Saturday, March 16
Frisco, TX
4:30 P.M. CT
Rice University
28-3
69
vs
54
Middle Tennessee
22-10
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tennessee
22
12
9
11
54
Rice
17
9
21
22
69
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Photo by: CUSA
Owls Punch Ticket to NCAA Tournament!
3/16/2019 8:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Defeat MT for first-ever C-USA Tourney title
FRISCO, Texas – All season long the Rice women's basketball team stuck to their motto of one game at a time and that the biggest game of the season was the one in front of them. So when the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders led by 10 points at halftime of Saturday's C-USA Championship, there was no panic, not from this special unit.
Instead, the No. 24 ranked Owls went to work in the second half by outscoring the Lady Raiders 43-20 to win the program's first-ever C-USA tournament title, 69-54, for the team's 21st consecutive victory. Rice became the first team in C-USA history to go undefeated in the C-USA regular season and then win the conference tournament.
"We're really proud to do this for Rice," head coach Tina Langley said. "We're a nationally and universally respected university. We wanted to help the basketball program to be as respected as the university is, led by a great president. To perform on the basketball court the way we are right now and to have to do the work in the classroom every day takes an exceptional student-athlete. We knew it would happen in time if we had the right student-athletes to build that culture of wanting to be great in both aspects."
"As a coach you don't want to fail your kids," said Langley. "I'm so proud of our staff. This is why we do this. There's nothing like watching them celebrate. It's like a parent seeing their kid happy. We're really blessed to do what we do and I love them."
Sophomore center and C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Nancy Mulkey led the way with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting and broke the title game record with eight blocks in 34 minutes of action. Mulkey also shattered the Rice single-season blocks record, surpassing Lauren Neaves (83 blocks), and now has 89 blocks on the season. After the game, Mulkey was named the C-USA Championship MVP after averaging 18 points and 5.7 blocked shots over the weekend.
Junior guard and C-USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, scoring 15 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Jasmine Smith added 10 points while senior Nicole Iademarco also scored 10 points.
Rice ended the game by outscoring the Lady Raiders 38-15 after Middle Tennessee led by as much 39-31 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. Rice held onto a slim three-point lead in the final four minutes before amassing 15 of the game's final 18 points. Extra points made all the difference in the fourth as four Owls combined to hit 10-of-10 at the stripe. Rice finished the game 19-for-21 from the free throw line.
Defense was another key factor for Rice in the second half as the team outrebounded Middle Tennessee 21-10 and outscored the Lady Raiders 13-2 on second chance points. In addition, the Owls took care of the basketball with a 14-to-5 assist to turnover ratio.
With the victory Rice won their second conference postseason title in school history, joining the 2005 WAC Tournament champions.
The Owls will enter the NCAA Tournament with 29 wins, tied for the second-most in C-USA history, and are now tied with Quinnipiac for the nation's second-longest winning streak (21).
C-USA All-Tournament Team
Nancy Mulkey (MVP), Rice
Erica Ogwumike, Rice
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee
A'Queen Hayes, Middle Tennessee
Miyah Barnes, UAB
-RiceOwls.com-
Instead, the No. 24 ranked Owls went to work in the second half by outscoring the Lady Raiders 43-20 to win the program's first-ever C-USA tournament title, 69-54, for the team's 21st consecutive victory. Rice became the first team in C-USA history to go undefeated in the C-USA regular season and then win the conference tournament.
"We're really proud to do this for Rice," head coach Tina Langley said. "We're a nationally and universally respected university. We wanted to help the basketball program to be as respected as the university is, led by a great president. To perform on the basketball court the way we are right now and to have to do the work in the classroom every day takes an exceptional student-athlete. We knew it would happen in time if we had the right student-athletes to build that culture of wanting to be great in both aspects."
"As a coach you don't want to fail your kids," said Langley. "I'm so proud of our staff. This is why we do this. There's nothing like watching them celebrate. It's like a parent seeing their kid happy. We're really blessed to do what we do and I love them."
Sophomore center and C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Nancy Mulkey led the way with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting and broke the title game record with eight blocks in 34 minutes of action. Mulkey also shattered the Rice single-season blocks record, surpassing Lauren Neaves (83 blocks), and now has 89 blocks on the season. After the game, Mulkey was named the C-USA Championship MVP after averaging 18 points and 5.7 blocked shots over the weekend.
Junior guard and C-USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, scoring 15 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Jasmine Smith added 10 points while senior Nicole Iademarco also scored 10 points.
Rice ended the game by outscoring the Lady Raiders 38-15 after Middle Tennessee led by as much 39-31 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. Rice held onto a slim three-point lead in the final four minutes before amassing 15 of the game's final 18 points. Extra points made all the difference in the fourth as four Owls combined to hit 10-of-10 at the stripe. Rice finished the game 19-for-21 from the free throw line.
Defense was another key factor for Rice in the second half as the team outrebounded Middle Tennessee 21-10 and outscored the Lady Raiders 13-2 on second chance points. In addition, the Owls took care of the basketball with a 14-to-5 assist to turnover ratio.
With the victory Rice won their second conference postseason title in school history, joining the 2005 WAC Tournament champions.
The Owls will enter the NCAA Tournament with 29 wins, tied for the second-most in C-USA history, and are now tied with Quinnipiac for the nation's second-longest winning streak (21).
C-USA All-Tournament Team
Nancy Mulkey (MVP), Rice
Erica Ogwumike, Rice
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee
A'Queen Hayes, Middle Tennessee
Miyah Barnes, UAB
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
MT
RICE
FG%
.412
.431
3FG%
.333
.400
FT%
1.000
.905
RB
26
33
TO
8
5
STL
1
3
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09