Rice Owls Women's Basketball Announces 2026-27 Non-Conference Schedule

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POSTED: August 11, 2026 -- 5:15 p.m. CT

Rice Owls Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds announced the non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 season, featuring seven postseason teams from last season.

"I'm excited to announce our non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season," Edmonds said. "We've put together a challenging and competitive slate that will test us in a variety of ways and give our team valuable opportunities to grow. We have a great mix of opponents, including teams with tremendous experience and success. With a strong group of returning student-athletes and an exciting group of newcomers, our non-conference schedule will allow us to challenge ourselves early and prepare us for the incredibly competitive schedule we play in the American. We are excited about this group, excited about the season ahead, and can't wait to get started."

Rice will host Eastern New Mexico State for an exhibition game on Oct. 27, before opening the 2026-27 campaign against Houston Christian on Nov. 2 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Owls then head up north for the cross-conference alliance games against Murray State and Richmond on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8. Murray State is coming off a 30-win season, winning both the MVC regular season and tournament titles en route to a NCAA Tournament appearance. Richmond went 26-8 last season, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Rice returns home to face Texas Southern before hitting the road against Mountain West Conference power UNLV, coming off a fifth consecutive 20-win season.

Pepperdine opens a six-game homestand on Nov. 22, with the Waves reaching the Super 16 of the WNIT last year. The Rice Invitational follows during Thanksgiving week, with a pair of 20-win opponents and WNIT qualifiers, with games against UTRGV and Lamar.

The homestand continues on Dec. 2 against Grambling State before welcoming the reigning Ivy League champion Princeton on Dec. 5, fresh off a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Schoolhouse Mania game against Houston rounds out the homestand on Dec. 11, with the Owls heading out to face WNIT qualifier Middle Tennessee after.

Prairie View A&M rounds out the non-conference slate on Dec. 20 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The American Conference announced the season's opponent pairings on August 7.

Rice will face six teams twice - East Carolina, North Texas, South Florida, Temple, Tulsa, and UTSA.

The Owls will host Charlotte, Florida Atlantic and Memphis while traveling to Tulane, UAB, and Wichita State.

Ticketing information will be released at a later time.

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