Tuesday, November 20
Houston, TX
7:00 p.m. CT
Rice University
2-2
76
vs
71
Texas Southern
1-2
1
2
3
4
F
Texas Southern
16
19
20
16
71
Rice
15
22
12
27
76
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Owls Storm Back to Defeat TSU in Home Opener
11/20/2018 10:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rice erases 14-point fourth quarter deficit in 76-71 win
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls women's basketball team gave the crowd plenty to cheer about in Tuesday's home opener against Texas Southern, using a 27-8 run over the game's final eight minutes to erase a 14-point fourth quarter deficit and defeat the Lady Tigers 76-71 in front of a raucous Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (2-2) knocked down a season-high 11 three-pointers in the victory and three players scored in double-figures. The Owls received big contributions from their bench, outscoring the Lady Tigers 35-18, and posted a 24-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
Junior Erica Ogwumike led the Owls with 20 points (11-of-12 at the free throw line) and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Freshman guard Jasmine Smith added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting (7-of-8 from the free throw line) and senior Lauren Grigsby provided a big boost off the bench with a season-high 16 points (4-of-5 on three-pointers).
RICE HEAD COACH TINA LANGLEY
Postgame Reaction…
"I'm really proud of the fight of our team. We continued to battle on the defensive end of the floor. Texas Southern came out and played a great game. Johnetta (Hayes) does a tremendous job with her team. They took it to us, but I love how our team responded and the fight and execution we showed late in the game was something I'm really proud of."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Quarter 1
TSU (1-2) opened up a 16-10 lead at the 2:53 mark of the period but the Owls picked up some momentum by scoring the quarter's final five points on a layup from Shani Rainey and a three-pointer by Nicole Iademarco to bring Rice to within 16-15 after 10 minutes of play.
Quarter 2
The Owls used a 16-5 run midway through the second quarter to take a 34-28 lead after Grigsby knocked down her second three-pointer of the period. In the second quarter alone, the Rice bench outscored the Lady Tigers 18-6, led by nine points from freshman Haylee Swayze and eight from Grigsby. Rice would take a 37-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Quarter 3
The Lady Tigers outscored the Owls 20-12 in the third period, making 7-of-13 shots from the floor while limiting Rice to just 1-of-6 shooting. However, the Owls managed to hang close by making 10-of-14 free throw attempts in the quarter and Ogwumike scored seven points, all of which came at the charity stripe.
Quarter 4
TSU scored the first eight points of the quarter and opened up their largest lead of the game at 63-49 with just 7:49 remaining in the game. However, out of a timeout the Owls began to chip away at the lead. Grigsby started a 9-0 Rice run with five straight points, and Smith added a three-pointer with 5:40 left to trim the deficit to 63-58.
After TSU extended their lead to 67-61 (3:47), the Owls went on a game-winning 9-0 spurt, capped off by a three-pointer from Rainey to give Rice a 70-69 lead with 1:50 left in the game. The Owls never relinquished the lead again, making all six of their free throws down the stretch to win the home opener.
UP NEXT
The Owls take the court again on Friday, Nov. 23 when they host Georgia State at 2 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse. For tickets and more information, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and follow @RiceWBB on Twitter for more information.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (2-2) knocked down a season-high 11 three-pointers in the victory and three players scored in double-figures. The Owls received big contributions from their bench, outscoring the Lady Tigers 35-18, and posted a 24-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
Junior Erica Ogwumike led the Owls with 20 points (11-of-12 at the free throw line) and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Freshman guard Jasmine Smith added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting (7-of-8 from the free throw line) and senior Lauren Grigsby provided a big boost off the bench with a season-high 16 points (4-of-5 on three-pointers).
Postgame Reaction…
"I'm really proud of the fight of our team. We continued to battle on the defensive end of the floor. Texas Southern came out and played a great game. Johnetta (Hayes) does a tremendous job with her team. They took it to us, but I love how our team responded and the fight and execution we showed late in the game was something I'm really proud of."
Quarter 1
TSU (1-2) opened up a 16-10 lead at the 2:53 mark of the period but the Owls picked up some momentum by scoring the quarter's final five points on a layup from Shani Rainey and a three-pointer by Nicole Iademarco to bring Rice to within 16-15 after 10 minutes of play.
Quarter 2
The Owls used a 16-5 run midway through the second quarter to take a 34-28 lead after Grigsby knocked down her second three-pointer of the period. In the second quarter alone, the Rice bench outscored the Lady Tigers 18-6, led by nine points from freshman Haylee Swayze and eight from Grigsby. Rice would take a 37-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Quarter 3
The Lady Tigers outscored the Owls 20-12 in the third period, making 7-of-13 shots from the floor while limiting Rice to just 1-of-6 shooting. However, the Owls managed to hang close by making 10-of-14 free throw attempts in the quarter and Ogwumike scored seven points, all of which came at the charity stripe.
Quarter 4
TSU scored the first eight points of the quarter and opened up their largest lead of the game at 63-49 with just 7:49 remaining in the game. However, out of a timeout the Owls began to chip away at the lead. Grigsby started a 9-0 Rice run with five straight points, and Smith added a three-pointer with 5:40 left to trim the deficit to 63-58.
After TSU extended their lead to 67-61 (3:47), the Owls went on a game-winning 9-0 spurt, capped off by a three-pointer from Rainey to give Rice a 70-69 lead with 1:50 left in the game. The Owls never relinquished the lead again, making all six of their free throws down the stretch to win the home opener.
The Owls take the court again on Friday, Nov. 23 when they host Georgia State at 2 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse. For tickets and more information, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and follow @RiceWBB on Twitter for more information.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
TSU
RICE
FG%
.500
.488
3FG%
.524
.478
FT%
.750
.719
RB
28
26
TO
17
14
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
11
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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