Rice Owls' defeat Coogs by Eight
Posted: January 28, 2012 -- 7:20 p.m. CST
HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Rice Owls accomplished something they had not done in four years -- defeat the Houston Cougars. The Owls defeated the Coogs 58-50 inside Hofheinz Pavilion in front of a crowd of 1,056 fans. The "road win" for the Owls was the Owls first victory inside Hofheinz Pavilion in 17 seasons.
Owls head coach Greg Williams said, "I didn't realize this; but, Rice had not beaten U of H here (Hofheinz) in 17 years. We hadn't beaten them anywhere in the last four years; so, from that perspective, it's a little bit of history for this basketball team."
The game was not a thing of beauty. Far from it. The Owls (11-10 overall, 5-3 Conference USA) won the game despite making only 16 of their 69 field goal attempts (23.2%). The Cougars (2-17, 1-6) were slightly better at 30.5% (18 for 59 from the field).
The Owls led by as many as 10 points (21-11) in the first half; but, the Cougars rallied to pull within four points (23-19) at the 4:17 mark of the opening half.
Owls senior D'Frantz Smart rattled in a three-point basket to beat the shot clock buzzer and put the Owls up seven. The Owls took a 30-22 lead into halftime.
Jessica Kuster scored six straight points during a second half stretch as part of a 20-8 run which gave the Owls a 50-30 lead with 9:04 left in the game.
The Owls struggled to score for five minutes; and, the Coogs went on a 11-0 run to get as close as nine points.
The Cougars would get as close as six points twice in the final two minutes of the game; but, the Owls made six free throws to hold onto the victory.
"Anytime you can win a road game shooting 23 percent from the field, 26 from three point land and 57 from the line, you've got to take it," said Coach Williams.
Kuster finished the game with a game-high 19 points and sixteen rebounds. Junior Jessica Goswitz added 16 points, five rebounds, and good defense on Houston's Roxana Button. Goswitz helped limit Button to 3 for 19 from the field.
Senior Candace Ashford added 13 points and nine rebounds.
"I thought Candace Ashford really stepped up, particularly in the first half," Williams said. "She had one of her best games.
"Jessica Kuster struggled shooting the ball; but, she gets 19 and 16 and 4 steals. I give U of H credit they played hard."
Rice heads to Huntington, West Virginia, for its next game on Thursday, February 2, versus the Marshall Thundering Herd.
