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Rice University Athletics
Women's Basketball: Game Notes - Texas-Pan American
12/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Rice (4-3) vs. Texas-Pan American (1-7)
Saturday, Dec. 11, 1999, 2 pm (CST), Autry Court (5,000), Houston. Non-conference game.
Radio/Internet
None.
Television
None.
Series
Rice holds a 4-0 series advantage, winning the last meeting 80-55 on Dec. 8, 1990.
Contacting UTPA
Head Coach: Kathy Halligan (Creighton, 1993). Career: 15-73, fourth season. At UTPA: Same.
Women's Basketball SID: Derek Smolik. Office: 956-381-2240. SID Fax: 956-381-2398. E-Mail: smolik@panam.edu
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
UTPA: www.panam.edu/athletics
WAC: www.wac.org
Probable Starting Lineups (1999-2000 scoring, rebounding averages)
RICE LADY OWLS (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
F 23 Kim Smallwood 4.7p, 4.7rF 33 Kirra Jordan 13.1p, 7.3rF/C 22 Kenya Tuttle 6.0p, 6.3rG 21 Kim Lawson 6.4p, 1.1rG 25 Marla Brumfield 11.3p, 4.4rTip Off
Texas-Pan American Lady Broncos (1-7)F 20 Michelle Smith 4.1p, 3.9rF 21 Rachel Friedeck 2.1p, 2.0rC 44 Senella Baldwin 5.8p, 4.1rF 5 Alexandra Gravel 11.8p, 3.1rG 13 Alexis Williams 8.6p, 3.8r
Saturday's game between Rice (4-3) and Texas Pan American (1-7) marks the fifth meeting of the series, which Rice leads 4-0. The last time the two teams met was Dec. 8, 1990 at Autry Court resulting in an 80-55 decision in favor of Rice... The Lady Owls are in the midst of a four-game home stand and play three of their next four games at Autry... The Lady Broncs' lone victory this season came on the road, a 68-61 win at Texas San Antonio... Both teams are coming off losses as Rice lost to Michigan last Saturday, 63-47, and UTPA lost to Oral Roberts 60-56 Thursday night...
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 98-79 overall record which brings her total as a head coach to 125-107. 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. Texas-Pan American: Kathy Halligan (Creighton, 1993) is in her fourth year as the coach of the Lady Broncs, having earned a 15-74 record during her tenure. Halligan is assisted by Rod Lee and Bobby Brown.
About the Lady Broncs
The Lady Broncs (1-7) come to Houston on a five-game losing streak. Texas-Pan American's lone victory this year came at Texas-San Antonio with a 68-61 decision. Most recently, the Lady Broncs rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit against Oral Roberts but came up just short in their comeback bid, falling 60-56 at home on Dec. 9. Guards Alexandra Gravel and Cheveron Terry lead the UTPA scorers with 11.8 and 10.6 points a game, respectively. Naima Williams leads the squad's rebounding efforts with 5.3 a game, while Terry is grabbing 4.9 an outing.
Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational Review
Michigan was crowned the 1999 Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational champions after defeating Rice 63-47 in the tournament's championship game. The Wolverines were led by Alayne Ingram's 19 points and LeeAnn Bies 18 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Kirra Jordan led the Lady Owls with 18 points (9-14 from the floor) and 11 rebounds. She was also second on the team with three assists. Massachusetts defeated New Mexico State in the consolation round, 65-38. Jennifer Butler led the Minutewomen with 15 points and 10 boards as her team out-rebounded the Roadrunners 51-33. In the first round of play, Michigan dispatched of New Mexico State 84-55, shooting .564 (31-55) from the floor, while Rice held off a late UMass rally and won 59-58. Michigan's Bies headed up the all-tournament team with MVP honors. Others receiving all-tournament recognition were Ingram (Michigan), Jordan (Rice), Marla Brumfield (Rice), Butler (UMass), and Melanie Maynes (New Mexico State).
Millennium Milestone
Senior Kirra Jordan is on the brink of a major milestone: becoming just the 11th player at Rice to eclipse the 1,000-career points mark. After opening her final campaign with 905 points, Jordan has led the Rice women in scoring this season, totaling 92 over eight game, and has brought her career total to 997. In addition to joining the 1,000-point club with just three points on Saturday, she can move up to eighth among Rice's all-time scorers with five against UTPA.
Approaching the Century Mark
Head coach Cristy McKinney is approaching her 100th win at the helm of the Lady Owls' program. She currently has 98 victories in her seventh year at Rice with her team's next two games at Autry Court, where she has a 57-21 record.
Exam Time
After Saturday's game, the Lady Owls do not have another game until Dec. 21. The reason for the 10-day layoff: final exams. Rice University's final exam schedule runs from Monday, Dec. 13 to Monday, Dec. 20, and the athletic department does not schedule events during exams.
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-pointers) has returned in the hands of senior Jenny Cafferty and is being reinforced by freshmen Kara Liggett and Kim Lawson. Cafferty leads Rice with 12 three's this season and has been accurate on .444 (12-27) of her long-range bombs. Liggett has drained six three's so far and Lawson has added five shots for the season. Overall, the Lady Owls are shooting .345 (29-84) from long range, while limiting their opponents to just .260 (13-50) from behind the arc.
Home Sweet Home
The Lady Owls are in the midst of a four-game home stand and have three of their next four games at home. Autry Court has proven to be a decided advantage for the Rice women over the last three seasons, as they have posted a 34-8 record including this year's 2-1 maark. When the Lady Owls are in unfamiliar territory, they have posted a 27-27 record over the same time.
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 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. She is shooting .463 (37-80) from the floor and .750 (19-32) from the charity stripe. The Missouri City native is also responsible for eight of Rice's 16 blocks this season, including three swats against both Illinois State and Memphis. Jordan has been her team's leading scorer in three games and top rebounded in four games.
They're Freshmen?
Just seven games into the season, true freshmen Kim Lawson and Kara Liggett have both made an impact for the Lady Owls. Lawson has taken over the starting point guard duties and has posted 17 assists, including five against Samford. The Missouri City guard is also fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.4 points a game while sinking .378 (14-37) 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 attempts. Liggett is also fifth on the team in scoring with 6.1 points a game and led the Owls against Massachusetts with 12 points.
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 are 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 (238), fourth in field goal attempts (1,203) and field goals made (464), having surpassed former letterwinner Brenda Conaway in the season opener, and fifth in free throws made (316) and free throws attempted (463). She is also currently the sixth most prolific scorer in Rice history with 1,300 points. After posting two three-block games, Jordan has moved up to fifth all-time with 67, and she ranks eighth in field goals made (396) and needs just one more to tie former teammate Jennifer Hamilton. Over the course of her senior season, she has 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 997. Despite missing most of her junior season with an injury, Cafferty ranks seventh all-time in three pointers made (61), needing seven more to tie for sixth, and eighth in attempts (173).
TV Time
The Lady Owls have had two of their Western Athletic Conference home games picked up by Fox Sports-TV. The Tulsa game has been moved to Sunday, Feb. 13 at 2 pm, while the Hawai`i match-up is now scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 20 at 3:30 pm.
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 Points 1. Hawai`i (5) 45 2. SMU (2) 43 3. RICE OWLS 38 4. TCU (1) 33 5. Fresno State 22 6. UTEP 19 7. Tulsa 17 8. 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 lineup 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.
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.
