Saturday, February 8
Houston, TX
2:00 pm CT
Rice University
-166,110 CUSA
77
vs
60
Middle Tennessee
-168,84 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
8
18
18
16
60
Rice
15
23
21
18
77
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Lucky 11! Owls Dominate MT for 11th Straight Win
2/8/2020 5:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Owls defeat 30th consecutive C-USA foe, 77-60
HOUSTON – Rice senior guard Erica Ogwumike (25 points) and junior center Nancy Mulkey (20 points) helped lead the Owls women's basketball team to their 11th consecutive win with a 77-60 victory over the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Owls (16-6, 11-0) led from start to finish, capturing their 30th straight win over a Conference USA opponent. Rice held an opponent to below the 70-point threshold for a 40th straight game and limited Middle Tennessee (16-8, 8-4) to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field.
Rice dominated the Lady Raiders down low, outscoring MT in points in the paint (42-22) and winning the battle of the boards (48-31).
Fresh off eclipsing 1,000 career rebounds on Thursday, Ogwumike secured her ninth double-double of the year with a season-high 17 rebounds on Saturday, six of which came on the offensive glass. Mulkey posted 20 or more points for the fourth time this season and the third occasion in the last five games by making 8-of-11 from the field (4-of-6 at the free throw line) to go along with six rebounds and four blocks.
Sophomore point guard Jasmine Smith dished out a career-high eight assists in the win to go along with seven points and eight rebounds while Sydne Wiggins and Lauren Schwartz scored seven points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Rice outscored MT 8-3 over the final six minutes of the quarter to take a 15-8 advantage after one period. Ogwumike scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds in the opening 10 minutes alone while Mulkey made a pair of field goals. Rice held the Lady Raiders to 2-of-15 shooting (13.3%) in the quarter and scored 12 of their 15 points in the paint.
Second Quarter
The Owls had their highest scoring quarter of the game, totaling 23 points on 53 percent shooting and knocking down a trio of three-pointers. Rice had a balanced attack with six different players scoring, led by six more points from Ogwumike. Rice recorded an assist on seven of their eight made field goals, three of which came from freshman Destiny Jackson.
Third Quarter
Rice added on to their 38-26 halftime lead by outscoring the Lady Raiders 21-18 with Mulkey scoring eight points. MT had closed their deficit down to 48-41 with 2:52 remaining but the Owls came right back with an 11-3 run to push the lead back to 59-44 entering the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Ogwumike added six points and five rebounds in the game's final 10 minutes and the Owls won the quarter 18-16 by making 8-of-9 free throw attempts.
Up Next
The Owls hit the road for a pair of C-USA contests, starting with a showdown at Old Dominion (20-3, 10-1) on Thursday, Feb. 13 (5:30 p.m. CT) on ESPN3. Rice will then closeout the weekend at Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 15 (3 p.m. CT) on ESPN+.
The Owls (16-6, 11-0) led from start to finish, capturing their 30th straight win over a Conference USA opponent. Rice held an opponent to below the 70-point threshold for a 40th straight game and limited Middle Tennessee (16-8, 8-4) to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field.
Rice dominated the Lady Raiders down low, outscoring MT in points in the paint (42-22) and winning the battle of the boards (48-31).
Fresh off eclipsing 1,000 career rebounds on Thursday, Ogwumike secured her ninth double-double of the year with a season-high 17 rebounds on Saturday, six of which came on the offensive glass. Mulkey posted 20 or more points for the fourth time this season and the third occasion in the last five games by making 8-of-11 from the field (4-of-6 at the free throw line) to go along with six rebounds and four blocks.
Sophomore point guard Jasmine Smith dished out a career-high eight assists in the win to go along with seven points and eight rebounds while Sydne Wiggins and Lauren Schwartz scored seven points apiece.
First Quarter
Rice outscored MT 8-3 over the final six minutes of the quarter to take a 15-8 advantage after one period. Ogwumike scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds in the opening 10 minutes alone while Mulkey made a pair of field goals. Rice held the Lady Raiders to 2-of-15 shooting (13.3%) in the quarter and scored 12 of their 15 points in the paint.
Second Quarter
The Owls had their highest scoring quarter of the game, totaling 23 points on 53 percent shooting and knocking down a trio of three-pointers. Rice had a balanced attack with six different players scoring, led by six more points from Ogwumike. Rice recorded an assist on seven of their eight made field goals, three of which came from freshman Destiny Jackson.
Third Quarter
Rice added on to their 38-26 halftime lead by outscoring the Lady Raiders 21-18 with Mulkey scoring eight points. MT had closed their deficit down to 48-41 with 2:52 remaining but the Owls came right back with an 11-3 run to push the lead back to 59-44 entering the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Ogwumike added six points and five rebounds in the game's final 10 minutes and the Owls won the quarter 18-16 by making 8-of-9 free throw attempts.
The Owls hit the road for a pair of C-USA contests, starting with a showdown at Old Dominion (20-3, 10-1) on Thursday, Feb. 13 (5:30 p.m. CT) on ESPN3. Rice will then closeout the weekend at Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 15 (3 p.m. CT) on ESPN+.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
MTSU
RICE
FG%
.338
.473
3FG%
.321
.357
FT%
.412
.833
RB
31
48
TO
9
16
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09