Thursday, January 19
Houston, TX
7:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-134,44 CUSA
81
vs
74
North Texas
-612,35 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
North Texas
11
14
23
26
74
Rice
21
17
13
30
81
Rice's Hot Shooting Fends Off UNT
1/19/2023 9:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – The Rice women's basketball team fended off North Texas Thursday night 81-74 at Tudor Fieldhouse behind a lights-out shooting display from beyond the arc (8-of-19, 42.1%). The win marks the third-straight victory for Rice (13-4 overall) and evens the team's C-USA record at 4-4.
Ashlee Austin led the way for Rice with 18 points, six rebounds, and a steal and block, while Malia Fisher added 14 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. India Bellamy and Destiny Jackson both recorded 12 points, with Jackson adding six assists and six rebounds. Dominique Ennis rounded out the double-digit scorers for Rice with 11 points, including a 3-of-3 mark from three-point range.
As a team, Rice shot 28-of-58 (48.3%) in the game, including a 10-of-15 (66.7) shooting display in the fourth quarter. The Owls went 17-of-20 (85%) from the free throw line.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"A win is a win and we took care of home [court]. I thought we got a little sloppy at times and there are some things we can clean up, but I am really, really proud of our effort to close it out and get another win at home. There were some things we challenged them in at halftime and we did a much better job at [not] giving up o-boards and we didn't turn the ball over as much. Those are some things that we wanted to do and I thought that we did. We can definitely clean up some things defensively, but we had five in double figures again and as I talk about all the time, a balanced-attack makes us really hard to guard."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Austin opened with the first five points of the game before UNT cut the early deficit to one at 5-4. After trading baskets, back-to-back threes by Katelyn Crosthwait and Austin put the Owls up seven. The Mean Green countered with their own three, but Austin fired right back with another triple to put Rice up 17-9. The Owls led at the end of the first 21-11.
Second Quarter
UNT opened the second with back-to-back layups before Bellamy got Rice back on the board. Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Trinity Gooden put the Owls up 12 at 27-15 with six minutes left. After trading baskets, a quick 6-0 run for the Mean Green cut the deficit in half. Jackson and Austin extend Rice's lead back to double digits as Rice led 38-25 at the half.
Third Quarter
After a quick run cut the UNT deficit to seven, Fisher and Jackson quickly put Rice back up by 12. After a Gooden free throw put Rice up 46-36 with four minutes in the quarter, North Texas embarked on a 10-0 run to tie the game. Ennis gave the lead right back to Rice with a three, with Bellamy adding another basket to give Rice a five-point lead. A basket in the closing seconds by UNT made the Rice lead 51-48 at the end of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Mean Green tied the game to open the fourth, but back-to-back Fisher steals and baskets gave Rice a four-point advantage. Ennis extended the lead to seven with a three, but UNT battled all the way to down one at 64-63 with five minutes left. Austin pushed the lead to 68-63 with back-to-back baskets. Ennis and Bellamy followed by answering each UNT score with baskets of their own, with the Owls closing the game with a 6-of-6 display from the free throw line to defeat UNT 81-74.
UP NEXT
Rice will have a week off before traveling to Charlotte next Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
Ashlee Austin led the way for Rice with 18 points, six rebounds, and a steal and block, while Malia Fisher added 14 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. India Bellamy and Destiny Jackson both recorded 12 points, with Jackson adding six assists and six rebounds. Dominique Ennis rounded out the double-digit scorers for Rice with 11 points, including a 3-of-3 mark from three-point range.
As a team, Rice shot 28-of-58 (48.3%) in the game, including a 10-of-15 (66.7) shooting display in the fourth quarter. The Owls went 17-of-20 (85%) from the free throw line.
"A win is a win and we took care of home [court]. I thought we got a little sloppy at times and there are some things we can clean up, but I am really, really proud of our effort to close it out and get another win at home. There were some things we challenged them in at halftime and we did a much better job at [not] giving up o-boards and we didn't turn the ball over as much. Those are some things that we wanted to do and I thought that we did. We can definitely clean up some things defensively, but we had five in double figures again and as I talk about all the time, a balanced-attack makes us really hard to guard."
First Quarter
Austin opened with the first five points of the game before UNT cut the early deficit to one at 5-4. After trading baskets, back-to-back threes by Katelyn Crosthwait and Austin put the Owls up seven. The Mean Green countered with their own three, but Austin fired right back with another triple to put Rice up 17-9. The Owls led at the end of the first 21-11.
Second Quarter
UNT opened the second with back-to-back layups before Bellamy got Rice back on the board. Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Trinity Gooden put the Owls up 12 at 27-15 with six minutes left. After trading baskets, a quick 6-0 run for the Mean Green cut the deficit in half. Jackson and Austin extend Rice's lead back to double digits as Rice led 38-25 at the half.
Third Quarter
After a quick run cut the UNT deficit to seven, Fisher and Jackson quickly put Rice back up by 12. After a Gooden free throw put Rice up 46-36 with four minutes in the quarter, North Texas embarked on a 10-0 run to tie the game. Ennis gave the lead right back to Rice with a three, with Bellamy adding another basket to give Rice a five-point lead. A basket in the closing seconds by UNT made the Rice lead 51-48 at the end of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Mean Green tied the game to open the fourth, but back-to-back Fisher steals and baskets gave Rice a four-point advantage. Ennis extended the lead to seven with a three, but UNT battled all the way to down one at 64-63 with five minutes left. Austin pushed the lead to 68-63 with back-to-back baskets. Ennis and Bellamy followed by answering each UNT score with baskets of their own, with the Owls closing the game with a 6-of-6 display from the free throw line to defeat UNT 81-74.
Rice will have a week off before traveling to Charlotte next Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
UNT
Rice
FG%
.518
.483
3FG%
.316
.421
FT%
.588
.850
RB
31
30
TO
16
13
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB Press Conference - UAB 2-25-25
Wednesday, February 26
WBB Press Conference - Florida Atlantic 2-18-25
Wednesday, February 19
WBB Press Conference - Tulsa 1-29-25
Thursday, January 30
WBB Press Conference - East Carolina 1-18-25
Saturday, January 18