2008 Woodie Awards
Top-seeded UTEP ends Rice's hot streak in C-USA quarterfinals
Justin Hudson
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Sports
Any chance of an Owl letdown in the second half was quickly quelled, as Rice went on a 18-4 run to put the game out of reach. Riverin dominated the second half, scoring 16 of her game-high 20 points down the stretch despite playing with a stomach aliment. Berezhynksa was hindered by foul trouble throughout the game and only played 17 minutes, but she still scored 12 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
Moving into the quarterfinals, Rice faced their toughest opponent of the year. The Miners had won a nation-best 21 straight games coming into the quarterfinal and had beaten Rice during both of the team's regular season meetings. And while Rice had gone into halftime of both previous games with slight leads, second half runs of 29-0 and 24-4 ended any hopes for Owl upsets.
In the quarterfinal, the Owls once again took control in the first half. Berezhynksa and Riverin combined for 24 points to help Rice take a 34-28 halftime lead. But just as in the past contests, the Miners bounced back in considerable fashion following halftime. With Rice leading 37-31 with 17:50 left, Hughes took over, scoring 15 of the next 17 Miner points. Hughes, the C-USA Player of the Year, shot a remarkable 10 of 15 from the field and went a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe in the second half.
Its star's outburst sparked a 30-10 UTEP run that gave the Miners a 61-47 lead with 7:18 left. The Owls gamely fought back, and a three-pointer from freshman forward Morgan Mayse with 3:41 remaining cut the Miners' lead to six. However, Hughes' performance was simply too much for the Owls to overcome. Despite 23 points from Riverin, 16 points and 8 rebounds from Berezhynksa and 15 points from Fulton, Rice's season ended on yet another second half UTEP comeback.
"We felt going into the tournament that we were as good as anybody there and if we played well we could win," Williams said. "I thought our kids were confident. I thought we believed we could win. We certainly proved that in the first 20 minutes [against UTEP]."
Moving into the quarterfinals, Rice faced their toughest opponent of the year. The Miners had won a nation-best 21 straight games coming into the quarterfinal and had beaten Rice during both of the team's regular season meetings. And while Rice had gone into halftime of both previous games with slight leads, second half runs of 29-0 and 24-4 ended any hopes for Owl upsets.
In the quarterfinal, the Owls once again took control in the first half. Berezhynksa and Riverin combined for 24 points to help Rice take a 34-28 halftime lead. But just as in the past contests, the Miners bounced back in considerable fashion following halftime. With Rice leading 37-31 with 17:50 left, Hughes took over, scoring 15 of the next 17 Miner points. Hughes, the C-USA Player of the Year, shot a remarkable 10 of 15 from the field and went a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe in the second half.
Its star's outburst sparked a 30-10 UTEP run that gave the Miners a 61-47 lead with 7:18 left. The Owls gamely fought back, and a three-pointer from freshman forward Morgan Mayse with 3:41 remaining cut the Miners' lead to six. However, Hughes' performance was simply too much for the Owls to overcome. Despite 23 points from Riverin, 16 points and 8 rebounds from Berezhynksa and 15 points from Fulton, Rice's season ended on yet another second half UTEP comeback.
"We felt going into the tournament that we were as good as anybody there and if we played well we could win," Williams said. "I thought our kids were confident. I thought we believed we could win. We certainly proved that in the first 20 minutes [against UTEP]."
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