Owls Host Gene Hackerman Invitational
12/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2005
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Houston -
Rice's historic Autry Court will be a hotbed of women's college hoops this weekend as the Owls host the Gene Hackerman Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The tournament tips off Friday at 5 pm with Louisiana Tech facing Texas-San Antonio, followed at 7 pm by Rice vs. Davidson. Saturday's consolation game is slated for 5:30 pm, with the championship contest at 7:30.
"This will be a good home test for us," said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "We were in a tough tournament last weekend in Seattle, and this home-stand should help us regroup. Davidson is a good team, and it will be important for us to come out and play as mistake-free as we can."
The Owls are 2-2 after beating Penn 59-54 in the opening game of the Husky Classic at Seattle last Saturday, and then dropping an 86-62 decision to Washington in the championship game. Rice shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the Washington loss.
"We know we can play with the best teams in the nation," said Williams. "The Texas Tech win showed us that we are capable, now we just need to be more consistent in our execution."
Junior forward Lauren Neaves earned Conference USA player of the week honors last week after leading the Owls to a 73-70 upset of then-13th-ranked Texas Tech with 27 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Neaves had another double-double in the Penn win, but was held to 10 points and seven rebounds against Washington. She is averaging 16 points and 10.3 boards a game for the season.
Guards Kadie Riverin and Krystal Frazier are the other leading scorers for the Owls, with Frazier averaging 10 points and 3.5 rebounds a game and Riverin adding 7.8 points and 2.8 assists an outing.
Davidson, a North Carolina school with 1,700 students, brings a 1-2 record into Friday's game. The Wildcats lost to North Carolina 86-48 to open the season, then dropped an 87-84 decision to Wake Forest in overtime before downing Oglethorpe 95-39. They are led by forwards Danielle Hemerka and Janell Crayton, who both average more than 13 points a game. Guard Tia Washington has dished out 17 assists in three games, and Brynn Kelly leads the squad in rebounds with 7.7 a game.
