Rice University
EV1 Sports (Exhibition)
Owls Drop Exhibition Game to Everyones Internet
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 5, 2005
Houston -
Rice junior Lauren Neaves scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds in 25 minutes of play, but Everyones Internet hit 34 of 50 free throws to notch a 79-73 exhibition win over the Owls Saturday at Autry Court. Naomi Mobley and Felicia Ragland led the winners with 14 points each.
In the first game under new head coach Greg Williams, Rice played aggressively on both ends of the court and went into halftime tied at 37-37. A seven-point run to open the second half put Everyones Internet up 44-37, but the Owls battled back to take a 45-44 lead on a Krystal Frazier layup with 16:39 to go. The teams traded the lead until Mobley scored on a layup with 6:43 to go to put the visitors up 64-62.
Two Whitney McCauley three-pointers kept Rice close, but Everyones Internet got five points in the final 1:26 from Ragland to seal the win.
"Overall, I am really pleased with our effort," Williams said. "We played really hard for 40 minutes and did the things that we have worked on in practice very well. Everyones Internet is a team of good, solid professional players with a lot of experience, and we matched up very well."
Rice outrebounded EI 54-43, including a 20-12 edge on the offensive boards. "Our transition game was good, and it is a huge positive that we had that many offensive boards against a veteran team," Williams said.
All 15 Owls saw action as the team shot 34.2 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from the three-point line. Williams was pleased with the team's accuracy from the free-throw line, where Rice hit 18 0f 24 attempts.
"We knew coming in that our shooting might be like this," Williams said. "The main thing today was that we lost a little rhythm by substituting so often, and we knew that might happen."
Neaves, the Conference USA preseason player of the year, showed why she was picked for that honor by league coaches as she hit five shots from the field and was perfect on five free throws. The 6-2 junior also had five offensive rebounds and 12 defensive boards.
"Lauren was every bit as good as we thought she would be," Williams said. "She is a warrior when the lights go on and she takes it to another level once the game starts."
Williams also singled out sophomores McCauley and Valeriya Berezhynska as bright spots. "Whitney was very good today from outside, and that is a huge positive. We need someone who isn't afraid to step up and hit the three in pressure situations. I was also impressed with Val's play inside and on the transition." McCauley scored 13 points, while Berezhynska had 12 points and five rebounds.
Kadie Riverin had five assists and two steals with no turnovers. The sophomore guard also scored four points and two rebounds. "Kadie is playing very well," Williams said. "She showed today that she can protect the ball and direct our offense very effectively against quality players."
The game was hard-fought at both ends, with the Owls whistled for 33 fouls and Everyones Internet 20.
Rice returns to action Nov. 11 with another home exhibition game against the Houston Jaguars at 6 pm.
