Women's basketball loses to MTSU

By Michael Kidd     2/10/14 6:00pm

The Rice University women's basketball team traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Saturday, Feb. 8 to play No. 25 Middle Tennessee State University. The Owls were defeated 65-54 by the Blue Raiders and have now lost a season-high five games in a row. Rice shot 34 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the contest. 

Senior forward Jessica Kuster scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Owls. This double-double gave Kuster a total of 60 in her time at Rice, and she is currently tied for second in this category in Conference USA history. Three other Owls scored in double digits in this game, including 11 bench points for sophomore forward Megan Palmer. After starting 3-1 in C-USA play, the Owls have slipped to 10-12 overall and 3-6 in conference with seven regular season games remaining.

Head Coach Greg Williams said the Owls played well defensively at Middle Tennessee, but the offense struggled. He said the game was an exciting battle between two of the best scorers in all of women's basketball.

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"We did a very good defensive job on Ebony Rowe, holding her to 12 points," Williams said. "It was a classic matchup between two players who have averaged a double-double [over their entire careers]."

Williams said his team will get back on the winning track with a few adjustments offensively.

"We are struggling to score, and until we get more consistency from more players, we will find each game a big challenge," Williams said. "Our league is very competitive, and our margin of error is very tight. Our defense has been keeping us in games, but we have to shoot the ball better to get back on the winning track."

Palmer said she does not believe the final outcome against Middle Tennessee was indicative of how the Owls played.

"We knew we needed to come out and do all the little things, such as hustling for loose balls, rebounding and communicating on the court," Parker said. "I believe that we did a great job with these things, but we just couldn't get our shots to fall. The score does not reflect how hard we fought in this game."

Palmer said the coaching staff has been telling her and her fellow teammates to keep working hard despite the losing streak. The teams with the most heart are the ones that come out on top every week, Parker said.

"The message from all of the coaches is to keep working hard," Palmer said. "The teams that work the hardest and play with the most heart are going to win. Right now, we can only learn from our losses and move on."

The Owls are scheduled to play the University of Tulsa on the road Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. Tulsa is 10-10 overall and 4-5 in C-USA play. Last year, the teams played twice in the regular season and split the series.

Palmer said there is a rivalry between Rice and Tulsa, and she wants the Owls to secure the win in order to break the team's losing streak and get some revenge.

"There is definitely a bit of rivalry there due to the fact that they ended our season last year by beating us in the conference tournament," Palmer said. "This is a game where we need to go into their building, play hard and get some revenge."

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