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Kuster leads women's basketball to 3-1 in C-USA

By Michael Kidd     1/20/14 6:00pm

The Rice University women's basketball team won two home games last week against Conference USA opponents Louisiana Tech University and Marshall University. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Owls defeated Louisiana Tech 82-68. 

The 82 points were a season high for the Owls, who shot 49 percent from the field. Senior forward Jessica Kuster led Rice with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and freshman forward Jasmine Goodwine scored 19 points off the bench. With approximately 11 minutes remaining in the second half, Kuster recorded a rebound to become the all-time Rice rebounding leader with 1,211 rebounds. She is currently second in all-time scoring with 1,800 points and needs only 52 more to move into first.

On Saturday, Jan. 18, the Owls played against C-USA rival Marshall, winning 74-68 in overtime. This was the second year in a row the Owls went to overtime with Marshall and won the game. With 26 points and 17 rebounds, Kuster led Rice and secured her 14th double-double of the season. Freshman guard Maya Hawkins contributed 20 points and hit six 3-pointers in the contest. Kuster forced the game into overtime with two free throws in the last 30 seconds. She was named the C-USA Player of the Week for her two-game performance. The Owls have won six of their last eight games, improving their record to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.



Kuster said the team has developed good momentum and is playing excellent team basketball at the moment.

"I think we have kind of hit our stride at the right point in the season." Kuster said. "Everybody on this team has been [playing well], and now that we have come together and combined our [individual] games, we have been winning as of late."

Goodwine provides a boost off the bench for the team. She said she clearly understands her role on the team and plays hard and with dedication.

"I just go out there and try to play hard and put out as much effort as I can," Goodwine said. "My job is to be a rebounder and score whenever I can, [so I] basically go out there and work at helping the team in any way."

Kuster said all of her individual success is nice but is less important than securing team victories and continuing to win games. As the only senior on the team, Kuster said she knows she must be a leader more this season.

 "Being the only senior, I have to take on a bigger role than I have in previous years, and I'm trying to do that more now," Kuster said. "I think we have kind of figured out our roles and who does what for the team."

As for surpassing the Rice rebounding record, Kuster said she did not know how much her accomplishment meant until after the game.

"After it happened, I was pretty excited about it, but then I got contacted by so many people, and [that's when] I really knew what it meant," Kuster said. "[However,] we still have lots of games left, and if we don't do well this year than it really doesn't have a lot of meaning."

Rice will head out on a road trip to play East Carolina University on Wednesday, Jan. 22, followed by a game at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte on Saturday, Jan. 25.



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