Rice University
UTSA
Owls Remain Hot, Thwart UTSA 70-56
1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2010
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Aesthetically Rice coach Greg Williams likely craved more than what he witnessed on Monday night at Tudor Fieldhouse, but he can't quibble with another result that validated any referendum on the Owls' growth.
The turnovers came in bunches early and late, but those miscues proved to be little more than a speed bump in the Owls' 70-56 victory over Texas-San Antonio, their fourth consecutive win and sixth in seven games. Sophomore guard D'Frantz Smart nearly recorded a triple-double and sophomore forward Megan Elliott stabilized the Owls with a steady effort off the bench as Rice performed with confidence yet again.
"We've had some success. Winning breeds confidence," Williams said. "We've had solid practices and they've seen that carry over into game situations, and as a coach that's what you hope happens. That's part of it."
The Owls (6-7) who opened the season with six consecutive losses have been replaced by a selfless, defensive-minded squad capable of triumphing on sheer effort and force of will. UTSA (6-6) needed more than five minutes to record its first points of the game, but the Owls' sloppy ball handling resulted in Rice holding just a 5-0 lead by the time Kameisha Johnson hit a baseline jumper with 14:58 left in the first half.
No worries. Despite the unforced errors the Owls slogged their way to an 18-12 lead before Elliott converted a layup off an inbounds play with 5:00 left. The rash of turnovers slowed a bit, and the Owls engaged in a riveting back-and-forth with the hard-charging Roadrunners until the final buzzer, which Judy Jones beat with a jumper that cut the Rice lead to 33-26 at the intermission. Elliott, silent until an abrupt awakening last week against Hofstra, was responsible for keeping the Owls afloat.
"I feel like I should be doing better than I have been," said Elliott, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. "I just wasn't very confident. I was too worried about everything else, so I just tried to calm down and take a breath and just play like I know I can.
"It's really mental for me. I was going in not necessarily thinking I can do this but I hope they don't block me and I hope I don't miss. When I go in like that there is no way I'm going to make it. It was just confidence."
Smart, whose return to the starting lineup has coincided with the win streak, bolsters the Owls' swagger. Despite her diminutive 5-0 stature she finished with 11 rebounds to complement her team-high 18 points and game-high seven assists. And because she has become such an effective perimeter shooter, Smart enables forward Jackie Stanley (13 points, nine rebounds) to become that much more lethal in the post. The Owls began the night assisting on 69.6 percent of their baskets during their streak; they recorded 16 assists on 23 field goals against UTSA.
"We definitely have a great inside-out presence," Smart said. "Jackie really opens up the 3s for us on the outside, and when we're making 3s it really opens up things for her. Just having the confidence to pass it to your teammate and know that they're going to make it, that's huge."
The Owls are shooting 45.5 percent (30-of-66) from behind the arc during their streak. Jessica Goswitz, Smart, Elliott and Tara Watts nailed 3s in the second half to extend the Rice lead to 61-41 with 7:31 left. When UTSA slapped a full-court press on the Owls and whittled that advantage to 10 points roughly two minutes later, the Owls weathered the storm The Roadrunner controlled the paint, forced 25 turnovers, and aggressively attacked the rim time and again yet the Owls always seemed in complete control. At the start of December, very few would have associated a strong constitution with the Owls who opened 0-6.
Now the trick is to take that confidence on the road, where the Owls will open Conference USA action this weekend against UTEP and Tulane.
"We're just playing overall great basketball," Smart said. "We're going to continue that into conference. I think we're ready."
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