Women's Basketball: Game Notes vs. South Carolina
11/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Notes in PDF format
GAME NOTES: Rice Lady Owls vs. South Carolina
Friday, Nov. 10, 7 pm
Quick Facts
Rice vs. South Carolina
Monday, Nov. 10, 2000, 7 pm (CST), Autry Court (5,000), Houston. First-round game of preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Radio/Internet
Broadcast via KTRU 91.7 FM and available on the internet (www.ktru.org) with Mike Pede (play-by-play).
Television
None
Series
South Carolina won the only meeting between the two schools, an 87-71 decision at Columbia, S.C. on Feb. 13, 1995.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
USC: www.uscsports.com
WAC: www.wacsports.com
Probable Starting Lineups (1999-2000 scoring, rebounding averages)RICE LADY OWLSF 5 Jennifer Rigg --F 44 Aarika Florus 1.3p, 1.4rC 22 Kenya Tuttle 6.9p, 5.0rG 21 Kim Lawson 4.4, 2.0rG 24 Kara Liggett 5.3p, 2.3rSouth Carolina Lady GamecocksF 30 Tatyana Troina --F 34 Shannon Segres 8.5p, 4.0r C 40 Teresa Geter --G 1 Nihan Anaz --G 24 Daniela Strohm --Tip Off
Friday's game is part of the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament... The game marks only the second time Rice and South Carolina have met. The Lady Gamecocks won the first meeting, held on Feb. 13, 1995 at Columbia, S.C., 87-71... The Lady Owls return two starters, senior Kenya Tuttle and sophomore Kim Lawson, and eight letterwinners from last year's 22-10 team... Juniors Jennifer Rigg and LaTonya Sam and freshmen Kate Beckler and Lindsey Maynard will make their debuts in the Blue and Gray The game is the first time Rice has participated in the preseason WNIT. The Lady Owls participated in the postseason WNIT in both 1998 and 1999, and hosted a first round game against Miami (Fla..) in the 1999 tournament.
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 116-86 record, bringing her total as a head coach to 143-114. 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 assisted 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).
South Carolina: Susan Walvius (Virginia Tech, 1986) is 135-147 in 10 years as a head coach. She has compiled a 37-46 record in her first three years at the helm for the Lady Gamecocks. Walvius is assisted by Jimmy DeShazo, Shell Robinson, Linda Hill-MacDonald and Anne Cox.
About the Lady Gamecocks
South Carolina returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's 13-15 team. The Lady Gamecocks posted an impressive 10-4 record against non-conference opponents, but were just 1-9 on the road in 1999-2000. South Carolina won both preseason exhibition games, battling to an 83-82 overtime victory against the international team Uralmash and grabbing a 64-59 win against Athletes in Action.
The WNIT
After hosting a postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament game in 1999, the Lady Owls host South Carolina in the first round of this year's preseason WNIT. Rice is one of seven 2000 NCAA tournament participants in the 16-team field, including Louisiana Tech, Texas, Purdue and Virginia. With a first-round win, the Lady Owls will most likely face 2000 regional finalist and future Western Athletic Conference opponent Louisiana Tech in the second round on Sunday .
For Openers
The Rice women have gone 6-1 in season openers under head coach Cristy McKinney, including a perfect 3-0 record when tipping off the season at Autry Court. The Lady Owls are also a perfect 7-0 since McKinney's arrival in their first game of the year at Autry Court. Since joining the NCAA in 1982, Rice has recorded a 16-2 in season openers.
Exhibition Recap -- Rice 75, Delta Kosice (Slovakia) 49
The Rice women built an early 11 point lead, but the Slovakian team twice closed the gap to one point before halftime, when Rice took a 30-28 lead into the lockerrooms. Senior Kenya Tuttle accounted for almost half of the Lady Owls offense in the first 20 minutes with 14 points. Tuttle also dished out three assists in the first half. The second half was a different story, though, as junior Jennifer Rigg, playing her first game in the Blue and Gray, quickly made her presence felt. The transfer from Canada hit consecutive three-pointers and scored Rice's first eight points of the second period in a minute and a half of action. The Lady Owls were not challenged again as their lead grew to the final 26-point margin. In addition to Rigg's team-high 19 points, Tuttle also scored in double-digits, finishing the game with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. All 11 Lady Owls scored in the game and had at least one rebound as Rice controlled the boards, 52-35. Junior Aarika Florus had four assists to pace the team, while sophomore Kara Liggett snagged five steals.
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.
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.
Home Sweet Home
Their home floor has proven to be a decided advantage for the Lady Owls over the previous four seasons, as they have posted a 43-9 record, including last year's 11-2 mark. While defending their territory last season, the Rice women forced 24.4 turnovers a game, which includes 12.1 steals, and held their challengers to just 52.5 points. When they were in unfamiliar territory, though, they posted a 32-32 record over the same time.
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
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.
