Rice University
Monmouth University
Owls Open With 76-45 Win at Monmouth
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
West Long Branch, N.J. -
Lauren Neaves scored a game-high 19 points and guards Maudess Fulton and Krystal Frazier scored in double figures to lead Rice (1-0) to a convincing 76-45 season-opening win over Monmouth (0-1) Friday night at Boylan Gym.
Fulton, a New Jersey native who missed all of last season after a knee injury, looked impressive in scoring 13 points, while Frazier, who missed the final 15 games last year after an Achilles tendon injury, added 10 points and four assists. The Owls outrebounded the Hawks 56-42 and dominated on defense.
"We are very pleased with the team's effort," said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "It is great to win the first game, especially on the road. Our defense was outstanding tonight."
Rice raced to a 20-5 lead in the first six minutes, with Frazier popping in eight points. A Neaves bucket and free throw gave the Owls a 16-point edge, and near the end of the half Tiffany Loggins knocked down a three-pointer and a layup, and Fulton added a trey to send the team into the half with a 37-16 lead. Rice shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, but also only hit half its shots from the charity stripe. Monmouth struggled to a 16.7 percent shooting performance from the field, notching only five field goals.
After trading baskets to open the second half, Rice went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to widen the margin to 49-18. A Charisse Johnson three-pointer with 11:36 to go closed the gap to 27, but that was as close as Monmouth would get as the Owls' used a steady attacking defense and a solid performance from the reserves to cruise to the win.
Williams said, "We didn't shoot free throws well, and that was the most glaring problem for us. It was good to see Maudess and Krystal back in action, since they bring so much to our team. It's a credit to their hard work in rehabbing injuries that they were back so quickly and are playing so well."
Neaves, Loggins and Valeriya Berezhynska shared top rebounding honors with eight each, and Kadie Riverin dished out a game-high seven assists for the Owls.
"Our bench really gave us some good minutes, especially Tiffany and Emery Carter, and we got balanced minutes, which will be important later in the season," Williams said.
Rice travels a few miles up the road to Lawrenceville, N.J., Sunday, where they will take on Rider in a 2 pm ET game.
