Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 348-4075
Having just completed her sixth season at the helm of the Owls, head coach Tina Langley has helped put Rice basketball back on the map in a major way. Her winning percentage of .673 (126-61) ranks first all-time in program history.
Over the last five seasons, the Owls have gone a combined 117-39 (.750) and are coming off the program's first-ever WNIT Championship title and third consecutive Conference USA regular season title by winning the West Division. Rice is the only team in Conference USA history to win regular season titles outright in three consecutive seasons.
Under Langley the Owls have reached the 20-win plateau in five consecutive seasons (22, 23, 28, 21, 23), the greatest five-year stretch in program history. The Owls have played in the postseason in four of the last five seasons, which includes the NCAA Tournament (2019), WNIT (2018, 2021-champs), and WBI (champions in 2017). Rice was also set to be the automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2020 before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
In 23 years on the sidelines, Langley has coached 44 All-Conference players, led her teams to 15 postseason appearances (14 conference championships in Big Ten, ACC, MAC, and C-USA), and has developed 20-plus professional players, including 12 WNBA draft picks. She's helped to bring in nine ranked recruiting classes among her stops and three have been ranked as top-10 classes.
In addition to winning the first-ever WNIT title by a Conference USA team in 2021, the Owls notched their first victory over a Power-5 program in 14 years when they defeated Texas Tech in Lubbock, 81-62. It was also the first win over a P5 program on the road by a Rice team since 1999. The Owls would later add two more victories over P5 opponents in the WNIT, defeating both Arizona State (1st round, 48-36) and Ole Miss (Championship, 71-58) by double-digits.
Last season the Owls set a single-season school record with a team field goal percentage of .481. Senior center Nancy Mulkey, who was named the WNIT MVP, earned her third consecutive C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award and was named C-USA First Team for a third straight season as well. Mulkey was named a semifinalist on three different national watch lists: the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the Lisa Leslie Award, and the Senior CLASS Award.
On Feb. 22, 2019, Langley earned her 100th career victory, becoming the quickest coach in program history to reach the century mark.
In 2019-20, Erica Ogwumike repeated as C-USA Player of the Year while Nancy Mulkey won her second straight C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. Ogwumike and Mulkey also earned spots on the C-USA All-Defensive Team while Lauren Schwartz was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
In 2018-19, the Owls went 28-4 en route to winning both the Conference USA regular season (16-0) and tournament titles. The 28 wins established a new program record for the Owls and Rice advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years, going toe-to-toe with No. 18 Marquette.
Langley was awarded the C-USA Coach of the Year in a season where the Owls set a program record by winning 21 consecutive games and earned their first-ever AP Top-25 ranking, spending a total of five weeks in the poll while climbing as high as No. 21 prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls also made their first appearance in the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 23 prior to the NCAA Tournament.
Under Langley's guidance, the Owls placed three players (Erica Ogwumike- First Team; Nancy Mulkey- First Team; Nicole Iademarco- Second Team) on All-Conference Teams in 2018-19. In addition, Ogwumike became the first player in program history to earn Player of the Year honors and Mulkey was selected the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. Senior Lauren Grigsby was also recognized as the C-USA Sixth Player of the Year.
In 2017-18, the Owls reeled off 23 wins, the second-most in school history and advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the first time since 2006. In addition, for the first time in 11 years the Owls reached the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament. The Owls finished with the highest home winning percentage (.929) in all of C-USA and were top-20 nationally.
The team's 17-3 start to the season was the program's best 20-game start in school history.
In only her second season (2016-17) at Rice, Langley guided the Owls to a WBI Championship (the school's first postseason title) and 22 victories. The Owls improved by 13 wins from her first to second season, one of the top increments in the nation.
Rice led all of Conference USA in total assists (558) and total rebounds (1,308) while setting a Rice single-season record in made three-pointers (242). In addition the Owls ranked second in C-USA in assists per game (15.9), field goal percentage (.444), made three-pointers (242) and free throw attempts (626).
Langley, who helped develop Maryland into a Final Four program, was named the fifth head coach in Rice University women's basketball history on April 15, 2015. In her first season at Rice (2015-16) the Alabama native guided the Owls to the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
Langley spent seven seasons coaching at Maryland, the final five of which were as the associate head coach, and compiled a 195-49 record during that time. The Terrapins were coming off a 2014-15 campaign in which Langley helped guide the team to their second consecutive Final Four appearance and a 34-3 record, climbing as high No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Maryland went 18-0 in league play in their first year in the Big Ten to win the regular season title and followed with a conference tournament title. The Terrapins set a school record by winning 28-straight games and the 34 overall victories tied for the most in school history.
As head coach Brenda Frese's Associate Head Coach, Langley's responsibilities included on-court coaching, scouting and player development, and coordinating the Terps' recruiting efforts.
Prior to arriving in College Park in 2008, Langley served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at both Georgia (2005) and Clemson (2003-05). During that stretch, Langley worked under legendary head coaches Andy Landers and Jim Davis. In her two years with the Tigers, the team advanced to the 2004 Women's Basketball Invitational (WNIT) while also orchestrating a Clemson-record six-signee class, which was ranked in the top 30 nationally in her first season.
Langley spent five seasons at the University of Toledo (1998-03). She began her coaching career with the Rockets as a graduate assistant coach in 1998-99, before moving up to recruiting coordinator and then associate head coach during the 2002-03 campaign. She helped the Rockets reach the postseason three times, including two NCAA Tournament appearances. During her tenure, Toledo also won three Mid-American Conference regular season titles (1999, 2001 and 2003) and two conference tournament crowns (1999 and 2001).
Langley played basketball and volleyball collegiately for two seasons at Belvill State Junior College before transferring to the University of West Alabama, where she lettered twice in basketball. She graduated from UWA with a degree in special education in 1996, and earned her first master's degree in Recreation and Leisure with an emphasis in recreation administration from the University of Toledo. Langley would later earn a master of arts in community counseling at the University of Alabama in 2008.
| Season | Overall Record | C-USA Record | Finish |
| 2020-21 | 23-4 | 12-2 | C-USA West Division Champions/WNIT Champions |
| 2019-20 | 21-8 | 16-2 | C-USA Regular Season Champions (Automatic NCAA qualifier) |
| 2018-19 | 28-4 | 16-0 | C-USA Regular Season/Tournament Champions (NCAA 1st Round) |
| 2017-18 | 23-10 | 10-6 | WNIT 2nd Round (C-USA Semifinals) |
| 2016-17 | 22-13 | 8-10 | WBI Champions (C-USA Quarterfinals) |
| 2015-16 | 9-22 | 7-11 | C-USA Quarterfinals |
