2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Owls, led by third-year head coach Lindsay Edmonds, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as first year members of the American Athletic Conference.

2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball
AAC Tournament Champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record19–15 (9–9 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lakevia Boykin
  • Nick Grant
  • Danyelle Grant
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2023–24 American Athletic Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Tulsa 13 5   .722 25 10   .714
North Texas 13 5   .722 23 9   .719
Temple 13 5   .722 20 12   .625
UTSA 10 8   .556 18 15   .545
South Florida 10 8   .556 19 14   .576
Charlotte 9 9   .500 16 15   .516
UAB 9 9   .500 18 14   .563
Memphis 9 9   .500 13 17   .433
East Carolina 9 9   .500 19 14   .576
Rice 9 9   .500 19 15   .559
SMU 8 10   .444 14 16   .467
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 11 19   .367
Wichita State 5 13   .278 10 22   .313
Tulane 3 15   .167 12 20   .375
2024 AAC tournament winner

Previous season

edit

The Owls finished the 2022–23 season 23–9, 13–7 in C-USA play to finish in third place.[1] As the #3 seed in the C-USA tournament and receiving a first-round bye, they were upset by #6 seed UTSA in the quarterfinals.[2] They reieved an at-large bid into the WNIT, where they defeated BYU in the first round,[3] before falling to Oregon in the second round.[4] This was the Owls' final season as members of Conference USA, as they moved to the American Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2023.[5]

Roster

edit
2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 Malia Fisher 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Hebron Christian Academy Dacula, Georgia
G 2 Emily Klaczek 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr UAB Hoffman Estates, Illinois
G 4 Pace Rickard 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Grand Rapids Christian High School Grand Rapids, Michigan
G 5 Destiny Jackson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Mansfield Timberview High School Mansfield, Texas
G 11 Dominique Ennis 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So King's Christian Collegiate Fort Erie, Ontario
G 12 Layla Conley 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr John Marshall Harlan High School San Antonio, Texas
G 14 Maya Bokunewicz 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr State College Area High School State College, Pennsylvania
G 20 Hailey Adams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Fr Tom C. Clark High School San Antonio, Texas
G/F 23 Kennedy Clifton 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Bishop Ireton High School Upper Marlboro, Maryland
G 24 Ashlyn Zhang 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Flintridge Preparatory School South Pasadena, California
G 30 Jazzy Owens-Barnett 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Frisco Liberty High School Plano, Texas
G 32 Trinity Gooden 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Choctaw High School Midwest City, Oklahoma
C 33 Fatou Samb 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr California Houston, Texas
C 35 Sussy Ngulefac 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Samford Lilburn, Georgia
C 44 Shelby Hayes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Cedar Park High School Cedar Park, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 15, 2023

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023*
7:00 pm
Angelo State W 101–47 
 26  Klaczek   8  Samb   5  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Houston Christian W 70–38  1–0
 14  Ennis   10  Fisher   3  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse (622)
Houston, TX
November 9, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Abilene Christian W 69–58  2–0
 13  2 Tied   6  Fisher   3  Klaczek  Moody Coliseum (1,040)
Abilene, TX
November 12, 2023*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at TCU L 42–67  2–1
 11  Ennis   5  Samb   2  3 Tied  Schollmaier Arena (1,788)
Fort Worth, TX
November 16, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Georgia Tech L 75–78  2–2
 13  Jackson   7  2 Tied   3  Klaczek  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,088)
Houston, TX
November 19, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Saint Mary's W 73–62  3–2
 26  Bokunewicz   9  Fisher   5  Fisher  Tudor Fieldhouse (541)
Houston, TX
November 25, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Stephen F. Austin L 56–67  3–3
 12  Jackson   7  Hayes   2  3 Tied  William R. Johnson Coliseum (751)
Nacogdoches, TX
November 29, 2023*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Texas Southern W 74–44  4–3
 25  Ennis   7  Hayes   5  Ennis  Tudor Fieldhouse (591)
Houston, TX
December 2, 2023*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi W 84–56  5–3
 14  Ennis   9  Fisher   5  Hayes  Dugan Wellness Center (824)
Corpus Christi, TX
December 9, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 23 Gonzaga L 72–80  5–4
 16  Jackson   6  Hayes   3  2 Tied  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,367)
Houston, TX
December 16, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Prairie View A&M W 85–59  6–4
 14  Owens-Barnett   8  Hayes   5  Gooden  Tudor Fieldhouse (765)
Houston, TX
December 20, 2023*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Houston
Rivalry
L 63–71 OT 6–5
 16  Ennis   10  Fisher   4  Jackson  Fertitta Center (1,033)
Houston, TX
AAC regular season
January 3, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Wichita State W 76–64  7–5
(1–0)
 17  Ennis   8  Adams   3  2 Tied  Fertitta Center (424)
Houston, TX
January 7, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at SMU W 65–63  8–5
(2–0)
 17  Jackson   10  Fisher   7  Jackson  Moody Coliseum (985)
University Park, TX
January 11, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Charlotte L 54–61  8–6
(2–1)
 14  Fisher   12  Jackson   2  2 Tied  Tudor Fieldhouse (697)
Houston, TX
January 14, 2024
12:00 pm, ESPNU
South Florida W 67–64  9–6
(3–1)
 23  Fisher   13  Fisher   6  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse (893)
Houston, TX
January 17, 2024
10:00 am, ESPN+
at East Carolina W 80–67  10–6
(4–1)
 19  Ennis   10  Fisher   7  Jackson  Williams Arena (5,552)
Greenville, NC
January 20, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tulane W 61–44  11–6
(5–1)
 16  Ennis   6  Bokunewicz   5  Jackson  Devlin Fieldhouse (982)
New Orleans, LA
January 24, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
at Tulsa L 65–70  11–7
(5–2)
 17  2 Tied   9  Klaczek   3  Ennis  Reynolds Center (1,768)
Tulsa, OK
January 27, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Memphis L 66–73  11–8
(5–3)
 20  Jackson   12  Adams   3  2 Tied  Tudor Fieldhouse (841)
Houston, TX
January 31, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
SMU W 69–60  12–8
(6–3)
 19  Ngulefac   9  Adams   7  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse (804)
Houston, TX
February 3, 2024
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Florida Atlantic L 63–68  12–9
(6–4)
 16  Jackson   7  Ennis   3  Owens-Barnett  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (484)
Boca Raton, FL
February 7, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at South Florida W 69–59  13–9
(7–4)
 21  Owens-Barnett   7  Ennis   4  Jackson  Yuengling Center (3,005)
Tampa, FL
February 10, 2024
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Tulsa W 78–66  14–9
(8–4)
 17  2 Tied   12  Adams   4  2 Tied  Tudor Fieldhouse (814)
Houston, TX
February 14, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
East Carolina W 75–57  15–9
(9–4)
 22  Fisher   9  Adams   5  Owens-Barnett  Tudor Fieldhouse (623)
Houston, TX
February 17, 2024
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at UAB L 74–87  15–10
(9–5)
 20  Fisher   8  Adams   6  Jackson  Bartow Arena (927)
Birmingham, AL
February 20, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Memphis L 74–79 OT 15–11
(9–6)
 21  Ennis   6  Ennis   5  Fisher  Elma Roane Fieldhouse (881)
Memphis, TN
February 25, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Temple L 66–75  15–12
(9–7)
 24  Fisher   9  Jackson   6  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,109)
Houston, TX
March 2, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
North Texas L 54–63  15–13
(9–8)
 13  Ngulefac   10  Klaczek   7  Jackson  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,071)
Houston, TX
March 5, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
at UTSA L 52–60  15–14
(9–9)
 30  Fisher   12  Fisher   2  3 Tied  Convocation Center (1,252)
San Antonio, TX
AAC tournament
March 10, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
(10) vs. (7) UAB
Second Round
W 71–56  16–14
 20  Fisher   9  Ngulefac   4  2 Tied  Dickies Arena (1,483)
Fort Worth, TX
March 11, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
(10) vs. (2) North Texas
Quarterfinals
W 61–59  17–14
 16  Jackson   10  Fisher   6  Jackson  Dickies Arena (1,602)
Fort Worth, TX
March 12, 2024
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(10) vs. (3) Temple
Semifinals
W 60–57  18–14
 17  Fisher   5  3 Tied   4  2 Tied  Dickies Arena (1,520)
Fort Worth, TX
March 13, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPNU
(10) vs. (9) East Carolina
Championship
W 61–41  19–14
 15  Ngulefac   11  Ngulefac   4  2 Tied  Dickies Arena (2,682)
Fort Worth, TX
NCAA Tournament
March 22, 2024
3:00 pm, ESPN
(14 A2) at (3 A2) No. 8 LSU
First Round
L 60–70  19–15
 15  Jackson   5  Fisher   5  Gooden  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,957)
Baton Rouge, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[6][7]

References

edit
  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "Owls Fall Late to UTSA in C-USA Quarterfinal". Rice University Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "Slow start spells the end of the season for BYU in WNIT loss to Rice". Yahoo! News. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "Oregon women keep rolling with rout of Rice to advance to WNIT Super 16". The Register-Guard. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "American Athletic Conference Welcomes Six New Members". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Rice University Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Rice Owls 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2023.