Women's Basketball: Lady Owls at Sam Houston State
11/28/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Rice (2-2) vs. Sam Houston State (0-2) Monday, Nov. 29, 1999, 7 pm (CST), Johnson Coliseum (5,600), Huntsville. Non-conference game.
Radio/Internet
Internet only (www.ktru.org) with Craig Ackerman (play-by-play).
Television
None.
Series
Rice leads the series 12-5. The Lady Owls downed the Bearkats 81-61 in last season's home opener on Nov. 18, 1998.
Contacting Sam Houston St.
Head Coach: Erika Ritter (Oklahoma, 1990). Career: 26-30, third season. At SHSU: Same. Women's Basketball SID: Paul Ridings.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
Sam Houston State: www.shsu.edu/~ath_www/
WAC: www.wac.org
Probable Starting Lineup (1999-2000 scoring, rebounding averages)
RICE LADY OWLS (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
F 23 Kim Smallwood 4.5p, 3.5rF 33 Kirra Jordan 13.8p, 8.0rF/C 22 Kenya Tuttle 5.8p, 6.8rG 21 Kim Lawson 7.0p, 1.0rG 25 Marla Brumfield 10.8p, 2.2rTip Off
Monday's game marks the fourth straight away from Autry Court for the Lady Owls and their third game in four days... Sam Houston is 0-2 this season, with both losses coming on the road... Rice holds a 12-5 advantage in the series, winning last year's meeting 81-61... This year's game marks the home opener for the Bearkats...
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 96-78 overall record which brings her total as a head coach to 123-106. 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. Sam Houston State: Erika Ritter (Oklahoma, 1990) is in her third year as a head coach and has posted 26-30 at Sam Houston State. She is aided by assistant coach Diedre Koonts.
About the Bearkats
Sam Houston State is 0-2 this year, with both losses coming on the road. The Bearkats lost at SMU 104-69 on Nov. 19 in the season opener for both teams, then were felled by Texas A&M 92-62 on Nov. 23. Natarsua Player leads her team with 17.0 points and seven steals a game. After scoring 13 points and dishing out six assists against the Mustangs, she came off the bech against the Aggies to score 21 points, making eight of her 15 shots from the floor. Tara Treat is next for Sam Houston State in scoring with 10.0 points a game and leads her team in rebounds, grabbing 7.5 an outing.
Rice Recap
After defeating Samford 67-60 in the tournament opener, Rice was unable to hold on to a halftime lead against Memphis, lossing 62-61 to their hosts at the Lady Tiger Classic. In the Lady Owls' victory, Kirra Jordan continued to pace her team with 19 points, shooting seven of 15 from the floor, and grabbed eight boards. Kenya Tuttle was Rice's rebound leader with 10, as the Owls out-rebounded the Bulldogs 42-27. Kara Liggett, a true freshman, stepped up her game against Memphis, scoring a game high 18 points in the losing effort. Jordan and Jenny Cafferty were the only other Owls to score in double digits, adding 10 each. Jordan also led the team in rebounds with five as the Lady Tigers controlled the boards with a 40-28 advantage. Jordan was named to the five-person all-tournament team for her solid play in both games.
They're Freshmen?
Just four games into the season, true freshmen Kim Lawson and Kara Liggett have both made an impact for the Lady Owls. Lawson took over the starting point guard duties at Texas Tech and leads the team with 12 assists, including five against Samford. The Missouri City guard is also fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.0 points a game while sinking .417 (10-24) of her shots. Liggett stepped up her game several notches at Memphis, coming off the bench to score a game-high 18 points. The native of Bristow, Okla., was seven of 11 from the floor, draining three of her six three-point asttempts.
Campaign Trail
Senior Kirra Jordan has already begun her campaign for post-season honors after returning to the power forward position, where she earned all-WAC honors as a sophomore. After spending last year playing small forward, Jordan is leading the Lady Owls with 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. She is shooting .457 (21-46) from the floor and .722 (13-18) from the charity stripe. The Missouri City native is also responsible for seven of Rice's 13 blocks this season, including three swats against both Illinois State and Memphis.
Upcoming Milestones
Two milestones are on the horizon for the Rice women's program. With 960 career points, Kirra Jordan is set to become just the 11th member of the Rice 1,000-point club. Head coach Cristy McKinney is approaching her 100th win at the helm of the Lady Owls' program. She currently has 96 Rice victories and has an opportunity to reach the mark at Autry Court as the Lady Owls will embark on a four-game home stand after a road trip to Sam Houston State on Monday.
Behind The Line
The reliable three-point attack which was sometimes missing from Rice's offensive arsenal last season (the Lady Owls finished last year shooting 106 of 370 behind the arc, making .286 of their three-points) has returned in the hands of senior Jenny Cafferty and is being reinforced by freshmen Kara Liggett and Kim Lawson. Cafferty leads Rice with six three's this season and has been accurate on .429 of her long-range bombs. Liggett and Lawson are both hitting .333 of their shots, with Liggett hitting four, draining three at Memphis, and Lawson hitting two.
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 (235), fourth in field goal attempts (1,169) and field goals made (452), having surpassed former letter winner Brenda Conaway in the season opener, and fifth in free throws made (307) and free throws attempted (452). She is also currently the sixth most prolific scorer in Rice history with 1,264 points. After posting two three-block games, Jordan has moved up to fifth all-time with 66, and she ranks ninth in field goals made (379). 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 960. Despite missing most of her junior season with an injury, Cafferty ranks eigthth all-time in three pointers made (55), moving past Brumfield over the weekend and needing just two to pass up former letterwinner Gina Cafagna, and 10th in attempts (160).
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.
