Rice Owls 82, Louisiana Tech 68

Posted: January 15, 2014 -- 11:16 pm CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- Jessica Kuster needed 12 rebounds to move to the top spot on the All-Time Rebounding List in Rice Owls' women's hoops history. Kuster grabbed 15 rebounds; and, more importantly, the Owls defeated Louisiana Tech 82-68 in front of an announced crowd of 426 fans.

The Owls trailed the Lady Techsters 9-4 before scoring 14 consecutive points. Kuster grabbed eight boards and scored 13 points in the first half to help the Owls erase their early deficit and take a 39-23 into halftime.

The Owls (9-7 overall, 2-1 in Conference USA) shot 48.5% (16 for 33) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes -- 13 of the baskets came from assists.

Kuster nailed 2 jump shots two minutes into the second half to help the Owls lead 45-27.

Leading 57-38, at the 10:44 mark in the second half, Kuster grabbed rebound number 12 to surpass Lauren Neaves and become the number one rebounder in Owls' women's history. Kuster now has 1194 rebounds. Neaves finished her stellar career with 1190 boards.

Jasmine  Goodwine scored a layup to put the Owls up 59-38; but, La Tech took advantage of Kuster's brief time on the bench and used full-court pressure defense to force the Owls to turn over the ball four times in less than 60 seconds.

Tech (5-11, 0-3) sank six foul shots during a 10-0 run which reduced the Owls' lead to 11 points.

Kuster returned to the game; and, the Owls did a much better job against Tech's defense. With Kuster on the court, the Owls' lead grew to 21 points (80-59) as the Owls cruised to the second victory in Conference USA.

Kuster finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds while Goodwine tallied 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Next up for the Owls is Marshall this Saturday, January 18, at 2 p.m. inside Tudor Fieldhouse.

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