Preview | Owls Travel to Little Rock on Saturday

Rice Owls (1-0) at Little Rock Trojans (0-0)
Game 2 • Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 • 2 p.m. (CT)
Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @RiceWB B | @LittleRockWBB

Owls Travel to Little Rock
Fresh off an 83-54 victory in the season opener, the Owls hit the road for the first time this season when they face the Little Rock Trojans Saturday at 2 p.m. The Owls are 3-0 vs. Little Rock in the Tina Langley era, recording wins in each of the last three seasons. Rice defeated the Trojans 66-40 last season in Houston, holding Little Rock to 35 percent shooting and 0-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Learning the Opponent
Little Rock is projected to finish third in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division this season. Little Rock posted a 9-9 record in Sun Belt play last season, going 4-4 in the regular season against West Division opponents. Senior forward Teal Battle was recognized by the Sun Belt Conference by being named to the league's Preseason All-Conference Second Team. Battle led the team last season with 176 rebounds – averaging 5.7 per game – and was second on the team with 422 points and an average of 13.6 points per game.

Last Time Out
The Rice Owls women's basketball team used a big second half to pull away from the Houston Baptist Huskies in an 83-54 season-opening victory Wednesday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. Four Owls scored in double-figures, led by senior center Nancy Mulkey, who recorded a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Rice outscored the Huskies 53-28 in the second half, limiting HBU to just 27 percent shooting from the field.

Bench Contributions
Five different Owls combined to score 34 points off the pine in the season opener versus the Huskies. Junior center Arianna McCurry scored a career-high 12 points in just 12 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting while junior guard Haylee Swayze contributed 11 points, making three trifectas. In addition, sophomore guard Destiny Jackson filled the box score with 5 points, 6 rebounds, a career-high 8 assists and 2 blocks.

Golden Era for Owls
Over the last 130 games, the Owls have gone a combined 95-35 (.730) and are coming off a second straight Conference USA Championship season. Under Langley the Owls have reached the 20-win plateau in four consecutive seasons (22, 23, 28, 21), the greatest four-year stretch in program history. The Owls have played in the postseason in three of the last four seasons, which includes the NCAA Tournament (2019), WNIT (2018), and WBI (champions in 2017). Rice was also set to be the automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2020 before the postseason was canceled.

Mulkey Collects Preseason Awards
Rice senior center Nancy Mulkey was recognized this preseason for three major awards, starting with the Conference USA Co-Preseason Player of the Year. In addition, Mulkey was also named to a pair of national watch lists; the Lisa Leslie Award honoring the nation's top-20 centers and the Naismith Trophy recognizing the top-50 players in the country. The two-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Year ranked fifth in the NCAA last season in blocks per game (3.21) and earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team for a second straight season after averaging 12.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks during league play.

Look Who's Back
The Owls return 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, including four starters in seniors Nancy Mulkey and Sydne Wiggins, junior Jasmine Smith, and sophomore Lauren Schwartz. Despite losing the reigning C-USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike to graduation, the Owls' four returning starters make up 79 percent of last year's minutes and 65 percent of the team's scoring.

-RiceOwls.com-

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