Rice University
East Carolina
Owls Display Grit, Stymie East Carolina 77-74
1/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2010
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
For more than 18 minutes Rice had protected its tenuous lead against Conference USA frontrunner East Carolina, so when the moment arrived late in the second half for the Owls to draw that line in the sand one final time, there was little reason to doubt their motivation or their resolve.
As they did in the waning moments against Marshall two nights earlier, the Owls snared two offensive rebounds to extend a late possession, clinching a 77-74 win over the Pirates on Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
With Rice (8-9, 2-2 C-USA) leading by one, Owls sophomore forward Megan Elliott grabbed the carom created by Tara Watts' missed 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining. When D'Frantz Smart failed to connect on a shot attempt in the lane 32 seconds later, Jessica Goswitz snagged the loose ball, raced to the side of the court, and waited for the foul that would send her to the line. She sank both free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining to put East Carolina (15-3, 4-1) in a serious bind.
"We were ahead the whole game, and we weren't going to let them come back and take it," said Elliott, whose 3 with 1:27 left lifted Rice to a 74-71 lead and snapped the ninth and final tie of the game. "It's just hustle and getting on the floor. We play a hundred percent the whole time."
The Pirates left Rice no choice. While the Owls did not trail after Goswitz nailed a 3 with 18:46 left, their biggest lead of the second half was just five points. That came with 15:08 remaining via Watts' deep jumper and before the Pirates forged four deadlocks prior to an Ashley Clarke layup that knotted the game at 71 with 1:56 to play. Elliott responded with her trey 29 seconds later, and the Owls hung on after Clark intentionally missed the second of her two free throws with 3.7 seconds left before Jessica Stanley hit one of two from the stripe with 2.2 seconds left.
Stanley, the Owls' leader in scoring and rebounding, played only 18 minutes due to foul trouble. The Owls took a calculated gamble with her on the bench, yielding 38 points in the paint while keeping close tabs on Pirates guards Allison Spivey and Kelly Smith, who combined for 39 points on 8-for-8 3-point shooting in the Pirates' 94-87 overtime win at Houston on Friday. That duo totaled just 19 points against Rice on 1-for-5 3-point shooting. Clarke paced the Pirates with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but Rice countered with a balanced attack.
Morgan Mayse and Goswitz scored 15 points each while Smart chipped in 14 points, seven steals and five assists. Stanley added 11 points and four rebounds while the bench brigade, sparked by Elliott, Amenemope McKinney and freshman Opal Taskila, had 17 points and eight boards.
"That's something we didn't have last year; we really struggled to score," Rice coach Greg Williams said. "To have that kind of distribution and to get Amenemope and Megan involved off the bench is always important. To beat the leader in the conference with Jackie only playing 18 minutes, I wouldn't have liked our chances a whole lot if you would have told me that before the game. Other people stepped up today."
Goswitz, fresh off an 0-for-8 effort against Marshall, was particularly effective. Not only did she regain her stroke (5-for-9), she delivered a strong all-around performance with three assists and two steals. Her confidence was abundant when she stepped to the line with the game in the balance, exuding that can't-lose attitude emblematic of her team.
"I've just been thinking too much and getting so caught up in myself instead of the team. I told myself before I went out that it was about the team," Goswitz said. "I needed to go out and play as hard as I could. Even though my shots might not fall I can do something on defense or make a good pass."
