Sunday, November 19
Houston, TX
2 p.m.
Rice University
3-2,0-0AAC
73
vs
62
Saint Mary's
2-2,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
20
15
9
18
62
Rice
11
24
19
19
73
Bokunewicz’s Career Day Powers Rice Past Saint Mary’s
11/19/2023 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – The Rice women's basketball team used a second-half offensive explosion to defeat Saint Mary's 73-62 Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls snap their two-game skid to move to 3-2 on the season.
Maya Bokunewicz tied a career-high with 26 points on a 9-of-15 shooting, including a blistering 7-of-10 display from three-point range, tying the school record for threes in a game. Dominique Ennis added 13 points, four steals and two assists, while Destiny Jackson netted 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-66 (37.9%) and 12-of-30 (40.0%) from three-point range. The Owls added an 11-of-15 (73.3%) shooting display from the free throw line. Rice scored 28 points off of 20 Saint Mary's turnovers.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"Maya Buckets, that's the opening statement. Maya Buckets. It felt great to get back in the win column today. Didn't start off exactly the way we wanted to but we found our footing and found our fire and got going. Maya had a really, really hot hand and I thought the team did a tremendous job of finding her. We talked about it in the locker room, we passed up good shots to get her great shots. This team is super selfless, 16 assists today and only 13 turnovers, that's tremendous. Really, really proud of our effort to get back in the win column, it feels good."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Saint Mary's grabbed the opening basket of the game before Shelby Hayes quickly tied things up. After trading scores, Ennis drained a three to give the Owls an early 7-4 lead. Following a Jackson jumper to put Rice up three, Saint Mary's closed the quarter 14-2 run to take a 20-11 lead.
Second Quarter
Bokunewicz drilled a three to open the second, but the Gaels responded to take their largest lead on the day at 27-16. Malia Fisher and Bokunewicz combined for a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 27-23. After the Gaels ballooned the lead back to nine, Bokunewicz and Fisher kickstarted an 11-0 Rice run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Bokunewicz and Ennis, to take a 34-32 lead. Both sides went into halftime knotted at 35-35.
Third Quarter
Emily Klaczek sunk another Rice three-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run to open the third quarter, with Jackson and Fisher also contributing. A quick 5-0 Gaels run brought Saint Mary's within five at 45-40, but Bokunewicz was there for another three-pointer to extend the lead to eight. A three-pointer from Jazzy Owens-Barnett, followed by another Bokunewicz triple at the buzzer, put Rice up 54-44 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Back-to-back Bokunewicz threes to open the fourth gave the Owls a 16-point lead with eight minutes remaining. After a Gael bucket, Fatou Samb's basket pushed the lead back to 16 with 7:13 to play. A 9-0 run for Saint Mary's brought the Gaels within seven, but a perfect free throw display down the stretch, followed by a layup and three-pointer for Ennis, sealed the 73-62 Rice win.
TEAM NOTES
UP NEXT
The Owls will be back in action next Saturday when Rice travels to face Stephen F. Austin.
Maya Bokunewicz tied a career-high with 26 points on a 9-of-15 shooting, including a blistering 7-of-10 display from three-point range, tying the school record for threes in a game. Dominique Ennis added 13 points, four steals and two assists, while Destiny Jackson netted 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-66 (37.9%) and 12-of-30 (40.0%) from three-point range. The Owls added an 11-of-15 (73.3%) shooting display from the free throw line. Rice scored 28 points off of 20 Saint Mary's turnovers.
"Maya Buckets, that's the opening statement. Maya Buckets. It felt great to get back in the win column today. Didn't start off exactly the way we wanted to but we found our footing and found our fire and got going. Maya had a really, really hot hand and I thought the team did a tremendous job of finding her. We talked about it in the locker room, we passed up good shots to get her great shots. This team is super selfless, 16 assists today and only 13 turnovers, that's tremendous. Really, really proud of our effort to get back in the win column, it feels good."
First Quarter
Saint Mary's grabbed the opening basket of the game before Shelby Hayes quickly tied things up. After trading scores, Ennis drained a three to give the Owls an early 7-4 lead. Following a Jackson jumper to put Rice up three, Saint Mary's closed the quarter 14-2 run to take a 20-11 lead.
Second Quarter
Bokunewicz drilled a three to open the second, but the Gaels responded to take their largest lead on the day at 27-16. Malia Fisher and Bokunewicz combined for a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 27-23. After the Gaels ballooned the lead back to nine, Bokunewicz and Fisher kickstarted an 11-0 Rice run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Bokunewicz and Ennis, to take a 34-32 lead. Both sides went into halftime knotted at 35-35.
Third Quarter
Emily Klaczek sunk another Rice three-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run to open the third quarter, with Jackson and Fisher also contributing. A quick 5-0 Gaels run brought Saint Mary's within five at 45-40, but Bokunewicz was there for another three-pointer to extend the lead to eight. A three-pointer from Jazzy Owens-Barnett, followed by another Bokunewicz triple at the buzzer, put Rice up 54-44 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Back-to-back Bokunewicz threes to open the fourth gave the Owls a 16-point lead with eight minutes remaining. After a Gael bucket, Fatou Samb's basket pushed the lead back to 16 with 7:13 to play. A 9-0 run for Saint Mary's brought the Gaels within seven, but a perfect free throw display down the stretch, followed by a layup and three-pointer for Ennis, sealed the 73-62 Rice win.
- Bokunewicz joins Jenny Cafferty (1-27-00, Fresno State), Kara Liggett (2-17-00, San Jose State), Katelyn Crosthwait (1-16-23, UTSA) and herself (3-5-22, UAB) for the school record for the most threes in a game (seven).
- Ennis' four steals is a career high.
- The Owls move to 2-1 all-time against Saint Mary's.
- Rice's victory is win number 699 in program history.
The Owls will be back in action next Saturday when Rice travels to face Stephen F. Austin.
Team Stats
SMC
Rice
FG%
.460
.379
3FG%
.412
.400
FT%
.900
.733
RB
32
39
TO
20
13
STL
7
10
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
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