Rice University
North Texas
Preview: Owls Head to Frisco as No. 1 Seed at C-USA Tournament
3/12/2019 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rice faces North Texas on Thursday (11 a.m.)
Postseason Guide | C-USA Championship Central | Women's Bracket
No. 1 Rice Owls (25-3, 16-0 C-USA) vs. No. 9 North Texas (15-14, 7-9)
Thursday, March 14, 2019 • 11 a.m. (CT)
Frisco, Texas • Ford Center at The Star
Tickets: All Sessions
Video Stream: Stadium
Radio: Stretch Internet (J.P. Heath)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter Updates: @RiceWBB
Series Record: USM (tied, 8-8); NT (Rice leads 10-4)
24th Ranked Owls Head to Frisco as No. 1 Seed
The No. 24 Rice Owls (25-3, 16-0) make the trek to Frisco as the No. 1 seed at the C-USA Tournament after becoming just the third team in league history to complete a 16-0 conference slate. Rice will face No. 9 North Texas on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Owls took down the Mean Green twice (64-52 and 59-47).
AP Top-25
For a fourth straight week the Owls appeared in the AP Top 25, staying at No. 24 on Monday, the highest ranking in program history. The Owls made their first ever appearance (No. 25) in the AP Top 25 Poll on Feb. 18.
Third-Longest Win Streak in the Nation
The Owls enter play riding a school record 18-game winning streak, the nation's third-longest active win streak behind Baylor (22) and Quinnipiac (20). Rice's win streak is the second-longest in C-USA history, trailing only UTEP (23; 2007-08).
Longest Active NCAA Win Streak
1. No. 1 Baylor - 23
2. Quinnipiac - 21
3. No. 24 Rice - 18
C-USA Dominance
The Owls went 16-0 in league play with a winning margin of 19.2 points per game. Rice has already secured their most wins in C-USA since joining the league in 2005 and finished the season as one of just seven teams undefeated in conference play across the nation. Only Houston (16-0; 2010-11) and UTEP (16-0; 2007-08) have completed perfect C-USA seasons in league history, neither of which won their respective conference tournaments.
Road Warriors
After starting the season 0-2 on the road, the Owls reeled off 11 consecutive road victories away from Tudor Fieldhouse, which is currently the longest active road win streak in the nation.
Trio Earns All-Conference Honors
For the first time in program history, the Owls secured three All-Conference honorees as Erica Ogwumike, Nancy Mulkey, and Nicole Iademarco each earned accolades as announced by Conference USA on Monday. Ogwumike and Mulkey were both named First Team All-Conference, marking the first time the Owls placed two athletes on the C-USA First Team since joining the league in 2006. Iademarco was selected to the C-USA Second Team for a second straight year, just days after joining Ogwumike on the C-USA All-Academic Team.
Rice in the Conference Tournament
The Owls are 10-13 all-time at the C-USA Tournament (3-5 in the quarterfinals) and 4-3 in the Tina Langley era. Last season the No. 5 seeded Owls defeated Old Dominion (70-48) in the opening round and Middle Tennessee (61-53) in the quarterfinals before falling to UAB (67-55) in the semifinals.
-RiceOwls.com-
