Rice University
East Carolina
Neaves Leads Owls to Upset of East Carolina
2/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2006
Houston -
Lauren Neaves matched her career high with 29 points and recorded her ninth double-double of the season to lead Rice to a 73-65 upset win over East Carolina in Conference USA women's basketball action Monday at Autry Court. The win moved the Owls to 9-12 overall and 5-5 in C-USA play, while ECU fell to 13-8 and 5-5.
Neaves, who also had 10 rebounds, poured in 21 points in the first half on her way to equaling the career-best she established against SMU on March 5, 2005. Her previous season-high scoring output was 27 in a win over 13th-ranked Texas Tech in November.
"We put together a very solid first half," said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "We shot pretty well and did very well at the free throw line. In the second half we had a bit of trouble and let them get back in the game. We can't afford to have 24 turnovers against teams like East Carolina."
As in several previous games, the Owls raced out to a commanding early lead, going on a 10-0 run in the first five minutes after the Pirates opened with a jumper by Cherie Mills. Samantha Stovall hit a three-pointer and a lay-up to give Rice a 17-6 lead with 13:12 to go, and Tiffany Loggins had two baskets and a pair of free throws to make it 25-8 at the 10:09 mark. Neaves knocked down four charity shots and a lay-up to stretch the lead to 35-13, and Tiondra Wright converted two free throws to give Rice a 25-point edge at 39-14 with 5:05 left.
Valeriya Berezhynska, who had a career-high 17 rebounds and 10 points for a second straight double-double, made six free throws down the stretch to help the Owls notch up a 48-23 lead at the half. Rice made 21 of 22 attempts from the free throw line in the first half, while the Pirates shot an abysmal 16.7 percent from the field, going six of 36.
The two squads traded buckets to open the second half, with the Owls holding a lead of 20 or more points until Jessica Slack hit a trey with 8:17 remaining to cut the lead to 19 and make it 63-44. Kadie Riverin hit two free throws for Rice to make it 65-46, then the Pirates went on a 12-0 run to bring ECU within seven at 65-58 with 1:01 to go. Latrice Elder, who had a season-high nine points, was deadly from the free throw line in the final minute for the Owls, though, canning seven charity shots to help seal the win.
The game was marred by 49 fouls, and Rice had 24 turnovers, but the Pirates shot only 26 percent from the field and couldn't take advantage of the Owls' miscues. The Owls shot 38.3 percent from the field and 87.8 percent from the line, hitting a school-record 36 of 41 attempts. The previous high for free throws made was 35 against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, 1988.
Jasmine Young and LaCoya Terry led the Pirates with 15 points each, and Terry and Cherie Mills shared rebounding honors with seven each.
Rice travels to El Paso Friday to face UTEP, then to New Orleans Sunday to take on Tulane.
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