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by: Kris Gardner, United States Basketball Writers Association member. Credentialed media member since 1997. USBWA approved online journalist. Voter of Katrina McClain, Naismith, USBWA, and Wooden awards.

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Rice Owls Picked to Repeat as C-USA Champions

Erica Ogwumike, Nancy Mulkey honored by C-USA Coaches

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POSTED: October 16, 2019 -- 11:26 a.m. CT

The Rice Owls women's basketball team was selected as the preseason favorite to repeat as the 2019-20 Conference USA regular season champions, the league office announced on Wednesday in a vote of the league's head coaches.

The Owls, who were picked to finish first in C-USA for the first time in program history, received 11 of the 14 first-place votes after becoming the first team in league history to go undefeated during (16-0) the C-USA regular season and also win the conference tournament. The Owls set a program record with 28 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

In addition, Rice senior guard Erica Ogwumike and junior center Nancy Mulkey were selected as two of the eight players on the 2019-20 C-USA Preseason Team.


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Ogwumike (5'9, senior) is coming off a season in which she became the first Owl in program history to earn C-USA Player of the Year honors and was selected to the C-USA First Team for a second straight season. Ogwumike averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, the only player to rank in the top-10 in the league in each of those categories. She led all of C-USA in double-doubles (18) and total rebounds (327) while ranking third in the league in both free throws made (136) and free throw percentage (84.5).

Mulkey (6'9, redshirt-junior) led all of NCAA Division I in blocked shots per game (3.92) and broke a Rice single-season school record with 94 blocked shots, which ranked seventh in the country.

The Owls open the 2019-20 season on November 5 when they host Nicholls State at 7 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse.

2019-20 C-USA Preseason Basketball Poll and Honors

Rank
School (First-place in parentheses)
1
Rice (11)
2
Middle Tennessee (3)
3
WKU
4
UAB
5
Old Dominion
6
Charlotte
7
North Texas
8
Southern Miss
9
Louisiana Tech
10
Florida Atlantic
11
Marshall
12
UTEP
13
UTSA
14
FIU

2019-20 C-USA Preseason Team

**Erica Ogwumike, Rice

Nancy Mulkey, Rice

Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tennessee

Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss

Rachael Childress, UAB

Miyah Barnes, UAB

Dee Givens, WKU

Raneem Elgedawy, WKU

**Preseason Player of the Year

CLICK HERE for more news and info about the Rice Owls men's basketball team.

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