Hypolite, Kuster and Porter help Owls top Texas State

Posted: December 16, 2011 -- 11:38 p.m. p.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- The Rice Owls earned a much-needed 73-66 victory over the Texas State Bobcats Friday night in front of 483 fans. Three Owls' players (Jessica Kuster, Brianna Hypolite, and Christal Porter) combined for 56 of the Owls' 73 points.

Kuster did not play in the Owls previous two games due to an injured foot; however, despite playing only 22 minutes Friday night, Kuster scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.

"It was a hard fought game," said Owls head coach Greg Williams. "It was very nice, obviously, to get Jessica Kuster back. We had to limit her minutes to right around the 20 mark. She ended up with 22 (minutes). She had a great stat line.

"Brianna had a second good back-to-back game; so, that's encouraging; and, then Christal Porter was huge for us off the bench to get the numbers she put up."

Freshman forward Christal Porter scored 18 points (7 for 9 from the field, 4 for 5 free throws) and grabbed six boards. On her birthday.

"It was fun. It's a good win for us. It is my birthday; so, it was like an extra present to me," Porter said after the game.

Porter scored the biggest basket of the game late in the second half. The Owls were clinging to a 65-60 lead; and, after a team timeout, Porter caught the ball; and, with the shot clock winding down, Porter was fouled on the arm while attempting a shot. The ball bounced high off the back of the rim before rolling through the net for two points. Porter sank the free throw to cap off the three-point play and put the Owls up eight points (68-60) with just 67 seconds remaining in the game.

"Christal Porter made the shot of the game," Owls Head Coach Greg Williams said. Coach Williams joked "Just how I drew it up. I wanted her to take a 15 foot fade away with the shot clock winding down; hit the 'Don Nelson' (see it here) hit the back of the rim and fall in. And get the 'And 1'."

Porter giggled about making the shot and said, "I got the lucky bounce. It felt really good; so, I just knocked down the free throw. I saw her (Texas State's Ashley Ezeh) arm; so, I'm glad they (the officials) called the foul. Like I said, I got the lucky bounce.

"I got the birthday bounce," said Porter as she giggled and did a shoulder shimmy.

The Owls (5-5) and Bobcats (4-4) played a highly competitive ball game. Texas State's roster consists of six players from Houston area high schools. Plus, first-year Bobcats' head coach, Zenarae Antoine, graduated from Katy Taylor High School. Therefore, pride and bragging rights were in full effect in the ball game.

Bobcats' guard Diamond Ford scored a game-high 28 points -- including 16 points in the second half. Ford scored 10 straight points for the Bobcats to start the second half and trim the Owls' 41-30 halftime lead to six points (46-40).

Brianna Hypolite hit a jump shot to increase the Owls' lead to 48-40. Hypolite made big baskets at key times for the Owls through much of the second half including a tough baseline jumper to give the Owls a 64-57 lead after the Bobcats pulled within five points.

"I had been getting frustrated the past few games," said Hypolite. "Layup wise. Finishing stronger. I wasn't getting fouls called for layups I was trying to finish; and, it made me focus more on being aggressive. I guess it just kind of carried over to the rest of my game."

Kuster was glad to see Hypolite and Porter score in double figures and give the Owls a more balanced attack on offense.

"Offensively, we had three people in double-figures which is probably the most we've had all year long; and, that helps spread out the scoring a little bit. I think we got into a rhythm offensively."

The Owls struggled on offense and defense down the stretch of the game.

"We had some defensive breakdowns which was very frustrating. We missed some free throws. We had them on the run at different times; but, we let them off the mat. They're a competitive team which is a credit to their coach.

The Owls missed nine free throws in the second half (12 for 21); but, the trio of Hypolite, Kuster, and Porter helped the team get the victory.

The Owls' next four games are on the road. First of the four is in Nacogdoches, TX, Tuesday, December 20, versus Stephen F. Austin. Tip is set for 7 p.m.