Thursday, November 14
Houston, Texas
7 p.m.
Rice University
3-1,0-0AAC
60
vs
48
Houston
0-3,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Houston
10
13
15
10
48
Rice
19
17
13
11
60
Rice’s Defense Stifles Houston in Win
11/14/2024 10:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – The Rice women's basketball team used stellar defense to limit the Houston Cougars in a 60-48 win Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls move to 3-1 to open the season, winning three consecutive games.
Dominique Ennis led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Sussy Ngulefac added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, three rebounds, and two blocks. Hailey Adams rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-63 (39.7%) from the floor and 5-of-22 (22.7%) from three-point range. The Owls held Houston to just 18-of-53 (34%) shooting from the floor and 1-of-11 (9.1%) from three.
Postgame Reaction – Shelley Pennington and Friends Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"That was a good win. A good win for this team, a good win for this university and a good win for this city. It's an incredible game for us to be playing, we should be playing it every single year as we have done the last couple of years. It's good for women's basketball. It was good for us tonight. We built upon what we did last game. [In] the last game we won all but one media and did exactly the same thing again tonight. I thought we came out with the aggressiveness and intensity and really set the tone for what the game was going to look like. Everything wasn't perfect, but we had energy, we had toughness and we had togetherness, and I'm really proud of our team."
For more of the post-game press conference, click here.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Hailey Adams got the offense going early as the two sides traded buckets to open the game. With the Owls up one, Dominique Ennis drilled a three-pointer to give Rice an 11-7 advantage. Still leading by two, Adams, Sussy Ngulefac and Emily Klaczek combined for a quick 6-0 run to extend the lead to eight. Rice led 19-10 at the end of the first.
Second Quarter
Following a Houston score, baskets from Aniah Alexis and Klaczek gave the Owls a double-digit lead. Up by 10, back-to-back jumpers by Victoria Flores and Alexis pushed the lead to 30-16. Maya Bokunewicz later drilled a three-pointer to give Rice a 15-point lead, as the Owls led 36-23 at halftime.
Third Quarter
The Cougars opened the third with a score before Ngulefac had the answer on the opposite end. An 8-0 by Houston cut the deficit down to five points at 38-33, but Ennis snapped the run with a three-pointer. With the Owls up seven, another Ennis three, followed by an Owens-Barnett jumper, extended the lead to 12 points. Rice led 49-38 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Adams and Ngulefac got the Owl offense going in the fourth to counter the Houston scores. Leading by nine, Ennis sank her fourth three-pointer of the game to push the lead back to double digits. Back-to-back scores by Adams and Ngulefac gave Rice a 16-point lead with just under three minutes as the Owls went on to win the game.
Quick Notes
Rice has now won two of the last three meetings against Houston.
Alexis had a career-high eight rebounds.
Ennis tied a career high with seven rebounds
Owens-Barnett tied a career high with five assists.
Houston's 48 points are the second-fewest scored by the Cougars in the series history (61 games).
UP NEXT
The Owls will conclude their five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against Sam Houston.
Dominique Ennis led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Sussy Ngulefac added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, three rebounds, and two blocks. Hailey Adams rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-63 (39.7%) from the floor and 5-of-22 (22.7%) from three-point range. The Owls held Houston to just 18-of-53 (34%) shooting from the floor and 1-of-11 (9.1%) from three.
"That was a good win. A good win for this team, a good win for this university and a good win for this city. It's an incredible game for us to be playing, we should be playing it every single year as we have done the last couple of years. It's good for women's basketball. It was good for us tonight. We built upon what we did last game. [In] the last game we won all but one media and did exactly the same thing again tonight. I thought we came out with the aggressiveness and intensity and really set the tone for what the game was going to look like. Everything wasn't perfect, but we had energy, we had toughness and we had togetherness, and I'm really proud of our team."
For more of the post-game press conference, click here.
First Quarter
Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Hailey Adams got the offense going early as the two sides traded buckets to open the game. With the Owls up one, Dominique Ennis drilled a three-pointer to give Rice an 11-7 advantage. Still leading by two, Adams, Sussy Ngulefac and Emily Klaczek combined for a quick 6-0 run to extend the lead to eight. Rice led 19-10 at the end of the first.
Second Quarter
Following a Houston score, baskets from Aniah Alexis and Klaczek gave the Owls a double-digit lead. Up by 10, back-to-back jumpers by Victoria Flores and Alexis pushed the lead to 30-16. Maya Bokunewicz later drilled a three-pointer to give Rice a 15-point lead, as the Owls led 36-23 at halftime.
Third Quarter
The Cougars opened the third with a score before Ngulefac had the answer on the opposite end. An 8-0 by Houston cut the deficit down to five points at 38-33, but Ennis snapped the run with a three-pointer. With the Owls up seven, another Ennis three, followed by an Owens-Barnett jumper, extended the lead to 12 points. Rice led 49-38 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Adams and Ngulefac got the Owl offense going in the fourth to counter the Houston scores. Leading by nine, Ennis sank her fourth three-pointer of the game to push the lead back to double digits. Back-to-back scores by Adams and Ngulefac gave Rice a 16-point lead with just under three minutes as the Owls went on to win the game.
Rice has now won two of the last three meetings against Houston.
Alexis had a career-high eight rebounds.
Ennis tied a career high with seven rebounds
Owens-Barnett tied a career high with five assists.
Houston's 48 points are the second-fewest scored by the Cougars in the series history (61 games).
The Owls will conclude their five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against Sam Houston.
Team Stats
UH
Rice
FG%
.340
.397
3FG%
.091
.227
FT%
.611
.625
RB
38
41
TO
14
11
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
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