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January 18, 2008 > Sports > Women’s basketball lets victory slip away

Women’s basketball lets victory slip away

By Justin Hudson | Thresher staff

Heartbreakers are often the toughest losses to swallow for any team, but heartbreaking loss to a cross-town rival is even worse. Though leading for most of the game, the women’s basketball team found itself on the wrong side of a nail-biter last Sunday, losing 71-66 to the University of Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Owls (7-10, 0-3 Conference USA) continued their search for their first conference win yesterday, traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on the University of Southern Mississippi (10-6, 1-2 C-USA). The Golden Eagles came into the game having lost two straight conference games, but they are nearly unbeatable at home, sporting a 7-1 record at Reed Green Coliseum this season.

This Sunday, Rice will return home to Houston Baptist University’s Sharp Gym to take on the University of Central Florida (7-9, 0-3 C-USA) at 2 p.m. Despite their poor conference record, the Knights are leading the league with 43.9 rebounds per game. However, they have struggled holding on to the ball, holding a league-worst minus-5.44 turnover margin.

In order to compete with their conference opponents, Rice will have to continue to rely heavily on its freshmen, who helped the Owls remain close in last Sunday’s contest with the Cougars. And if the Owls shoot the way they did in the first half against Houston, they should have no trouble whatsoever in their upcoming games.

“I think everyone is a lot more confident and comfortable in the shots they see,” freshman guard Brittney Hudson said. “We’re not as hesitant when we get a shot, so I think that will be a big difference.”

Hudson and freshman forward Morgan Mayse helped Rice sprint out to an early 31-14 lead with seven minutes left in the first half against Houston. Rice shot 57 percent from the field during the stretch while holding Houston to a paltry 21 percent shooting.

Besides strong contributions from the freshmen, the Owls also received key scoring contributions from junior forward Emery Carter and sophomore guard Tara Watts, who both scored four points, and senior guard Kadie Riverin, who ended the half with six points.

But in a conspicuous trend, Rice could not hold on to its early large lead. Behind the scoring of center Cobilyn Hill and guard Twiggy McIntyre, the Cougars eventually tied the game at 36 after a 22-5 run.

Head coach Greg Williams (Hanszen ‘70) said he felt that the last seven minutes of the first half mirrored the Owls’ struggles in its previous four losses, in which their offensive struggles often led to breakdowns on the defensive end.

“The run in the first half was disappointing because … we were clicking and then we hit that spot,” Williams said. “In that period, we had defensive lapses and took some bad shots.”

While those final seven minutes normally would have led to a complete meltdown, Rice stayed with the Cougars for most of the remainder of the half. Finally, with 2:39 remaining in the game, the Cougars took a one-point lead on a layup by forward Ryan Meyers.

The lead did not last long, however, as Watts broke a three-minute Rice drought with a jumper for a 64-63 lead. Watts followed up with a clutch defensive play, stealing the ball from McIntyre and dishing it to a streaking Hudson. Hudson hit a jumper on the play, but also collided with a Houston player and was called for a charging foul. Williams received a technical foul for arguing the call, and the Cougars’ subsequent free throws gave them the lead for good.

“I like to think that most officials wouldn’t call a technical unless I just went berserk, which I did not do,” he said. “You like to think with a minute [and] 10 [seconds] to go in a one-point game that you just let that go and let the teams decide the game.”

A layup on the ensuing Houston possession gave the Cougars a 67-64 lead with 55 seconds remaining. McIntyre, who finished with a game-high 24 points, then stole the ball from Watts with 33 seconds left and promptly hit one out of two free throws when fouled by Riverin. McIntyre hit two more free throws down the stretch as the Cougars wrapped up a 71-66 victory.

End of article

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