Thursday, November 10
Houston, TX
7:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-10,00 CUSA
89
vs
77
Stephen F. Austin
1-1,0-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
SFA
22
13
23
19
77
Rice
25
16
19
29
89
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Fourth Quarter Surge Puts Away SFA
11/10/2022 10:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Fisher's dominant double-double keys Owls season-opening win
HOUSTON – Malia Fisher grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds and scored 18 points to lead Rice to an 89-77 win over Stephen F. Austin in the Owls' season opener at Tudor Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
Fisher became the sixth player in school history with a game of at least 20 rebounds and the first since Jessica Kuster had 21 vs. Southern on November 21, 2013 and missed matching her career-high in points by just two. It was her ninth career double-double in 28 career games.
She was one of four Owls to score in double figures. Destiny Jackson scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a perfect 9-9 performance from the free throw line as Rice broke open a two-point game by outscoring the defending WAC champions 29-19 in the final stanza. Maya Bokunewicz added 14 while freshman Dominique Ennis hit four three-pointers in five attempts to finish with 12 points in just 10:24 of playing time in her first collegiate game.
The Owls opened and close the game with torrid shooting, hitting 56.3% in the first quarter and 64.3 in the fourth, and their improved depth translated into a 34-19 advantage in bench scoring.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"I'm so proud of this team. That's a really good basketball team that we just played and they're going to win a lot of basketball games. But I think it just goes to show how talented we are, how deep we are and how good I think we can be this season again. I'm just so proud of our team for the toughness that they had tonight. We withstood some of their runs, and we punched right back and I'm just, I'm just so proud of this team, proud of this girl sitting beside me (Fisher), unbelievable effort tonight, 18 points and 20 rebounds…I'll take that every single night."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Rice jumped out early 8-0 thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Ashlee Austin and Maya Bokunewicz but the Ladyjacks responded to take a 16-15 lead late in the quarter that would prove to be their final one of the night. Ennis' second three-pointer of the period gave Rice a 20-16 advantage and Malia Fisher's field goal at the buzzer gave Rice a 25-22 lead. SFA shot 61.5% in the quarter, with 14 of their 22 points coming in the paint while Rice built its lead by shooting 4/8 from outside the three-point line.
Second Quarter
Much as they did in the first, Rice surged at the start of the quarter and built a nine-point lead (38-27) with 3:56 left. The Ladyjacks cut the lead to five on a three-pointer by Brionna Scott, but Ennis responded with her third three-pointer of the half to extend the margin to eight before a pair of late SFA free throws cut the lead to 41-35 at the half. Fisher went to the locker room for the break with her ninth career double-double, having scored 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Third Quarter
Rice came out strong and built a 10-point lead (54-44) with 4:48 left, but then found points hard to come by as SFA outscored the Owls 14-6 the rest of the period. Ennis snapped a scoring drought of three minutes with her fourth trey at 1:37 after SFA cut the lead. SFA closed the gap to one before Trinity Gooden converted one of two free throws at the end of the quarter to keep Rice ahead 60-58. SFA shot 53.3 in the quarter while holding Rice to 25.3 (6-17).
Fourth Quarter
ACU carried over its momentum into the start of the fourth, tying the game twice before Rice moved head for good, 64-62, on a pair of free throws by Jackson with 8:15 remaining. After SFA cut the lead to two (66-64) at the 7:30 mark, Rice ripped off `11 straight points thanks to layups by Shelby Hayes and Fisher, a pair of jumpers by Bokunewicz, and a three-pointer by Trinity Gooden while holding ACU scoreless for nearly four minutes and without a field goal for over five minutes and never allowed the Ladyjacks closer that 11 points over the remainder of the game.
UP NEXT
The Owls return to the hardwood on Sunday when they host Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Wildcats are 1-0 after opening their season with an 89-37 win over Howard Payne on Wednesday. That game will be streamed on CUSAtv.
Fisher became the sixth player in school history with a game of at least 20 rebounds and the first since Jessica Kuster had 21 vs. Southern on November 21, 2013 and missed matching her career-high in points by just two. It was her ninth career double-double in 28 career games.
She was one of four Owls to score in double figures. Destiny Jackson scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a perfect 9-9 performance from the free throw line as Rice broke open a two-point game by outscoring the defending WAC champions 29-19 in the final stanza. Maya Bokunewicz added 14 while freshman Dominique Ennis hit four three-pointers in five attempts to finish with 12 points in just 10:24 of playing time in her first collegiate game.
The Owls opened and close the game with torrid shooting, hitting 56.3% in the first quarter and 64.3 in the fourth, and their improved depth translated into a 34-19 advantage in bench scoring.
"I'm so proud of this team. That's a really good basketball team that we just played and they're going to win a lot of basketball games. But I think it just goes to show how talented we are, how deep we are and how good I think we can be this season again. I'm just so proud of our team for the toughness that they had tonight. We withstood some of their runs, and we punched right back and I'm just, I'm just so proud of this team, proud of this girl sitting beside me (Fisher), unbelievable effort tonight, 18 points and 20 rebounds…I'll take that every single night."
First Quarter
Rice jumped out early 8-0 thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Ashlee Austin and Maya Bokunewicz but the Ladyjacks responded to take a 16-15 lead late in the quarter that would prove to be their final one of the night. Ennis' second three-pointer of the period gave Rice a 20-16 advantage and Malia Fisher's field goal at the buzzer gave Rice a 25-22 lead. SFA shot 61.5% in the quarter, with 14 of their 22 points coming in the paint while Rice built its lead by shooting 4/8 from outside the three-point line.
Second Quarter
Much as they did in the first, Rice surged at the start of the quarter and built a nine-point lead (38-27) with 3:56 left. The Ladyjacks cut the lead to five on a three-pointer by Brionna Scott, but Ennis responded with her third three-pointer of the half to extend the margin to eight before a pair of late SFA free throws cut the lead to 41-35 at the half. Fisher went to the locker room for the break with her ninth career double-double, having scored 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Third Quarter
Rice came out strong and built a 10-point lead (54-44) with 4:48 left, but then found points hard to come by as SFA outscored the Owls 14-6 the rest of the period. Ennis snapped a scoring drought of three minutes with her fourth trey at 1:37 after SFA cut the lead. SFA closed the gap to one before Trinity Gooden converted one of two free throws at the end of the quarter to keep Rice ahead 60-58. SFA shot 53.3 in the quarter while holding Rice to 25.3 (6-17).
Fourth Quarter
ACU carried over its momentum into the start of the fourth, tying the game twice before Rice moved head for good, 64-62, on a pair of free throws by Jackson with 8:15 remaining. After SFA cut the lead to two (66-64) at the 7:30 mark, Rice ripped off `11 straight points thanks to layups by Shelby Hayes and Fisher, a pair of jumpers by Bokunewicz, and a three-pointer by Trinity Gooden while holding ACU scoreless for nearly four minutes and without a field goal for over five minutes and never allowed the Ladyjacks closer that 11 points over the remainder of the game.
The Owls return to the hardwood on Sunday when they host Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Wildcats are 1-0 after opening their season with an 89-37 win over Howard Payne on Wednesday. That game will be streamed on CUSAtv.
Team Stats
SFA
Rice
FG%
.491
.475
3FG%
.200
.381
FT%
.808
.714
RB
30
37
TO
16
13
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
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