Rice University
North Texas
Women's Hoops Slides Past North Texas
11/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2007
North Texas vs. Rice Box Score (PDF) 
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Valeriya Berezhynska scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting in her season debut as the Rice women's basketball team came back to defeat North Texas 69-65 Saturday at the Winthrop Adidas Classic.
The Owls (2-0) stormed back from a 63-57 deficit with 8:07 remaining in the game and finished the game by scoring 12 of the final 14 points of the game. Playing with four fouls down the stretch, Berezhynska put Rice on her back pouring in eight points during the run.
The Rice backcourt protected the victory by forcing three critical turnovers in the final 54 seconds coupled with a pair of clutch free throws from Kadie Riverin to seal the 69-65 win.
"We got a great game from Val and she played with poise despite being in foul trouble," assistant coach Carlos Quintero said. "I was proud that our team didn't give up even though we were down by six with eight minutes to go. That's key in the development of a young team. Our defense kept excellent pressure on the ball at the end of game and didn't allow them to get into their high-low offense."
Maudess Fulton earned her first career double-double, tallying 16 points to go along with a career-best 11 rebounds. The New Jersey native also dished out a career-high eight assists. Riverin added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Tara Watts chipped in a balanced effort of seven points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
"We've really been emphasizing playing with a team concept in preseason practices," Quintero said. "Anytime we take the court, we can have a combination of different players lead us and today that showed."
North Texas (0-2) jumped out to an early 11-4 advantage in the first half capped by a jumper by Jo Hall at the 16:24 mark. Hall paced the Mean Green with 16 points, while Erica Howard and Amber Jackson added 14 and 12, respectively.
Rice fought back and drew even at 20-20 with 11:06 on a three-point play from Fulton. The Owls held the lead for the rest of the half and carried a 39-37 edge into the locker room.
Rice continued its strong play for the second consecutive game out of halftime and built a 50-42 lead with 16:36 to go on a Berezhynska lay-up before North Texas went on a 23-7 run over the next 8:23 to claim a 63-57 advantage.
The Owls finish the Winthrop Adidas Classic Sunday against Winthrop. Tip-off is slated for 2pm CT. KTRU 91.7 FM and RiceOwls.com will have all of the action live from Winthrop Coliseum.
