Saturday, December 9
Houston, TX
2 p.m.
Rice University
5-4,0-0AAC
72
vs
80
#23 Gonzaga
10-2,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Gonzaga
28
19
17
16
80
Rice
17
16
22
17
72
Owls Fall Short to #23 Gonzaga
12/9/2023 6:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – The Rice women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 80-72 loss to No. 23 Gonzaga Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls fall to 5-4 with two more games remaining in the non-conference schedule.
Destiny Jackson led the Owls with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds and three assists, while Dominique Ennis added another 14 points with two rebounds and a steal. Malia Fisher netted 13 points with two rebounds, while Shelby Hayes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, six rebounds and an assist.
As a team, Rice shot 29-of-64 (45.3%) from the floor and 3-of-18 (16.7%) from three-point range. The Owls forced 15 Gonzaga turnovers, scoring 11 points off those turnovers. Rice scored 48 bench points compared to 36 from the Bulldogs.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"That's a great basketball team. They're going to win a lot of games, probably stay in the top 25 and make a great NCAA Tournament run. We hung with them, and we won the last two quarters. I'm really proud of our fight, I'm really proud of them not giving up and rolling over. Unfortunately, the first five minutes of the first quarter hurt us, and the last 45 seconds of the first quarter hurt us. I feel like after that, we finally found our footing, we finally gained a little bit of confidence, and started playing our basketball. We did some really good things. I'm not into moral victories, but I am proud of this team and proud of where we are. I know these adversities and these challenges we are facing now will help us in the long run with the American Conference and what we are trying to accomplish in the American."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Gonzaga opened the game on a 15-0 run before Hayes got the Owls on the board with a layup. After trading scores, Jackson kickstarted a 10-1 run to bring Rice within seven at 21-14. Trailing by nine, Emily Klaczek drilled Rice's first three-pointer, but a 5-0 Gonzaga run to finish the quarter gave the Bulldogs a 28-17 lead.
Second Quarter
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 18 before Jackson's layup opened the second-quarter scoring for the Owls. Trailing by 21, Maya Bokunewicz and Jazzy Owens-Barnett scored back-to-back layups, but a Gonzaga three extended the lead back to 20 points. Fisher ignited a quick 6-0 run, capped off by an Ennis three-pointer to get Rice within 14. Following a Bulldog score, Owens-Barnett's layup at the buzzer cut the deficit to 47-33 at the half.
Third Quarter
Following a Gonzaga score to open the third, Ennis and Jackson connected on back-to-back layups to make it a 49-37 deficit. After trading scores for the next several minutes, Ennis drilled a three-pointer to bring Rice within single digits. Bokunewicz later hit a jumper to cut the deficit to seven, but the Zags added another to score to make it 64-55 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
A quick run pushed the Gonzaga lead to 13 points before Ennis' layup snapped the run. Down by 18, Jackson ignited an 8-0 run with scores from Hayes, Ennis and Fisher to bring Rice within 10. Jackson later got the Owls within nine, but the Owls comeback ran out of time as Gonzaga went on to win 80-72.
TEAM NOTES
UP NEXT
Rice will be back in action next Saturday against Prairie View A&M at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Destiny Jackson led the Owls with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds and three assists, while Dominique Ennis added another 14 points with two rebounds and a steal. Malia Fisher netted 13 points with two rebounds, while Shelby Hayes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, six rebounds and an assist.
As a team, Rice shot 29-of-64 (45.3%) from the floor and 3-of-18 (16.7%) from three-point range. The Owls forced 15 Gonzaga turnovers, scoring 11 points off those turnovers. Rice scored 48 bench points compared to 36 from the Bulldogs.
"That's a great basketball team. They're going to win a lot of games, probably stay in the top 25 and make a great NCAA Tournament run. We hung with them, and we won the last two quarters. I'm really proud of our fight, I'm really proud of them not giving up and rolling over. Unfortunately, the first five minutes of the first quarter hurt us, and the last 45 seconds of the first quarter hurt us. I feel like after that, we finally found our footing, we finally gained a little bit of confidence, and started playing our basketball. We did some really good things. I'm not into moral victories, but I am proud of this team and proud of where we are. I know these adversities and these challenges we are facing now will help us in the long run with the American Conference and what we are trying to accomplish in the American."
First Quarter
Gonzaga opened the game on a 15-0 run before Hayes got the Owls on the board with a layup. After trading scores, Jackson kickstarted a 10-1 run to bring Rice within seven at 21-14. Trailing by nine, Emily Klaczek drilled Rice's first three-pointer, but a 5-0 Gonzaga run to finish the quarter gave the Bulldogs a 28-17 lead.
Second Quarter
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 18 before Jackson's layup opened the second-quarter scoring for the Owls. Trailing by 21, Maya Bokunewicz and Jazzy Owens-Barnett scored back-to-back layups, but a Gonzaga three extended the lead back to 20 points. Fisher ignited a quick 6-0 run, capped off by an Ennis three-pointer to get Rice within 14. Following a Bulldog score, Owens-Barnett's layup at the buzzer cut the deficit to 47-33 at the half.
Third Quarter
Following a Gonzaga score to open the third, Ennis and Jackson connected on back-to-back layups to make it a 49-37 deficit. After trading scores for the next several minutes, Ennis drilled a three-pointer to bring Rice within single digits. Bokunewicz later hit a jumper to cut the deficit to seven, but the Zags added another to score to make it 64-55 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
A quick run pushed the Gonzaga lead to 13 points before Ennis' layup snapped the run. Down by 18, Jackson ignited an 8-0 run with scores from Hayes, Ennis and Fisher to bring Rice within 10. Jackson later got the Owls within nine, but the Owls comeback ran out of time as Gonzaga went on to win 80-72.
- This was the first-ever meeting between Rice and Gonzaga.
Rice will be back in action next Saturday against Prairie View A&M at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Team Stats
Gonz
Rice
FG%
.492
.453
3FG%
.385
.167
FT%
.769
.786
RB
37
32
TO
15
12
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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