafferty, and Kirra Jordan are already a major part of the Rice history books and will be looking to improve on their current standings and break into new record lists. Brumfield currently ranks in the top 10 in nine career categories, including third in steals (231), fourth in field goal attempts (1,152) and field goals made (446), having surpassed former letter winner Brenda Conaway in the season opener, and fifth in free throws made (301) and free throws attempted (444). She is also currently the sixth most prolific scorer in Rice history with 1,245 points. With three blocks in the season opener, Jordan moved up to a tie for fifth all-time with 62, and she ranks ninth in field goals made (367). Over the course of her senior season, she will have an opportunity to enter the top 10 of six other categories, including becoming just the 11th person to score 1,000 career points as she currently has 914. Despite missing most of her junior season with an injury, Cafferty ranks ninth all-time in three pointers made (52), moving past former letter Kim LaLonde, and 10th in attempts (151). She is recovered from last year's injury and has picked up her shooting where she left off as a sophomore.
Top Returners
The Lady Owls are returning their top three scorers from last year's 20-12 team. Senior Marla Brumfield has been Rice's scoring leader since her freshman year and averaged a team high 14.5 points a game last season. Senior Kirra Jordan finished last season averaging 11.0 points an outing. Kim Smallwood, also a senior, was third on the team in scoring with 10.0 a game and led the Rice women in rebounding with 6.6 a game.
Meet the Newcomers
Five players made their debuts in the Blue and Gray against Illinois State, including two familiar faces. Junior Kenya Tuttle had to sit out last year after transferring from Southwest Missouri State and has taken over the vacant starting center position. Redshirt freshman Sarah Bracken missed last season after having reconstructive knee surgery in November. At 6-3, she is the tallest player on the roster and will be a valuable reserve in the paint. Challenging the returners for playing time will be true freshmen Starla James, Kim Lawson and Kara Liggett. Also available to the Lady Owls in practice are two transfers who must sit out the 1999-2000 season. Jennifer Rigg came to Rice from Toronto, Ontario via SMU, where she was a starter the Mustangs' 1999 WAC tournament championship team. Joining Rigg is LaTonya Sam, who returns to Houston after a two-year stint at Stephen F. Austin State University.
WAC Picks
In October, the Rice women were picked to finish third in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference season by league coaches, receiving 38 points. Rice is coming off a 20-12 season in which it finished third in the WAC Mountain Division with a 9-5 mark. Last season, the Lady Owls advanced to the WAC tournament semifinals before earning a berth in their second-straight WNIT. Hawai`i is predicted to win the WAC crown this year, receiving 45 points and five first-place votes from the league coaches. Rainbow Wahine coach Vince Goo returns 10 letterwinners and four starters from last year's squad, which tied for third in the WAC Pacific Division with a 9-5 conference mark, 17-10 overall. SMU was a close second to Hawai`i in the poll, receiving 43 points and two first place votes. The Mustangs finished second in the Mountain Division during the regular season with a 11-3 record, 20-11 overall, and claimed the 1999 WAC tournament title.
Team Points1. Hawai`i (5) 452. SMU (2) 433. RICE OWLS 384. TCU (1) 335. Fresno State 226. UTEP 197. Tulsa 178. San Jose State 7
Recovery Ward
Coach Cristy McKinney has three Owls available to her this year after they missed all or most of last season with injuries. Senior Jenny Cafferty returns to the Rice line-up after missing most of last season with costochondritis. Cafferty is one of the Owls' top three-point shooting threats, ranking in the top-10 at Rice in career three-pointers made, attempted and three-point shooting percentage, despite averaging just over 13 minutes a game. Recovering from reconstructive knee surgery are sophomore Daneesh McIntosh and freshman Sarah Bracken. McIntosh saw playing time in four games before suffering a torn ACL in early December, forcing her to miss her sophomore season while receiving a redshirt. Bracken had surgery over the 1998 Thanksgiving break and is making for her first appearance in a Rice uniform this year.
History Makers
In the four years since 1999 seniors Jennifer Hamilton, Suzanne Koy and Charonda Wilson came to Rice, and especially in the last two seasons since Ashley Duncan joined the squad, the Owls have set numerous single game and season records and have developed a winning tradition. As freshmen in 1995-96, Hamilton, Koy and Wilson struggled through Rice's seventh consecutive losing season, finishing the year 13-14. Over the past three seasons, the Owls have enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons, the best run since joining the NCAA. In 21 years, the program has a total of eight seasons of finishing above .500. As juniors, the foursome was a part of the Owls' best season ever as the team finished 21-9 overall and was a perfect 13-0 at Autry Court. During that memorable year, Rice set seven season records including games won (21) and win streak (seven games). In 1998-99, Rice set six single season records and topped four of its marks from the previous year. Overall, Duncan, Hamilton, Koy and Wilson have had a hand in setting 16 single game records.
Landmark Season
With their 62-60 overtime victory at Baylor, Rice reached the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season and only the third time in school history. In 1997-98, the Owls finished the year with a 21-9 mark, tying the school record for wins in a season. The only other time Rice has posted 20+ wins was in the 1981-82 season when the Owls finished 21-8 in their final year of AIAW competition. The 32 games played in 1999 also marked the longest season in Rice history.
In the 1999 WNIT
Rice's 65-58 win against Miami marked the program's first-ever national post-season tournament victory. With the 62-60 overtime win at Baylor, the Lady Owls moved into the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they fell to eventual WNIT champion Arkansas 76-70 in Fayetteville, Ark. Last year marked the second consecutive time the Rice women received a bid in the WNIT, and the first time for a Rice basketball team, men or women, to host a national post-season tournament. In 1998, the Lady Owls made their first post-season appearance since joining the NCAA when they lost in the first round of the WNIT at Oklahoma State, 75-52.
The Winning Numbers
During the 1998-99 season, the Lady Owls were a perfect 14-0 when they led at the half and a perfect 11-0 when they produced a higher shooting percentage than their opponents. Rice was also 13-2 when scoring 70 or more points. On the defensive side, the Owls were 15-1 when they held their opponent to fewer than 60 points. In general, when Rice won, it won BIG. With 20 victories last year, the Owls' average margin of victory was +18.7 points, and they won eight games by 20 or more points.