Rice University
Texas A&M
Rice Stuns #10 Texas A&M, 79-66
12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2006
Houston -
Lauren Neaves had 20 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, and Valeriya Berezhynska led all scorers with a career-high 21 points to help Rice stun 10th-ranked Texas A&M 79-66 in women's college basketball action Friday at Autry Court. The Aggies came into the game undefeated, and it was the first Rice win over a top-10 team since Feb. 21, 2002, when the Owls edged #6 Louisiana Tech.
Neaves, whose rebound total is the third-highest in Rice history, also blocked five shots and led a stifling defensive effort that held the Aggies (6-1) to only 35.7 percent shooting from the field. The Owls (5-2) shot a season-best 58.5 percent from the field, equaling the fifth-best single-game percentage in school history. In the first half Rice hit 20-29 shots for 69 percent.
"I am very happy for our team," said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "It is a big win for our program, and I am very happy for our players. This was a game that meant a lot, because you don't get a lot of chances to play a top-10 team."
Rice shut down the Aggies' leading scorer, holding Morenike Atunrase to only 10 first-half points, and dominated the boards with a 44-26 rebound edge. "Our defense was strong, and Samantha Stovall did a great job in shutting down their best scorer," Williams said.
A&M started quickly with an 8-2 run, but a layup and free throw by Stovall knotted the score at 10 with 15:12 left in the first half. A Kadie Riverin layup made it 14-12 Rice, and the Owls never trailed after that. Neaves canned a jumper with 6:18 to go to stretch the lead to 11, and her jumper at the 2:48 mark put Rice up 43-31. Buckets by Neaves and Stovall closed out the half and sent the Owls into the locker room with a 47-33 lead.
Emery Carter added to the Rice lead early in the second half on a layup, making it 50-33, before the Aggies started trying to whittle away the lead. A'Quonesia Franklin's trey with 3:53 left pulled the Aggies within 10 at 71-61, but the Owls went on a 6-0 spurt to seal the team's biggest win in four years.
Stovall finished with 13 points and five assists for Rice, while Krystal Frazier dished out a team-high six assists. The Owls shot 80 percent from the free throw line, converting 16 of 20 attempts.
Franklin led the Aggies with 16 points, six assists and four steals, and Patricia Reado added 12 points. Danielle Gant was the top rebounder for A&M with five.
