Women's Basketball: Game Notes at UTPA
11/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Notes in PDF Format
Friday, Nov. 17, 2000 Edinburg
Quick Facts
Rice at Texas-Pan American
Friday, Nov. 17, 2000, 7 pm (CST), UTPA Field House (5,000), Edinburg. Non-conference game.
Radio/Internet
None.
Television
None.
Series
Rice leads the series 5-0 after defeating UTPA 83-42 last season at Autry Court.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
UTPA: www.panam.edu/athletics
WAC: www.wacsports.com
Probable Starting Lineup (2000-01 scoring, rebounding averages)RICE LADY OWLSF 5 Jennifer Rigg 5.0, 2.5rF 44 Aarika Florus 9.0p, 3.0rC 22 Kenya Tuttle 4.5p, 3.5rG 21 Kim Lawson 6.0p, 3.0rG 24 Kara Liggett 4.0p, 1.0rTip Off
Friday's game is the second of four consecutive road games for the Rice women... The game marks the season opener for Texas-Pan American and the debut for new coach Karen Nicholls... The Lady Owls defeated the Lady Broncs 83-42 in their last meeting, Dec. 11, 1999 at Autry Court... UTPA finished 6-21 last season.
Meet the Coaches
Rice: Cristy McKinney (North Carolina State, 1979) is in her eighth season as the head coach of the Rice women. During her tenure at Rice, McKinney has posted a 117-87 record, bringing her total as a head coach to 144-115. Last season, McKinney guided the Rice women to their most successful season ever. For the first time in history, the Lady Owls won the WAC tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they advanced to the second round after an upset of ninth-ranked UC-Santa Barbara. The Rice women finished the year with a program high 22 wins for their third consecutive season with 20 or more victories. McKinney is aided by eighth-year assistant coach Wooly Hatchell (South Carolina, 1982), fifth-year assistant Shanice Sandford (Oklahoma State, 1993) and first-year assistant Marla Brumfield (Rice, 2000).
Texas-Pan American: Karin Nicholls (Bradley, 1990) is beginning her first year at the reins of the Broncs. She accumulated a 71-64 record over five years at Truman State University before moving to Edinburg. Nicholls is aided on the sidelines by assistant coaches Ronda Hubbard and Carol Russell.
About the Lady Broncs
Texas-Pan American return 10 letterwinners, including all five starters, from last year's 6-21 team. Junior Alexandra Gravel is the Lady Broncs top returning scorer, averaging 12.4 points a game last season. The teams' roster features five players from the Houston area.
The Last Time - Rice 83, Texas-Pan Am. 42
Dec. 11, 1999, Autry Court
Then senior Kirra Jordan opened the scoring for the Lady Owls, making her first three free throws to notch her 1,000th career point and give her team a 3-0 lead. The Rice women pushed their early lead to nine before the Lady Broncs closed the gap to 15-10 with 8:32 to play in the half. The Lady Owls responded by breaking the game open with 22 unanswered points over the next 6:16 and never looked back. Jordan finished with her second double-double of the year, 19 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the Rice women.
Recap - Louisiana Tech 85, Rice 51
The Rice women struggled in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, falling in a foul-plagued game to eighth-ranked Louisiana Tech 85-54 at Ruston, La., on Sunday. The Lady Owls couldn't find their shooting touch in the first half, hitting just 21.4 percent (6-28) from the floor. After both teams combined for 15 fouls in the first, the whistles blew 42 times in the second half as 72 free throws were attempted. The Lady Owls scored 19 of their 36 second-half points from the charity stripe. Of the six field goals the Rice women hit in the second, five were from long range. Freshman Kate Beckler led the Lady Owls for the second game in a row, with nine points, while junior Daneesh McIntosh grabbed eight rebounds, matching her career high. Louisiana Tech's Ayana Walker had games highs with 23 points and nine rebounds, followed by Cheryl Ford's 12 points and Kenya Bibbs' 10 points.
The WNIT
After hosting a postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament game in 1999, the Lady Owls hosted South Carolina in the first round of this year's preseason WNIT, defeating the Lady Gamecocks 61-56. The Rice women then traveled to Ruston, La., where they fell to future WAC foe Louisiana Tech 85-54. Rice was one of seven 2000 NCAA tournament participants in the 16-team field, including Louisiana Tech, Texas, Purdue and Virginia. The Lady Owls have a 2-2 record in the WNIT post-season tournament
Career Night
A number of Lady Owls started the year on a high note in the season opener against South Carolina, setting several career bests. Junior Aarika Florus, making just the second start of her career, had 13 points to nearly double her previous high of seven. Junior Daneesh McIntosh led the team with a best of eight rebounds, and sophomore Kim Lawson had four steals. Newcomers Kate Beckler and Jennifer Rigg set high standards for themselves in their first appearance in the Blue and Gray. Beckler, a true freshman, led the team with 19 points, hitting five three-pointers (the eighth most in game) on a school record 12 attempts. Rigg, a junior transfer, set up the Lady Owls offense by dishing out seven assists.
For Openers
After the South Carolina game, the Rice women are now 7-1 in season openers under head coach Cristy McKinney, including a perfect 4-0 record when tipping off the season at Autry Court. The Lady Owls are also a perfect 8-0 since McKinney's arrival in their first game of the year at Autry Court. Since joining the NCAA in 1982, Rice has recorded a 17-2 in season openers.
Tough Non-Conference Schedule
The Rice women tune-up for the 2001 WAC schedule by taking on three teams currently ranked in the top 15 in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and the AP poll, and another team which received votes in both polls. The Lady Owls have already faced Louisiana Tech, currently eighth in both polls, falling 85-54 in Ruston, La. On Nov. 28, they travel to Tuscon, Az., to take on Arizona, which is 30th in the coaches poll and 37th in the AP poll. Rice then wraps up the non-conference season against Texas Tech on Dec. 28 at Autry Court and Notre Dame on Dec. 31 at Indiana. The Lady Raiders are ranked 13th in the coaches poll and 15th in the AP poll, while the Irish are fifth in the coaches poll and sixth in the AP poll. Texas Tech and Notre Dame faced off in the mid-east regional semifinals of the 2000 NCAA tournament.
TV Time
The Lady Owls will make at least two appearances this year on Fox Sports Net in regionally televised games. Rice's game against SMU on Sunday, Jan. 21 at Autry Court has been moved up to a 1 pm start time for TV. Also, the Lady Owls game at TCU has changed dates to accomodate the television schedule, with the game now set for Monday, Feb. 12, 2001 at 7:30 pm. Fox Sports Net will also air the championship game of the 2001 WAC women's basketball tournament.
The Lone Senior
After having four seniors on last year's 22-10 team, the Lady Owls will look for leadership from lone senior Kenya Tuttle this year. The 6-1 center is Rice's top returning scorer and rebounder, and started all 32 games last season.
Meet the Newcomers
Rice fans will see four new faces suiting up in the Blue and Gray this season. Juniors Jennifer Rigg (6-0, guard) and LaTonya Sam (5-9, guard) will finally make their debut after sitting out the 1999-200 season. Rigg is a transfer from SMU, while Sam comes from Stephen F. Austin State. Making their collegiate debuts on Friday are freshman Kate Beckler (5-8, guard) and Lindsey Maynard (5-10, guard). Beckler hails from Granada Hills, Calif., where she earned L.A. Times player of the year honors as a high school senior, while Maynard is from The Woodlands, having graduated from Oak Ridge High School. The Lady Owls have two other new faces that have to sit out this season after transferring. Elisa Inman (6-2, forward) comes to Rice from Purdue University, while Johnetta Hayes (6-4, center) returns to her native Houston after spending a year at Oklahoma. Both Inman and Hayes will have three years of eligibility remaining.
WAC Picks
The Rice women were predicted to finish fourth in the WAC by the league coaches, tallying 44 points and receiving one first-place vote. SMU is favored to successfully defend their 2000 regular season title, receiving six of the nine first-place votes and receiving 61 points. Hawaii was picked second with 51 points and one first-place vote, while TCU was tabbed for third with 47 points and a vote for first.
2000-01 WAC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
School (first-place votes) Points1. SMU (6) 612. Hawaii (1) 513. TCU (1) 474. RICE OWLS (1) 445. Nevada 386. Tulsa 317. Fresno State 298. UTEP 149. San Jose State 9
Hey, Isn't That...
Rice watchers will see a familiar face in an unfamiliar role on the sidelines this year. Former standout Marla Brumfield returned to her alma mater over the summer to take on assistant coaching duties for the 2000-01 season. Brumfield is Rice's all-time leader in steals with 311 and ranks in the top five in seven other categories. On April 25, she became the first player at Rice and in the WAC to be drafted into the WNBA, when she was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Lynx.
The Future's Looking Up...
Although the 2000-01 season has just begun, the Rice coaching staff is continuing to add height to their 2001-02 lineup. Coach Cristy McKinney signed Katy Taylor High School standout Michelle Woods to a national letter-of-intent to don the Blue and Gray next year. Woods currently stands at 6-1 and received preseason all-America honors from Street and Smith heading into her senior year. Woods will join Johnetta Hayes (6-4) and Elisa Inman (6-2), who are sitting out this season after transferring to Rice, in a lineup that will feature at least seven players measuring 6-0 or taller. The Lady Owls currrently have five players standing at 6-0 or taller. McKinney has one more scholarship to offer for next season.
The 2000 NCAA Tournament
The Lady Owls' 67-64 win against ninth-ranked UC-Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA tournament was historical for many reasons. In addition to being their first victory in their first-ever NCAA tournament, the W was also the Lady Owls' first over a top-10 opponent. The last time they beat a ranked opponent was when they closed out the 1997-98 regular season with consecutive wins over 15th-ranked Hawaii and 16th-ranked Utah. The game also brought Rice's win total to 22, the most in a single season in program history. The victory marked the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament, as the 13th-seeded Lady Owls were the lowest seed to advance to the second round. In the second round, though, the Rice women were overpowered by North Carolina 83-50 to bring to an end the most successful season in school history.
The 2000 WAC Tournament
On March 10, Rice won the 2000 WAC Tournament title to claim the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Owls, the third-seeded team, defeated sixth-seeded Fresno State 65-47, second-seeded Hawaii 76-73 in the semifinals and top-seeded SMU 71-67 to claim their first conference crown. In the championship game, senior Marla Brumfield led all scorers with 27 points, including 16 in the first half, giving the Lady Owls their first NCAA Tournament berth. Rice led by as many as 21 points in the first half and 17 in the second half but had to hold off a late rally by SMU. Brumfield made two free throws with 35 seconds left to give the Owls a 67-61 lead, but a basket by SMU's Katie Remke and two free throws by Anika Calvert cut the margin to two with 10 seconds to go. Senior Kirra Jordan made two free throws with nine seconds left and Calvert scored with a second remaining, but Brumfield then sealed the win with two more free throws. Against Hawaii, the Lady Owls and the Wahine battled through 12 ties and combined to shoot 60-70 from the free-throw line, before Kim Smallwood secured the victory with a blocked Hawaii shot with seven seconds showing and draining two clutch free throws with three ticks left. Rice set a WAC tournament record by holding Fresno State to just 14.3 percent (3-21) shooing in the first half of their game, and equaled the record for fewest points allowed in a half with 12. After averaging 20.3 points over three games, Brumfield was named the tournament's MVP, while Jordan was also named to the all-tournament team.
