Thursday, December 20
Myrtle Beach, SC
7:30 p.m. CT
Rice University
8-3
56
vs
52
Coastal Carolina
7-3
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
15
10
19
12
56
Coastal Carolina
14
12
10
16
52
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Owls' Defense Leads the Way in Win Over Coastal Carolina
12/20/2018 11:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mulkey scores 12 points, 5 blocks in victory
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Rice Owls women's basketball team used a strong defensive performance to earn a hard-fought 56-52 victory over Coastal Carolina Thursday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to close out the Carolinas Classic.
Rice (8-3) held Coastal Carolina (7-3) to just 31 percent shooting and improved to 5-1 this season when limiting opponents to below 60 points.
Six Owls scored seven or more points, including redshirt sophomore who Nancy Mulkey led the Owls with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and a season-high tying five blocks in 24 minutes of action. Junior Erica Ogwumike just missed out on her seventh double-double of the season, scoring nine points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Seniors Nicole Iademarco and Lauren Grigsby scored eight points apiece while freshman Jasmine Smith contributed seven points in 16 minutes.
The Owls shot just 39 percent from the field but managed to hit 13-of-15 free throw attempts and posted an 18-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
DJ Williams led Coastal Carolina with 17 points but shot just 5-of-23 from the field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Quarter 1
Rice outscored the Chants 15-14 in a fast-paced opening quarter, with 10 of the Owls points coming in the paint. The Owls scored the game's first five points and held a 7-2 edge after a layup from Wiggins but Coastal responded with an 8-0 run. The Owls came right back with an 8-0 spurt of their own before the Chants scored the final four points of the period.
Quarter 2
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter with just seven combined made field goals and the Chants outscoring Rice, 12-10. The Owls managed to outscore Coastal 5-2 in the final 29 seconds behind a made three-pointer from Smith and a pair of free throws from Ogwumike, taking a 26-25 lead into halftime.
Quarter 3
Mulkey played a pivotal role in helping the Owls outscore the Chants 19-10 in the third quarter. The Cypress, Texas native scored 10 points in the quarter on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with three blocks. Rice held Coastal to 15 percent shooting (2-of-13) in the quarter while converting 67 percent from the field themselves. The Owls went on a 10-0 midway through the period to take a 39-30 lead.
Quarter 4.
Costal cut the Owls lead down to 50-47 with three minutes left in regulation but a steal by Grigsby led to a pair of free throws, pushing the lead back to 52-47. After Williams trimmed the deficit to 52-49 with 1:17 remaining, Smith put the game away with a driving layup as the shot clock was winding down to give the Owls a 54-49 cushion with 29 seconds to go.
UP NEXT
The Owls will have a week off before returning to the hardwood on Dec. 29 when they travel to Incarnate Word for the final non-conference tilt of the season. Rice opens C-USA play on Jan. 3 at Southern Miss. Visit www.RiceOwls.com and follow @RiceWBB on Twitter for more on the Owls all season long.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (8-3) held Coastal Carolina (7-3) to just 31 percent shooting and improved to 5-1 this season when limiting opponents to below 60 points.
Six Owls scored seven or more points, including redshirt sophomore who Nancy Mulkey led the Owls with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and a season-high tying five blocks in 24 minutes of action. Junior Erica Ogwumike just missed out on her seventh double-double of the season, scoring nine points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Seniors Nicole Iademarco and Lauren Grigsby scored eight points apiece while freshman Jasmine Smith contributed seven points in 16 minutes.
The Owls shot just 39 percent from the field but managed to hit 13-of-15 free throw attempts and posted an 18-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
DJ Williams led Coastal Carolina with 17 points but shot just 5-of-23 from the field.
Quarter 1
Rice outscored the Chants 15-14 in a fast-paced opening quarter, with 10 of the Owls points coming in the paint. The Owls scored the game's first five points and held a 7-2 edge after a layup from Wiggins but Coastal responded with an 8-0 run. The Owls came right back with an 8-0 spurt of their own before the Chants scored the final four points of the period.
Quarter 2
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter with just seven combined made field goals and the Chants outscoring Rice, 12-10. The Owls managed to outscore Coastal 5-2 in the final 29 seconds behind a made three-pointer from Smith and a pair of free throws from Ogwumike, taking a 26-25 lead into halftime.
Quarter 3
Mulkey played a pivotal role in helping the Owls outscore the Chants 19-10 in the third quarter. The Cypress, Texas native scored 10 points in the quarter on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with three blocks. Rice held Coastal to 15 percent shooting (2-of-13) in the quarter while converting 67 percent from the field themselves. The Owls went on a 10-0 midway through the period to take a 39-30 lead.
Quarter 4.
Costal cut the Owls lead down to 50-47 with three minutes left in regulation but a steal by Grigsby led to a pair of free throws, pushing the lead back to 52-47. After Williams trimmed the deficit to 52-49 with 1:17 remaining, Smith put the game away with a driving layup as the shot clock was winding down to give the Owls a 54-49 cushion with 29 seconds to go.
The Owls will have a week off before returning to the hardwood on Dec. 29 when they travel to Incarnate Word for the final non-conference tilt of the season. Rice opens C-USA play on Jan. 3 at Southern Miss. Visit www.RiceOwls.com and follow @RiceWBB on Twitter for more on the Owls all season long.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
RICE
CCU
FG%
.385
.305
3FG%
.150
.308
FT%
.867
.571
RB
39
39
TO
20
14
STL
6
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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