Rice University Athletics
Lady Owls Basketball Notes
12/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Notes in PDF format
The Lady Owls return to action at New Mexico State on Thursday at 8 pm (CST).
Quick Facts
Rice (7-2) at New Mexico St. (3-5)
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000, at 8 pm (CST), Pan Ammerican Center (13,072), Las Cruces, N.M. Non-conference game.
Radio/Internet
Broadcast via KTRU 91.7 FM and available on the internet (www.ktru.org) with Derek Gosnay and Jose Luis Cubria.
Television
None.
Series
The Lady Owls won the only meeting between the two teams, 81-65 on Nov. 21, 1980.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
NMSU: www.nmstatesports.com
WAC: www.wacsports.com
Probable Starting Lineup (2000-01 scoring, rebounding averages)RICE LADY OWLS (7-2)F 44 Aarika Florus 7.9p, 4.8rC 22 Kenya Tuttle 6.6p, 8.8rG 14 Kate Beckler 11.8p, 2.3rG 21 Kim Lawson 8.2p, 3.7rG 24 Kara Liggett 9.1p, 3.3r |
Thursday's game at New Mexico State (3-5) is the first between the two programs since Nov. 21, 1980, when the Lady Owls won 81-65... The Rice women have played their last three games at Autry Court, after playing five straight on the road.
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 123-88 record, bringing her total as a head coach to 150-116. 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).
New Mexico State: John Sutherland (Kent State, 1981) has a 212-163 record in his 14 years as a head coach, including a 38-75 mark at the hlem for the Aggies. He is assisted by Niki Lowry, Marlee Webb and Angie White.
Recap - Rice 85, Grambling State 63
Dec. 6, 2000, Autry Court, Houston
True freshman Kate Beckler made her first start in high style, scoring a career high 25 points to lead Rice to an 85-63 victory over Grambling State at Autry Court. Junior Aarika Florus scored the first points of the game to give the Lady Owls a lead they would never lose. Beckler scored 14, shooting 4-7 including two treys, in the first half as the Rice women connected on 50 percent of their shots. The Lady Owls also limited Grambling State to just 19.5 percent (8-41) from the floor and took a 41-23 lead into the lockerrooms. The Lady Tigers rallied in the second half, closing the gap to 11 five times, but the Lady Owls stepped up their game and held their opponents to just five points over the last 5:30 of the game. Beckler and fellow freshman Lindsey Maynard led the Rice women in scoring with career highs of 25 and 15 points, respectively. Beckler also had career bests of eight rebounds and five assists in the game, while Maynard led the Lady Owls with three steals. Junior Daneesh McIntosh also posted a career high, leading Rice with 10 boards. Kim Lawson, a sophomore, dished out six assists on the night to equal her season high.
Recap - Rice 80, Houston Flight 75 (exhibition)
Dec. 12, 2000, Autry Court, Houston
The Rice women took a break from the regular season and claimed an 80-75 victory against Houston Flight in exhibition action at Autry Court. After a sluggish start, the Lady Owls finally got on the scoreboard with 16:16 on the clock, then surged past Flight for a 46-21 advantage at halftime. Sophomore Kara Liggett led Rice with 12 points in the first half, while senior Kenya Tuttle chipped in 10. Houston Flight rallied in the second half and narrowed the Rice lead to just one point on a made three-pointer by Marla Brumfield with 39 seconds left in the game. But the Lady Owls clamped down, and Liggett hit a clutch two pointer, then followed with two free throws to secure the victory. Liggett led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Tuttle and freshman Lindsey Maynard, who each finished with 16 points. Tuttle also led Rice's rebounding efforts with 10 as the Lady Owls out-rebounded Flight 45-37. Brumfield, the Lady Owls assistant coach who suited up for Flight, led her team with 19 points and seven assists.
The 2000 Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational
The Lady Owls defeated Iona in the first round and Memphis in the championship game to win their home tournament for the first time since 1997. Against Iona, Rice had their highest offensive output since 1997, beating the Gaels 94-53 with five players scoring in double-digits. Memphis defeated Eastern Kentucky 89-66 in first-round action to set up the championship game with Rice. The Lady Owls' defense stepped up in the championship game, holding the Lady Tigers to just four points for almost 13 minutes to start the game. The Rice women went on to win 70-58 to claim the title. EKU defeated Iona 81-71 to take the third-place trophy. Members of the all-tournament team were: Megan Cobb, Iona; Candice Finley, EKU; Melissa Bush, Memphis; Jennifer Rigg, Rice. Co-MVP's were Rice's Kenya Tuttle and Kara Liggett.
Hackerman Highlights
The Rice women recorded a number of highlights and bests against Iona. The Lady Owls 12 three pointers and 29 three-point attempts are both team records for a single game... The 94 points scored by the Rice women are the most since Nov. 14, 1997, when they scored 115 in their season opener against Texas Southern... Rice scored 55 points in the second half against Iona, five more than the team managed in their 50-46 win at UNC-Greensboro on Nov. 25... Sophomore Kim Lawson and freshman Lindsey Maynard each recorded career highs against Iona, scoring 18 and 13 points, respectively... Sophomore Kara Liggett's 18 points against the Gaels were her season best and just three off her career high, while her five steals were the most in her collegiate career.
All-Tournament
Two Lady Owls were honored at the UNC-Greensboro/Marriott Classis. Sophomore Kim Lawson was named the tournament MVP after leading Rice to victory against the host Spartans. Junior Jennifer Rigg was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 35 points and 18 rebounds over two games.
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 10th in polls, falling 85-54 in Ruston, La. On Nov. 28, they traveled to Tucson, Az., where they lost to Arizona, which is 30th in the coaches poll and 32nd in the AP poll. Rice 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 11th both polls, while the Irish are third in both polls. Texas Tech and Notre Dame faced off in the mid-east regional semifinals of the 2000 NCAA tournament.
Injury Update
Junior Jennifer Rigg suffered an ankle sprain in the second half of the championship game of the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational. She will missed both the Grambling State game and the Lady Owls exhibition game. Rigg returned to practice earlier this week and has been cleared to play at New Mexico State.
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, 2001 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 accommodate 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.
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 PollSchool (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 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 currently have five players standing at 6-0 or taller. McKinney has one more scholarship to offer for next season.
News From The Nest
Freshman Kate Beckler has led the Lady Owls in scoring four times this season, including a best of 25 points against Grambling State in her first career start... Senior Kenya Tuttle dished out a career high five assists against the Wildcats... Also at Arizona, sophomore Kim Lawson had the first double-double of her career with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds... At UNC-Greensboro, Tuttle posted her first career double-double with 10 points a career best 16 rebounds. Junior Aarika Florus grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in Rice's victory... In the first round of the UNCG/Marriott Classic, junior Jennifer Rigg had the best night of her career, scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and blocking two shots. She was 14-16 from the charity stripe, with the 14 makes equaling the mark for the fourth most in a game at Rice... Sophomore Starla James made her first career starts at the UNCG tournament... Junior Daneesh McIntosh has equaled her career best of eight rebounds in three of the Lady Owls' five games this season... Beckler made her collegiate debut in high style on Nov. 10 against South Carolina in the first round of the preseason WNIT. She scored a team high 19 points, while hitting 5-12 from long range. Beckler's 12 three-point attempts are a single game record for Rice. Rigg also dished out seven assists in the opener.
