Saturday, January 18
Houston, TX
2:00 pm CT
Rice University
-116,60 CUSA
75
vs
64
Southern Miss
-115,32 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
14
10
14
26
64
Rice
14
9
25
27
75
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Mulkey, Smith Record Career-Highs in Victory Over Southern Miss
1/18/2020 5:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – Behind career-high performances from junior center Nancy Mulkey (29 points) and sophomore guard Jasmine Smith (21 points), the Rice Owls women's basketball team notched their sixth consecutive win by defeating Southern Miss 75-64 Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (11-6, 6-0) stretched their Conference USA winning streak to 25 consecutive games, extending the nation's fourth-longest active conference win streak. The Owls established season-highs in field goal percentage (60.4%) and points in the paint (54) and recorded 20 assists, the most since their season-opener versus Nicholls State.
Rice has now shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of their six conference games, including four straight.
Southern Miss (11-5, 3-2) had no answer for Mulkey, who had a career-best offensive performance by making 12-of-14 shots from the field to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocks for her second double-double of the season. Mulkey scored 19 points in the second half on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field and made all three free throw attempts.
Smith complimented Mulkey's efforts with the 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with five rebounds, six assists, and a game-high four steals. Smith shot 6-of-7 from the field in the second half for 14 points, 10 of which came in the third period.
With the victory, the Owls remain alone in first place in the C-USA standings with a 1.5 game lead on both Old Dominion (4-1) and UTEP (4-1).
POSTGAME REACTION
Rice Head Coach Tina Langley
"I loved the toughness of our team this week, both mentally and physically. We overcame a lot. I'm proud of the way Nancy has played these last two games. She's had great minutes and I think as a team we're starting to flow together and move the ball. I think you could see that today in the second half and we had a really good finish to the game."
Rice Junior Center Nancy Mulkey
"My teammates were working really hard to get me the ball, whether it was short or long passes. Today was definitely a team effort and we continue to grow as the season has gone along."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
After a pair of lead changes and four ties, the Owls and Lady Eagles were knotted up 14-14 after 10 minutes of play. Mulkey scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting while freshman Destiny Jackson and Smith contributed four points apiece. Rice shot 7-of-11 from the field in the quarter but USM converted seven Rice turnovers into 10 points.
Second Quarter
The two teams combined for 13 turnovers in a quarter that saw only 19 combined points. After five lead changes, USM held a 24-23 halftime lead by winning the quarter 10-9.
Third Quarter
Over the final 4:23 the Rice offense exploded, going on a 16-3 run catapulted by the efforts of Smith, who went on a personal 8-0 spurt to give the Owls a double-digit advantage (48-38) going to the fourth. Smith knocked down Rice's first three-pointer of the afternoon with 2:38 remaining and followed with a three-point play just seconds later. The Owls outscored the Lady Eagles 25-14 in the quarter by outshooting USM 64%-28%.
Fourth Quarter
Mulkey took over the game in fourth, scoring 12 points by making all six field goal attempts. As a team Rice shot a sizzling 77 percent from the floor, making 13-of-17 shots on 10 assists. USM trimmed their deficit to 65-56 with 3:04 remaining but the Owls never allowed them to get any closer.
Up Next
The Owls begin a stretch of three consecutive road games with two next week, starting Thursday, Jan. 23 at UTEP at 8 p.m. (CT).
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (11-6, 6-0) stretched their Conference USA winning streak to 25 consecutive games, extending the nation's fourth-longest active conference win streak. The Owls established season-highs in field goal percentage (60.4%) and points in the paint (54) and recorded 20 assists, the most since their season-opener versus Nicholls State.
Rice has now shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of their six conference games, including four straight.
Southern Miss (11-5, 3-2) had no answer for Mulkey, who had a career-best offensive performance by making 12-of-14 shots from the field to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocks for her second double-double of the season. Mulkey scored 19 points in the second half on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field and made all three free throw attempts.
Smith complimented Mulkey's efforts with the 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with five rebounds, six assists, and a game-high four steals. Smith shot 6-of-7 from the field in the second half for 14 points, 10 of which came in the third period.
With the victory, the Owls remain alone in first place in the C-USA standings with a 1.5 game lead on both Old Dominion (4-1) and UTEP (4-1).
Rice Head Coach Tina Langley
"I loved the toughness of our team this week, both mentally and physically. We overcame a lot. I'm proud of the way Nancy has played these last two games. She's had great minutes and I think as a team we're starting to flow together and move the ball. I think you could see that today in the second half and we had a really good finish to the game."
Rice Junior Center Nancy Mulkey
"My teammates were working really hard to get me the ball, whether it was short or long passes. Today was definitely a team effort and we continue to grow as the season has gone along."
First Quarter
After a pair of lead changes and four ties, the Owls and Lady Eagles were knotted up 14-14 after 10 minutes of play. Mulkey scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting while freshman Destiny Jackson and Smith contributed four points apiece. Rice shot 7-of-11 from the field in the quarter but USM converted seven Rice turnovers into 10 points.
Second Quarter
The two teams combined for 13 turnovers in a quarter that saw only 19 combined points. After five lead changes, USM held a 24-23 halftime lead by winning the quarter 10-9.
Third Quarter
Over the final 4:23 the Rice offense exploded, going on a 16-3 run catapulted by the efforts of Smith, who went on a personal 8-0 spurt to give the Owls a double-digit advantage (48-38) going to the fourth. Smith knocked down Rice's first three-pointer of the afternoon with 2:38 remaining and followed with a three-point play just seconds later. The Owls outscored the Lady Eagles 25-14 in the quarter by outshooting USM 64%-28%.
Fourth Quarter
Mulkey took over the game in fourth, scoring 12 points by making all six field goal attempts. As a team Rice shot a sizzling 77 percent from the floor, making 13-of-17 shots on 10 assists. USM trimmed their deficit to 65-56 with 3:04 remaining but the Owls never allowed them to get any closer.
The Owls begin a stretch of three consecutive road games with two next week, starting Thursday, Jan. 23 at UTEP at 8 p.m. (CT).
-RiceOwls.com-
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Team Stats
USM
Rice
FG%
.424
.604
3FG%
.150
.182
FT%
.625
.900
RB
31
30
TO
18
21
STL
11
7
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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