Saturday, December 10
Houston, TX
2:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-80,00 CUSA
91
vs
88
Houston
2-8,0-0AAC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
OT 2
F
Houston
19
20
14
16
9
10
88
Rice
17
12
19
21
9
13
91
Photo by: ©Juan DeLeon Creative
Rice Rallies Past Houston In Double OT Behind Jackson’s Career Day
12/10/2022 7:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Houston, TX – Down 12 in the third quarter, the Rice women's basketball team rallied past the University of Houston 91-88 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. In front of a crowd of over 1500 fans, Rice kept its perfect start to the season in tact at 8-0, one of only 12 teams in the nation still undefeated.
The Owls were led by a career performance from Destiny Jackson, with a career-high 33 points in the game, nearly doubling her pervious career high of 18 points. Jackson shot 12-of-14 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line while adding seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Ashlee Austin continued to shine, dropping 21 points while adding nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Austin has now reached double-digit points in seven-straight games. India Bellamy finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals while Katelyn Crosthwait finished with eight points and three rebounds. Malia Fisher ended the game with seven points and seven rebounds.
As a group, Rice shot a season-high 32-of-58 (55.2%) from the floor, marking back-to-back games of shooting 50% or higher.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"They could have hung their heads a million times today. There was a lot of things that didn't go our way, but we proved how mentally tough we are and how physically tough we are. We stayed together, we stayed the course, we trusted in each other, we trusted in what we were doing and we just found a way to keep chipping away. In the third, we got into it and cut the lead in half by the end of the third. In the fourth and overtimes, I'm so proud [because] they could have hung their heads and said 'I'm tired,' but they didn't. They stayed together and we found a way to get a great, great win and take care of homecourt."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Jackson opened the scoring for Rice with a layup as the two sides traded baskets to open the game. Houston jumped to a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout, with Rice cutting the lead down to two with under four minutes left. Crosthwait gave Rice its first lead of the game at 16-15 with under two minutes left in the quarter, but the Cougars ended on a 4-1 run to lead 19-17.
Second Quarter
The Owls answered each Cougar basket in the early stages of quarter two, with Bellamy cutting the lead down to one at 26-25 before a 9-0 run gave Houston a 35-25 lead with three minutes until halftime. Austin got the deficit to eight with 34 seconds left, but the Cougars got a last-second layup to go up 39-29 at the break.
Third Quarter
After a Kamryn Jones layup put Houston up 43-31 early in the third, Jackson ignited a 12-4 run, scoring eight points in the run, to bring Rice within three at 46-43 with just over four minutes left in the quarter. After trading baskets, Trinity Gooden got the Owls within two at 50-48, but a buzzer-beating three by Britney Onyeje put Houston up 53-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Rice opened the fourth with an 8-2 run, capped off by Crosthwait's jumper to give the Owls a 56-55 lead with over five minutes left. Both sides trades baskets and leads until Austin's basket and free throw gave Rice a one-point lead at 63-62 with 90 seconds left. Fisher stole the inbound pass following the free throw and netted a layup to put Rice up three. A quick three-pointer by Houston tied the game at 65-65 before Austin put Rice back on top with a minute left. Gooden connected on two free throws with 36 seconds left to put Rice up 69-65, but Houston was able to tie the game at the end of regulation with a 4-0 run to close out the quarter.
OT
After both sides traded free throws and baskets for the opening half of overtime, Houston went up four at 78-74 with back-to-back layups with 1:16 left in the game. Jackson quickly cut the deficit in half with 56 seconds left. After a missed shot by Houston, Austin drilled two free throws with four seconds left to tie the game at 78-78. The Cougars had a chance to win at the buzzer, but missed a layup that rolled out as time expired.
2OT
Bellamy opened the second overtime with a layup plus a free throw for a three-point play, putting Rice up 81-78. After Houston cut the lead to one, Austin netted a three-pointer to give the Owls an 84-80 lead before back-to-back layups by Jackson put Rice up eight at 88-80 with two minutes left in the game. Houston continued to battle, getting all the back to within one at 89-88 with seven seconds left, but Jackson was left wide open on the following inbounds pass, with Jackson capping off the win with a layup with three seconds left.
UP NEXT
Rice will be back in action against Sam Houston on Friday, December 15 at Tudor Fieldhouse. That game will tip-off at 11:15 a.m.
The Owls were led by a career performance from Destiny Jackson, with a career-high 33 points in the game, nearly doubling her pervious career high of 18 points. Jackson shot 12-of-14 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line while adding seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Ashlee Austin continued to shine, dropping 21 points while adding nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Austin has now reached double-digit points in seven-straight games. India Bellamy finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals while Katelyn Crosthwait finished with eight points and three rebounds. Malia Fisher ended the game with seven points and seven rebounds.
As a group, Rice shot a season-high 32-of-58 (55.2%) from the floor, marking back-to-back games of shooting 50% or higher.
"They could have hung their heads a million times today. There was a lot of things that didn't go our way, but we proved how mentally tough we are and how physically tough we are. We stayed together, we stayed the course, we trusted in each other, we trusted in what we were doing and we just found a way to keep chipping away. In the third, we got into it and cut the lead in half by the end of the third. In the fourth and overtimes, I'm so proud [because] they could have hung their heads and said 'I'm tired,' but they didn't. They stayed together and we found a way to get a great, great win and take care of homecourt."
First Quarter
Jackson opened the scoring for Rice with a layup as the two sides traded baskets to open the game. Houston jumped to a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout, with Rice cutting the lead down to two with under four minutes left. Crosthwait gave Rice its first lead of the game at 16-15 with under two minutes left in the quarter, but the Cougars ended on a 4-1 run to lead 19-17.
Second Quarter
The Owls answered each Cougar basket in the early stages of quarter two, with Bellamy cutting the lead down to one at 26-25 before a 9-0 run gave Houston a 35-25 lead with three minutes until halftime. Austin got the deficit to eight with 34 seconds left, but the Cougars got a last-second layup to go up 39-29 at the break.
Third Quarter
After a Kamryn Jones layup put Houston up 43-31 early in the third, Jackson ignited a 12-4 run, scoring eight points in the run, to bring Rice within three at 46-43 with just over four minutes left in the quarter. After trading baskets, Trinity Gooden got the Owls within two at 50-48, but a buzzer-beating three by Britney Onyeje put Houston up 53-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Rice opened the fourth with an 8-2 run, capped off by Crosthwait's jumper to give the Owls a 56-55 lead with over five minutes left. Both sides trades baskets and leads until Austin's basket and free throw gave Rice a one-point lead at 63-62 with 90 seconds left. Fisher stole the inbound pass following the free throw and netted a layup to put Rice up three. A quick three-pointer by Houston tied the game at 65-65 before Austin put Rice back on top with a minute left. Gooden connected on two free throws with 36 seconds left to put Rice up 69-65, but Houston was able to tie the game at the end of regulation with a 4-0 run to close out the quarter.
OT
After both sides traded free throws and baskets for the opening half of overtime, Houston went up four at 78-74 with back-to-back layups with 1:16 left in the game. Jackson quickly cut the deficit in half with 56 seconds left. After a missed shot by Houston, Austin drilled two free throws with four seconds left to tie the game at 78-78. The Cougars had a chance to win at the buzzer, but missed a layup that rolled out as time expired.
2OT
Bellamy opened the second overtime with a layup plus a free throw for a three-point play, putting Rice up 81-78. After Houston cut the lead to one, Austin netted a three-pointer to give the Owls an 84-80 lead before back-to-back layups by Jackson put Rice up eight at 88-80 with two minutes left in the game. Houston continued to battle, getting all the back to within one at 89-88 with seven seconds left, but Jackson was left wide open on the following inbounds pass, with Jackson capping off the win with a layup with three seconds left.
Rice will be back in action against Sam Houston on Friday, December 15 at Tudor Fieldhouse. That game will tip-off at 11:15 a.m.
Team Stats
UH
Rice
FG%
.403
.552
3FG%
.313
.200
FT%
.806
.706
RB
34
42
TO
17
25
STL
15
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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