Frogs' Women's Basketball Downs Rice, 63-62
3/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON (Mar. 6) - The Lady Owls' six-game win streak came to halt Saturday, with a 63-62 loss to TCU at Autry Court in their Western Athletic Conference regular-season finale.
The Horned Frogs controlled the first half, pulling out to an 11-point lead with 6:35 to play. The Rice women then went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to three, but TCU answered with consecutive three-pointers and took a 35-24 lead into the lockerroom. The Lady Owls were held to just 36.4 percent (8-22) shooting, while the Horned Frogs hit 42.3 percent (11-26).
Rice rallied in the second to tie the game at 44 with 10:26 left in the clock. It would be the first of five ties in the final munutes of the game as the teams battled to gain the momentum. With the Lady Owls down by two and 16 seconds left, senior Marla Brumfield was sent to the free-throw line, but missed both shots. After a pair of free-throws by Janice Thomas, Brumfield drained a three with four ticks left, but Rice was unable to get the ball back before the final buzzer and TCU held on to the win.
Brumfield led all scorers with 23 points, but was the only Rice player to reach double-digits. Senior Kirra Jordan and junior Kenya Tuttle added eight points each in the losing effort. The Lady Owls hit 43.8 percent (14-32) of their second half shots and limited the Horned Frogs to just 26.9 percent (7-26) over the final 20 minutes.
Tricia Payne led a balanced TCU attack with 14 points, followed by Jill Sutton's 13. Thomas and Diamond Jackson were next with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Thomas also grabbed 14 rebounds as the Horned Frogs dominated the boards 48-25, including 21 off the offensive glass. TCU also took advantage of the Rice fouls, converting on 22 of 34 free throw attempts.
With the loss, the Lady Owls finish the regular season 18-9 overall and 10-4 in the WAC. The Horned Frogs' victory, their first over Rice since Jan. 19, 1991, lifts them to 16-13 overall and 7-7 in the WAC.
