by HOUSTON – The Rice Owls women’s basketball team used a big second half to pull away from the Houston Baptist Huskies in an 83-54 season-opening victory Wednesday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Four Owls scored in double-figures, led by senior center Nancy Mulkey, who recorded a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Junior center Arianna McCurry added a career-high 12 points in just 12 minutes while sophomore Katelyn Crosthwait (Navajo) also registered 12 points in her first collegiate start. Junior Haylee Swayze contributed 11 points, nine of which came from a team-best three made three-pointers.
The Owls dished out 21 assists on 34 made field goals on the afternoon, led by a career-high eight helpers from sophomore Destiny Jackson.
Rice outscored the Huskies 53-28 in the second half, limiting HBU to just 27 percent shooting from the field while connecting on 58 percent of their own shots from the field. The Owls dominated the boards (54-35) and points in the paint (48-18) as they improved to 40-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse over the past four seasons.
Up Next
The Owls (1-0) hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Little Rock (0-0) on Saturday, Nov. 28 for a date against the Trojans at 2 p.m. That game will be streamed on ESPN+.
