The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007 Page: 20 of 24
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12
THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2,2007
Women's basketball wins third-straight C-USA game
by Justin Hudson
THRESHER STAFF
With an improved offensive attack,
the women's basketball team easily
won two important conference games
last week. LastThursday, Rice defeated
Southern Methodist University 80-
69, and Saturday the Owls blew out
Tulsa University 83-65 in a rematch
of last year's C-USA championship
game. Winners of their last three,
the Owls have improved at the right
time — they are now one game out of
first place in the C-USA standings.
Tomorrow at 5 p.m.. the Owls
(12-9, 5-3 Conference USA) will host
Tulane University (17-4, 6-2), a team
tied for first and considered by many
to be the best team in the conference.
Rice played one of their better games
of the season against Tulane Jan. 7 in
New Orleans, overcomingthe absence
of senior forward Lauren Neaves in a
61-52 victory.
The wins over SMU and Tulsa
were all the more impressive be-
cause the Owls were able to contain
two of the best post players in the
conference — SMU forward Janielle
Dodds and Tulsa forward Jillian Rob-
bins — without starting junior center
Valeriya Berezhynska. Though Dodds
had 24 points and 11 rebounds, senior
forward Samantha Stovall's defense
helped to limit her touches in the sec-
ond half, especially when Neaves was
on the bench with foul trouble. Robbins,
who was averaging 20 points and 13 re
bounds heading into Saturday's game,
notched only eight points and seven
rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
Senior guard Krystal Frazier
and junior forward Tiffany Loggins
sparked the Owl offense early against
the Mustangs, leading a 12-0 run after
Rice fell behind 104 to start the game.
Frazier finished with 18 points while
Loggins scored 14.
Rice maintained its lead through-
out most of the first halt shooting 43
percent from the field and 44 percent
from beyond the three-point line.
However, poorfreethrowshootingand
defensive breakdowns toward halfhme
kept the Mustangs in the game. While
SMU shot90 percent from the line, the
Owls shot 56percent. An 11-0 Mustang
run gave SMU a 34-28 lead with 2:26
remaining in the half. Fortunately, the
shots again started to fall for the Owls.
Frazier's three-pointer with 55 seconds
left gave Rice a 35-34 lead heading into
the half.
Head Coach Greg Williams
switched to a man-to-man defense at
halftime. This helped the Owls in the
second half as they built a double-digit
lead with Neaves out of the game.
Frazier continued to make shots in
the lane and from the outside, while
Stovall, who struggled offensively in
the first half, also made critical shots.
Juniorguard Kadie Riverin hitajumper
to extend the Owls lead to 58-47 with
10:21 left. Neaves reentered the game
20 seconds later, with the lead 5849.
Hie lead grew to 12 points before
Neaves went out again with her fourth
foul with 8:21 remaining.
Rice's defense also helped to keep
the usually high-scoring Mustangs off
balance — SMU never got within six
points of the Owls in the second half.
Free throw shooting played a part, as
well. A low point in the Owls' Jan. 21
win over Houston, Rice made 18 of 23
attempts down the stretch to cement
their 80-69 victory.
Faced with the limited roster
and Neaves' foul trouble, Stovall be-
lieved the win showed the depth and
perserverence of the team.
"It tells us about our character in
that we are deep and we are versatile,"
Stovall said. "When we are faced with
a challenge ... all of just us have to
step up."
\
TAYLOR JOHNSON/THRESHER
Junior forward Tiffany Loggins lunges for the basket In the Owls' 80-69 victory over Southern Methodist University J
an. 25. Loggins contributed a season-high 14 points in to help the Owls move within one game of first place In C-USA.
Every Owl starter scored in double
figures. Stovall had 11 points and 10
rebounds, while Neaves had another
double-double with 17 points and 15
rebounds in only 25 minutes. Riverin
scored 12. Freshman guardTara Watts
was the only bench player who scored,
chipping in 8 points.
"We were patient at times when we
had to be," Williams said. "You get five
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[players] in double figures, that really
shows that you're really sharing the ball
and you're executing pretty well."
After overcoming yet another slow
start, Rice looked impressive for the
first 15 minutes against Tulsa. The
Owls built a 30-12 lead on the strength
of their defense and free throw
shooting. Rice scored 17 points off of
turnovers in the first half alone, and
Tulsa got into early foul trouble—the
Golden Hurricane were in the penalty
as they trailed 25-9 early in the half.
Robbins left the game after picking
up her third foul halfway through the
first half; she would not return the
rest of the half. Despite their hot start,
the Owls ended up shooting only 33
percent from the field in the first half
and only led 33-24 at halftime.
Rice's offensive woes were quickly
forgotten in the second half. The Owls
shot a scorching 76 percent in the half,
once again showcasing improved of-
fensive flow. The Owls also increased
the defensive intensity, which led to
numerous baskets in transition. With
improved efforts on both ends, Rice
could not be stopped .The Owls opened
the second half with a 244 run and led
by as many as 29 points. The team's
swarming defense kept Robbins from
being a factor in the second half. Tulsa's
pressure defense helped to create more
lulls in the Owl offense, but superior
play by Neaves, Riverin and Stovall
stabilized the Owls as they cruised to
an easy victory. Riverin, who shot 55
percent from the held and had 8 points
from the line, ended the game with a
season-high 19 points.
Neaves had another consistent
performance with 14 points and 13
rebounds, while Stovall ended the after-
noon with a career-high 15 points on the
strength of 6-6 free throw shooting.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007, newspaper, February 2, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443111/m1/20/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.