Monday, March 11
Rice University
17-14,9-9AAC
61
vs
59
North Texas
23-8,13-5AAC
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
18
7
17
19
61
North Texas
15
9
16
19
59
Owls Stun North Texas; Advances to AAC Semifinals
3/11/2024 10:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT WORTH – After suffering a tough defeat to the Mean Green nine days prior, the tenth-seeded Rice women's basketball team upset the second-seeded North Texas Mean Green 61-59 Monday night at Dickies Arena. The win advances Rice to the AAC Tournament Semifinal game, where they will face third-seeded Temple. The win moves Rice's record to 17-14 (9-9 AAC).
Destiny Jackson led the Owls with 16 points, seven steals, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Emily Klaczek added another 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-66 (37.9%) from the field and 7-of-20 (35%) from three-point range. The Owls added a 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line. Rice forced 19 UNT turnovers, scoring 16 points off those turnovers.
Postgame Reaction – Shelley Pennington and Friends Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds
"We talked in our film session this afternoon about all of our core value words, but the last two were toughness and committed. We said we were going to push through adversity with toughness because we were going to be committed to the win. I feel like that's what we did. We had some adversity, we had some woes, we had some struggles, especially at the 2:30 mark down in the fourth quarter, but we did not hang our heads. We were lifting one another up, we were being upbeat, we were being positive, and we were ready to move on to the next play because we were committed to winning together, and I'm just really proud of that effort. I'm really proud of their focus and their togetherness."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Jackson opened the scoring, with Malia Fisher and Klaczek following behind as the Owls jumped out to a 6-0 run. The Mean Green responded with an 8-0 run, but Hailey Adams snapped the UNT streak to even the score. A Jackson three-pointer, followed by a steal and score, gave Rice a 13-8 lead. Up by two, Fisher's and-one conversion gave Rice an 18-13 lead. Rice led 18-15 at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
After several defensive stops, Jackson's layup opened the second-quarter scoring, with UNT countering with a 7-0 run to take a 22-20 lead. Sussy Ngulefac snapped the run, but the Mean Green responded to take a two-point advantage. Dominique Ennis closed the half with a three-pointer as Rice led 25-24 at the break.
Third Quarter
Ngulefac's layup opened the third, with Ennis and Klaczek following with back-to-back three-pointers as Rice grabbed a 33-24 lead. UNT cut the deficit to four, but Jackson had the quick answer to extend the lead. After Fisher's three gave Rice a four-point lead, the Mean Green used two quick scores to tie the game. Ngulefac gave the lead back to the Owls as Rice led 42-40 at the end of third.
Fourth Quarter
UNT tied the game to open the frame, with the two sides trading leads early. Down by one, Klaczek drained a three to give the lead back to Rice. UNT responded to tie the game back up, but Klaczek hit another three, with Jackson following with a jumper to put Rice up 51-46. After the Mean Green cut the deficit to two, Ngulefac and Ennis hit back-to-back shots to go up six. Another Mean Green run gave them the lead at 59-58 with 59 seconds left, but Jackson had the answer on the other end, giving Rice a 60-59 lead. After the Owls added a free throw from Jazzy Owens-Barnett with two seconds left, North Texas' game-winning three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer as the Owls held on for the 61-59 upset win.
TEAM NOTES
UP NEXT
The Owls will face third-seeded Temple in the semifinals tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Destiny Jackson led the Owls with 16 points, seven steals, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Emily Klaczek added another 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
As a team, Rice shot 25-of-66 (37.9%) from the field and 7-of-20 (35%) from three-point range. The Owls added a 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line. Rice forced 19 UNT turnovers, scoring 16 points off those turnovers.
"We talked in our film session this afternoon about all of our core value words, but the last two were toughness and committed. We said we were going to push through adversity with toughness because we were going to be committed to the win. I feel like that's what we did. We had some adversity, we had some woes, we had some struggles, especially at the 2:30 mark down in the fourth quarter, but we did not hang our heads. We were lifting one another up, we were being upbeat, we were being positive, and we were ready to move on to the next play because we were committed to winning together, and I'm just really proud of that effort. I'm really proud of their focus and their togetherness."
First Quarter
Jackson opened the scoring, with Malia Fisher and Klaczek following behind as the Owls jumped out to a 6-0 run. The Mean Green responded with an 8-0 run, but Hailey Adams snapped the UNT streak to even the score. A Jackson three-pointer, followed by a steal and score, gave Rice a 13-8 lead. Up by two, Fisher's and-one conversion gave Rice an 18-13 lead. Rice led 18-15 at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
After several defensive stops, Jackson's layup opened the second-quarter scoring, with UNT countering with a 7-0 run to take a 22-20 lead. Sussy Ngulefac snapped the run, but the Mean Green responded to take a two-point advantage. Dominique Ennis closed the half with a three-pointer as Rice led 25-24 at the break.
Third Quarter
Ngulefac's layup opened the third, with Ennis and Klaczek following with back-to-back three-pointers as Rice grabbed a 33-24 lead. UNT cut the deficit to four, but Jackson had the quick answer to extend the lead. After Fisher's three gave Rice a four-point lead, the Mean Green used two quick scores to tie the game. Ngulefac gave the lead back to the Owls as Rice led 42-40 at the end of third.
Fourth Quarter
UNT tied the game to open the frame, with the two sides trading leads early. Down by one, Klaczek drained a three to give the lead back to Rice. UNT responded to tie the game back up, but Klaczek hit another three, with Jackson following with a jumper to put Rice up 51-46. After the Mean Green cut the deficit to two, Ngulefac and Ennis hit back-to-back shots to go up six. Another Mean Green run gave them the lead at 59-58 with 59 seconds left, but Jackson had the answer on the other end, giving Rice a 60-59 lead. After the Owls added a free throw from Jazzy Owens-Barnett with two seconds left, North Texas' game-winning three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer as the Owls held on for the 61-59 upset win.
- With the win, Rice is now 16-9 all-time against North Texas.
- Jackson had a career-high seven steals.
UP NEXT
The Owls will face third-seeded Temple in the semifinals tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Team Stats
Rice
UNT
FG%
.379
.472
3FG%
.350
.444
FT%
.571
.417
RB
36
36
TO
16
19
STL
13
9
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
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Wednesday, March 09