Wednesday, March 12
Fort Worth, Texas
6 p.m.
Rice University
vs
South Florida
Owls Look to Defend AAC Title Against South Florida
3/12/2025 11:22:00 AM | Women's Basketball
(9) Rice Owls (17-16, 7-11 AAC) vs. (3) South Florida Bulls (22-10, 13-4 AAC)
Game 34 • Wednesday, March 12, 2025 • 6 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas • Dickies Arena
Video Stream: Click Here
Radio Stream: Click Here
Statistics: Click Here
Social Media Updates: @RiceWBB
AAC Championship Game
Ninth-seeded Rice will look to defend its AAC crown tonight against three-seed South Florida in the AAC Championship Game at Dickies Arena. The game will be broadcasted on the national stage on ESPNU.
Last Time Out
Ninth-seeded Rice took down fourth-seed Temple 67-49 Tuesday night in the AAC Semifinal at Dickies Arena. Malia Fisher led the way with 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks and an assist, while Aniah Alexis added 14 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Tourney Run
The Owls are back in the AAC Championship game, where they will face third-seeded South Florida. Rice defeated UAB 76-63 in the opening round and took down top-seeded UTSA 62-58 in the Quarterfinals. Rice then defeated fourth-seeded Temple 67-49 in the Semifinals.
Rice vs. South Florida
This is the sixth meeting all-time between the two, with the Bulls holding a slim 3-2 series lead. South Florida won the two matchups during the regular season, with the last being in triple overtime in Tampa.
Sussy Reaches 1,000
Sussy Ngulefac recorded her 1,000th career point, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, three blocks and one steal Tuesday night against Temple. She recorded her 500th career rebound earlier this season against UTSA.
AAC Honors
Four Owls represent the Rice women's basketball team on the 2025 American Athletic Conference postseason honors, with Malia Fisher (First Team) and Dominique Ennis (Second Team) earning spots on the AAC All-Conference teams. Fisher also received the Ambassador Award and was named to the All-Defensive Team. Aniah Alexis was named to the All-Freshman Team, while Victoria Flores earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.
Stellar Defense
Rice held Florida Atlantic to a season-low 39 points, shooting just 18.2% (10-of-55) from the floor. The FG% is the second lowest overall and lowest conference field goal percentage by a Rice opponent in school history.
Block Party (2.0)
The Owls tied a season-high with 10 blocks against UAB, matching the mark set earlier this season against Memphis. The mark against the Tigers was the most in a single game for Rice since recording 14 against SMU in 2019. Six Owls finished with a block against UAB, with Dominique Ennis and Emily Klaczek setting career highs with two blocks each.
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 11th all-time in points with 1,316. To reach the top 10 in points, Fisher will have to reach 1,329 points.
Preseason Polls and Honors
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. Malia Fisher was named the 2024-25 AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team after leading the Owls to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
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.
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.
Game 34 • Wednesday, March 12, 2025 • 6 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas • Dickies Arena
Video Stream: Click Here
Radio Stream: Click Here
Statistics: Click Here
Social Media Updates: @RiceWBB
AAC Championship Game
Ninth-seeded Rice will look to defend its AAC crown tonight against three-seed South Florida in the AAC Championship Game at Dickies Arena. The game will be broadcasted on the national stage on ESPNU.
Last Time Out
Ninth-seeded Rice took down fourth-seed Temple 67-49 Tuesday night in the AAC Semifinal at Dickies Arena. Malia Fisher led the way with 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks and an assist, while Aniah Alexis added 14 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Tourney Run
The Owls are back in the AAC Championship game, where they will face third-seeded South Florida. Rice defeated UAB 76-63 in the opening round and took down top-seeded UTSA 62-58 in the Quarterfinals. Rice then defeated fourth-seeded Temple 67-49 in the Semifinals.
Rice vs. South Florida
This is the sixth meeting all-time between the two, with the Bulls holding a slim 3-2 series lead. South Florida won the two matchups during the regular season, with the last being in triple overtime in Tampa.
Sussy Reaches 1,000
Sussy Ngulefac recorded her 1,000th career point, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, three blocks and one steal Tuesday night against Temple. She recorded her 500th career rebound earlier this season against UTSA.
AAC Honors
Four Owls represent the Rice women's basketball team on the 2025 American Athletic Conference postseason honors, with Malia Fisher (First Team) and Dominique Ennis (Second Team) earning spots on the AAC All-Conference teams. Fisher also received the Ambassador Award and was named to the All-Defensive Team. Aniah Alexis was named to the All-Freshman Team, while Victoria Flores earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.
Stellar Defense
Rice held Florida Atlantic to a season-low 39 points, shooting just 18.2% (10-of-55) from the floor. The FG% is the second lowest overall and lowest conference field goal percentage by a Rice opponent in school history.
Block Party (2.0)
The Owls tied a season-high with 10 blocks against UAB, matching the mark set earlier this season against Memphis. The mark against the Tigers was the most in a single game for Rice since recording 14 against SMU in 2019. Six Owls finished with a block against UAB, with Dominique Ennis and Emily Klaczek setting career highs with two blocks each.
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 11th all-time in points with 1,316. To reach the top 10 in points, Fisher will have to reach 1,329 points.
Preseason Polls and Honors
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. Malia Fisher was named the 2024-25 AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team after leading the Owls to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
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.
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.
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