Wednesday, January 1
New Orleans, LA
2 p.m.
Rice University
at
Tulane
Photo by: ©Juan DeLeon Creative
Owls Open New Year at Tulane
12/31/2024 3:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rice Owls (7-6, 0-1 AAC) at Tulane Green Wave (8-4, 1-0 AAC)
Game 14 • Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. CT
New Orleans, Louisiana • Devlin Fieldhouse
Video Stream: Click Here
Radio Stream: Click Here
Statistics: Click Here
Home Tickets: Click Here
Social Media Updates: @RiceWBB
Kicking Off 2025 in New Orleans
The Owls will open the new year on the road for the team's first road conference game of the season at Tulane. Rice will continue the road swing next week at UTSA before returning home on Jan. 12 to face Memphis. For home games, tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster or by calling (713) 348-OWLS (6957) for further assistance.
Last Time Out
Rice couldn't overcome a slow start to the fourth quarter as South Florida rallied for a 74-64 win Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse in the team's AAC opener. Victoria Flores led the Owls with a career-high 22 points while adding three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Rice vs. Tulane
This is the 31st meeting in the series, with Tulane holding a 17-13 series lead. Tulane is Rice's ninth most common opponent. The Owls snapped a four-game skid to the Green Wave with a win last season in New Orleans.
Conference Honors (12-16)
Aniah Alexis was named AAC Freshman of the Week after recording career highs with four assists and four steals to complement her seven points, two rebounds and one block against Texas Southern. Malia Fisher was named AAC Honorable Mention after finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.
All-Conference Honors
Malia Fisher was named the 2024-25 AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team after leading the Owls to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Fisher was an AAC Third Team selection and AAC All-Tournament MVP last season.
Preseason Polls
Rice was picked tied for second in the AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. South Florida was the preseason favorite (eight first-place votes), while North Texas (three votes) and Rice (two votes) were tied for second.
Playing Mid-Major Powers
Several opponents on Rice's schedule are ranked in the Women's Mid Major Top 25, with Gonzaga earning the top spot, South Dakota State (#7) and North Carolina A&T checking in at number 17.
Champions of the AAC
Rice debuted in the AAC as champions, winning four games in four days to claim the first-ever AAC title in Rice Athletics history. Led by AAC Third Team selection and All-Tournament MVP Malia Fisher, Rice took down East Carolina 61-41 to become the lowest seed (10) to ever win the AAC Tournament.
Year Four
Shelley Pennington and Friends Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds enters her fourth year at the helm for Rice. Through her first three seasons, Edmonds has achieved the most wins (56), became the first head coach to open their Rice WBB career with back-to-back-to-back winning seasons, and was the fastest coach to win a conference title in program history.
Fisher Reaches 1,000
Malia Fisher became the 26th athlete in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, doing so in the NCAA Tournament against LSU. Currently, Fisher ranks 21st all-time in points with 1,006. To reach the top 10 in points, Fisher will have to reach 1,329 points.
Kuster to be Inducted into CUSA Hall of Fame
Rice women's basketball all-time great Jessica Kuster is set to be inducted into the Conference USA Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. She is Rice basketball's all-time point scorer (2,081), while leading Rice WBB and CUSA in career rebounds (1,376) and career double-doubles (67). Kuster is the only athlete in program history to average a double-double in all four seasons, one of two female athletes in CUSA history. Kuster is also the only player in CUSA history to be named to both the First Team All-Conference and the All-Defensive Team all four seasons. She is also the only four-time recipient of the Hackerman Award in school history, presented to the team MVP. Kuster becomes the fifth Rice inductee and the first Rice women's basketball inductee in the CUSA Hall of Fame.
Non-Conference Schedule
Rice's non-conference schedule includes games against six postseason teams from last season, South Dakota State (NCAA), N.C. A&T (WNIT), at Gonzaga (NCAA), vs. BYU (WBIT), vs. Vermont (WNIT) and at Georgia Tech (WBIT). The Owls will see several local rivals coming to Tudor Fieldhouse with Houston, Sam Houston and Texas Southern all making the trip to South Main.
Game 14 • Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. CT
New Orleans, Louisiana • Devlin Fieldhouse
Video Stream: Click Here
Radio Stream: Click Here
Statistics: Click Here
Home Tickets: Click Here
Social Media Updates: @RiceWBB
Kicking Off 2025 in New Orleans
The Owls will open the new year on the road for the team's first road conference game of the season at Tulane. Rice will continue the road swing next week at UTSA before returning home on Jan. 12 to face Memphis. For home games, tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster or by calling (713) 348-OWLS (6957) for further assistance.
Last Time Out
Rice couldn't overcome a slow start to the fourth quarter as South Florida rallied for a 74-64 win Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse in the team's AAC opener. Victoria Flores led the Owls with a career-high 22 points while adding three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Rice vs. Tulane
This is the 31st meeting in the series, with Tulane holding a 17-13 series lead. Tulane is Rice's ninth most common opponent. The Owls snapped a four-game skid to the Green Wave with a win last season in New Orleans.
Conference Honors (12-16)
Aniah Alexis was named AAC Freshman of the Week after recording career highs with four assists and four steals to complement her seven points, two rebounds and one block against Texas Southern. Malia Fisher was named AAC Honorable Mention after finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.
All-Conference Honors
Malia Fisher was named the 2024-25 AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team after leading the Owls to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Fisher was an AAC Third Team selection and AAC All-Tournament MVP last season.
Preseason Polls
Rice was picked tied for second in the AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. South Florida was the preseason favorite (eight first-place votes), while North Texas (three votes) and Rice (two votes) were tied for second.
Playing Mid-Major Powers
Several opponents on Rice's schedule are ranked in the Women's Mid Major Top 25, with Gonzaga earning the top spot, South Dakota State (#7) and North Carolina A&T checking in at number 17.
Champions of the AAC
Rice debuted in the AAC as champions, winning four games in four days to claim the first-ever AAC title in Rice Athletics history. Led by AAC Third Team selection and All-Tournament MVP Malia Fisher, Rice took down East Carolina 61-41 to become the lowest seed (10) to ever win the AAC Tournament.
Year Four
Shelley Pennington and Friends Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds enters her fourth year at the helm for Rice. Through her first three seasons, Edmonds has achieved the most wins (56), became the first head coach to open their Rice WBB career with back-to-back-to-back winning seasons, and was the fastest coach to win a conference title in program history.
Fisher Reaches 1,000
Malia Fisher became the 26th athlete in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, doing so in the NCAA Tournament against LSU. Currently, Fisher ranks 21st all-time in points with 1,006. To reach the top 10 in points, Fisher will have to reach 1,329 points.
Kuster to be Inducted into CUSA Hall of Fame
Rice women's basketball all-time great Jessica Kuster is set to be inducted into the Conference USA Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024. She is Rice basketball's all-time point scorer (2,081), while leading Rice WBB and CUSA in career rebounds (1,376) and career double-doubles (67). Kuster is the only athlete in program history to average a double-double in all four seasons, one of two female athletes in CUSA history. Kuster is also the only player in CUSA history to be named to both the First Team All-Conference and the All-Defensive Team all four seasons. She is also the only four-time recipient of the Hackerman Award in school history, presented to the team MVP. Kuster becomes the fifth Rice inductee and the first Rice women's basketball inductee in the CUSA Hall of Fame.
Non-Conference Schedule
Rice's non-conference schedule includes games against six postseason teams from last season, South Dakota State (NCAA), N.C. A&T (WNIT), at Gonzaga (NCAA), vs. BYU (WBIT), vs. Vermont (WNIT) and at Georgia Tech (WBIT). The Owls will see several local rivals coming to Tudor Fieldhouse with Houston, Sam Houston and Texas Southern all making the trip to South Main.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09