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The Rice Owls women's basketball team clinched an improbable berth in the NCAA Tournament, a feat that left coach Lindsay Edmonds overwhelmed with pride for her squad. The Owls' journey to the NCAA Tournament has been nothing short of remarkable, culminating in a decisive 61-41 victory over ninth-seeded East Carolina in the America Athletic Conference championship game on Wednesday.
Under the leadership of third-year coach Lindsay Edmonds, the Owls embraced a unique tradition this tournament season, breaking every huddle with their left hand.
“This new tournament season, we said we were going to break every huddle with our left hand because it is closest to our hearts,” Edmonds said, per the Associated Press. “This team played with so much heart. I'm so proud of them. It's awesome.”
Rice, seeded 10th, secured their fourth NCAA tournament berth. With a season record of 19-14, their journey included defeating the seventh seed by 15 points, edging past the second seed by a mere two points and surpassing the fourth seed by one point. This comes after the Owls ended their regular season with five consecutive losses, making their tournament run all the more impressive.
Key players like Sussy Ngulefac, who scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Emily Klaczek, who added 14 points, were instrumental in the championship game victory. Contributions also came from Malia Fisher with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Destiny Jackson, who added 10 points and eight rebounds. The Owls' defensive strategy was pivotal, limiting East Carolina to a mere three points in the first quarter and setting a dominant tone for the rest of the game.
The Owls' remarkable 55.6% success rate from beyond the arc (10 of 18 on 3-pointers) contrasted with their struggles inside it (11 of 37), yet it was their relentless defense and rebounding advantage (43-29) that ultimately paved their way to victory. East Carolina, the defending tournament champion, was held to a 29% shooting overall and was outrebounded significantly by the Owls.
Reflecting on the team's performance, Edmonds emphasized their collective toughness and commitment to defense,
“We talked about being tough together because we're committed to the win, and man they're tough,” she said. “They showed it in a bunch of different ways. We hung our hats on the defensive end and we held them to three points in the first quarter. It set the tone for what we were trying to do.”
