Thursday's Sports Update: Women's basketball falls to Houston
Teddy Grodek
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
Conference playoff seeds and city bragging rights were on the line Thursday evening as Rice took the court at Tudor Fieldhouse against the University of Houston. Both teams had identical records coming into the contest, 10-10 overall and 4-3 inside Conference USA play. The Owls had just recently reached the .500 mark for the first time this season and were hoping to use this game as a catapult into the elite teams of C-USA.
But Rice's momentum lasted only through the first half, as the Cougars dominated the game late to take a 72-53 victory.
The Owls came out fast out of the gate, quickly jumping to a 9-2 lead with five points from senior guard Tara Watts. The Cougars clawed their way back into the game, tying it up at 14 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
The rest of the half was a battle, as both teams looked for momentum headed into the locker-room. In the last six minutes, the two teams scored a combined seven points, as consistent defense from both teams kept the ball out of the basket. The teams finished the first half tied at 27-27.
Courtesy of her electric first few minutes, Watts led the Owls with eight points. Sophomore guard D'Frantz Smart made a pair of three-pointers to contribute six points, and sophomore guard Amenemope McKinney added six more from the bench. Scoring leader leader Jackie Stanley was confined to the sideline for most of the half due to foul troubles.
Coming out of the half, it looked like two different teams coming onto the floor, as the Cougars led Rice from the start, quickly finding a nine-point lead five minutes into the half.
The lead only grew larger, as the Cougars managed to turn what was once a tie game into a 17-point lead with a little over four minutes left in the game. Rice looked stunned and defeated but managed to cut the lead to 11 after picking up a full-court press in the closing minutes of the game.
But by this time it was simply too late to make up the deficit, especially after the loss of Smart to foul trouble. The game ended with a final margin of 72-53.
Smart and McKinney ended the game both with 11 points. Watts cooled down, scoring only two points in the second half and ending the game with 10. The Owls were plagued by poor shooting and ended the game with 27 percent shooting from the floor.
Rice will return to action Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse to take on the University of Alabama-Birmingham at 2 p.m.
But Rice's momentum lasted only through the first half, as the Cougars dominated the game late to take a 72-53 victory.
The Owls came out fast out of the gate, quickly jumping to a 9-2 lead with five points from senior guard Tara Watts. The Cougars clawed their way back into the game, tying it up at 14 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
The rest of the half was a battle, as both teams looked for momentum headed into the locker-room. In the last six minutes, the two teams scored a combined seven points, as consistent defense from both teams kept the ball out of the basket. The teams finished the first half tied at 27-27.
Courtesy of her electric first few minutes, Watts led the Owls with eight points. Sophomore guard D'Frantz Smart made a pair of three-pointers to contribute six points, and sophomore guard Amenemope McKinney added six more from the bench. Scoring leader leader Jackie Stanley was confined to the sideline for most of the half due to foul troubles.
Coming out of the half, it looked like two different teams coming onto the floor, as the Cougars led Rice from the start, quickly finding a nine-point lead five minutes into the half.
The lead only grew larger, as the Cougars managed to turn what was once a tie game into a 17-point lead with a little over four minutes left in the game. Rice looked stunned and defeated but managed to cut the lead to 11 after picking up a full-court press in the closing minutes of the game.
But by this time it was simply too late to make up the deficit, especially after the loss of Smart to foul trouble. The game ended with a final margin of 72-53.
Smart and McKinney ended the game both with 11 points. Watts cooled down, scoring only two points in the second half and ending the game with 10. The Owls were plagued by poor shooting and ended the game with 27 percent shooting from the floor.
Rice will return to action Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse to take on the University of Alabama-Birmingham at 2 p.m.
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