Rice University
SMU
Kuster Super to Lead Rice over SMU 69-60
2/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2011
Houston - Jessica Kuster posted her seventh double-double of the season with game-highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Rice Owls (14-9, 6-3) to a 69-60 home victory over SMU (11-11, 4-5) inside Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice has now won four C-USA games in a row.
Also in double-digit scoring for the Owls were Candace Ashford with 10 points, Brianna Hypolite with 11 points, and D'Frantz Smart scored 12 points with five assists and five steals in 40 minutes of action. It was the second time this season that Ashford was in double-digits scoring and she also had three blocks.
Kuster's six blocks is also a career-high mark for her. The freshman from San Antonio and Reagan H.S. is now averaging 14.0 ppg and 12.4 rpg in C-USA action and 12.8 ppg and 10.7 rpg overall.
The game was tied at 24-24 (4:22) when the Owls closed the half on a 9-2 run as Kuster made five free throws and a basket and Ashford scored as well, for a 33-26 half time lead. The Owls are now 13-0 when leading at the half.
The Mustangs outscored Rice 16 to 6 to start the second half for a 42-39 lead, but the Owls battled back with a 16-6 run of their own for a 55-48 lead that it would not relinquish. Two wide-open left wing jumpers by Hypolite pushed the Rice lead to 10 at 61-51 (3:27). Kuster then made free throws in the final two minutes to keep the Mustangs from getting back into contention.
SMU was led by Christine Elliott's 12 points, and Raquel Christian came off the bench to tally 10 points. Haley Day had seven points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs.
The Owls made 22 of their 28 free throws and out-rebounded the Mustangs 50 to 38. Jessica Goswitz had nine rebounds, Hypolite had eight, and Smart had seven rebounds for Rice.
The last time that Rice won four games in a row was last season when it won the last four non-conference games of the season Dec. 28-Jan.2 over Northwestern State, Hofstra, at George Washington, and vs. UTSA. The last time that the Owls won four straight C-USA games came in the 2008 season with wins over Tulsa (Feb. 23), Marshall (Feb. 28), East Carolina (March 1), and vs. East Carolina in the C-USA tournament first round. Rice last won four regular season C-USA games in 2007 (Houston, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP).
The Owls next play at Houston on Thursday, February 10 at 7 p.m.
