Rice Owls 61, Texas Southern Lady Tigers 54

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- It's not everyday a team misses 11 of 20 free throws, turns the ball over 28 times, and wins.

The Rice Owls did just that Monday night with a 61-54 win over the Texas Southern Lady Tigers inside Tudor Fieldhouse in front of a loud crowd of 484 fans.

"Our defense was key to the win," said Owls head coach Greg Williams after the game.

The Owls (2-0) started the game poorly and trailed the Lady Tigers 17-6 with 10:41 remaining in the first half.

With 6:51 until Halftime, the Owls trailed 21-11 before junior point guard, Reem Moussa, swished a three-point shot to kick start an Owls' mini-run which cut the Owls' deficit to 26-20 with 1:37 on the clock.

Owls sophomore forward Megan Palmer scored the final six point of the half; and, despite shooting 35.5% (11 for 31) from the field and committed 15 turnovers, the Owls headed into the locker room tied at 26.

The Owls scored the first six points of the second half to extend their run to 12-0 and led Texas Southern 32-26 with 15:46 left in the half.

TSU's Morgan Simmons sank a jump shot to end the Tigers four plus scoring drought.

Both teams missed shots and turned the ball over the next few minutes.

Texas Southern (1-1) went on an 16-7 run to lead 42-39 with 9:53 on the game clock.

Moussa nailed a three-point shot to tie the game at 42; and, Owls' sophomore guard Breion Allen nailed a go-ahead jump shot to give the Owls a 44-42 lead with 8:22 remaining.  Allen's jump shot began a 175-5 run for a 59-47 Owls' lead with 2:47 left in the game.

The Lady Tigers didn't get closer than seven in the final moments of the game.

Jessica Kuster scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the 42nd double-double of her career. Moussa scored 13 points and dished out eight assists to counter her seven turnovers. Christal Porter pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds. Allen scored four points but her defense on Texas Southern's Jazzmin Parker was key to slowing down the Lady Tigers' offense.

Texas Southern was led by Parker's 15 points. Parker made just 5 of her 18 field goal attempts. Redshirt-freshman Alexus Johnson added nine points (4 for 12 field goals) and 14 rebounds.

The Owls next game is Thursday, November 14, at McNeese State.

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