Rice University
Marshall
Owls Fall to Marshall 75-64
1/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2006
Huntington, W.Va. -
Rice squandered a 16-point lead despite a game-high 21 points from Krystal Frazier as the Owls dropped a 75-64 decision to Conference USA leaders Marshall Friday at the Cam Henderson Center. With the loss, Rice fell to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in C-USA action, while Marshall improved to 9-5 and 4-0 to maintain possession of the league's top spot.
"They killed us on the boards" said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "When you are on the road, especially, you can't afford to let the other team almost double you in rebounds. Marshall had 19 offensive rebounds and that gave them way too many second and third chances at the basket."
Tiffany Loggins started a 15-0 run early in the first half with a lay-up with 14:51 to go, and Lauren Neaves added three buckets and Frazier chipped in two as the Owls went up 24-8 with 11:23 left in the half. A Michele Hagan lay-up brought Marshall back within 14, but neither team scored for nearly four minutes after that until Modupe Ishola converted a pair of free throws to make it 24-12 with 7:09 to go.
A pair of Kadie Riverin free throws extended Rice's lead back to 11 at 28-17, before Mary Pat Statler drained a pair of jumpers and Sikeetha Shepard-Hall hit four free throws and a field goal to tie the game at 30-30 with a minute left. Ishola's lay-up at the buzzer gave the Herd a 32-30 halftime lead.
Frazier came out with a hot hand to open the second stanza, hitting a pair of treys and a jumper to knot the score at 38-38 with 15:50 to go. Frazier tied it up again with 12:11 left on a free throw and Samantha Stovall put the Owls up by two a minute later. Neaves stretched the Owls' lead to four with two charity shots with 7:33 on the clock, but the Herd retook the lead for good at 57-56 on a jumper by Bridget Chacon with 6:03 remaining.
Chacon gave Marshall its biggest lead of the game at 71-58 with 1:58 left as the Herd held on to outscore the Owls 18-8 in the final six minutes for the win.
The game was marred by 48 total fouls and three players fouled out, including Riverin and Stovall for the Owls.
Neaves had 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for Rice, while Frazier added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Shepard-Hall led Marshall with 18 points, and Crystal Champion had a double-double for the Herd with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Rice faces Houston, 3-0 in league play, at Hofheinz Pavilion Sunday at 4 pm in a game that will be televised on ESPN2.
