Rice defeats Texas College 98-32 in Exhibition Game

POSTED: November 6, 2022 -- 7:49 a.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- The Rice Owls thumped the Texas College Steers 98-32 in an exhibition game Saturday afternoon. The Owls capitalized on a size advantage at every position and raced to the victory.

Freshman center Shelby Hayes led six Owls in double-digit scoring with 15 points (in 15 minutes, 41 seconds) off the bench. Sophomore forward Maya Bokunewicz was next with 14 points. Senior guard Katelyn Crosthwait led the team with 7 assists.

Rice led Texas College 20-8 at the end of the first period and 45-16 at halftime. The Owls limited the Steers to 1 made basket (out of 15 attempts) in the third quarter. Rice outscored Texas College 22-3 in the third and led 72-19 after 3 periods.

"Overall, I thought there was a lot of positives," Rice Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds said after the game. "But, there's definitely some things we gotta clean up before we face tougher opponents on our nonconference schedule."

One of the things for the Owls to clean up is turnovers. Rice had 17 turnovers versus Texas College.

"We turned the ball over 17 teams against a team that didn't have a lot of height or size or a lot of athleticism," Coach Edmonds remarked. "I think, talking about next week, especially with Stephen F. Austin, they're going to press us. And, we got to be able to take care of the basketball if we want a shot to win the game."

Bokunewicz got Rice's offense rolling with a three-point basket to open the game. She finished the game 4-for-4 from three-point range.

"I think I had a lot of great opportunities that my teammates set me up for," Bokunewicz commented after the game. "I can't do it without them."

Facing an outsized opponent was a unique opportunity for the Owls; but, Bokunewicz said, "It doesn't matter what size of the team that we're playing. We just want to maintain a certain consistency on both sides of the floor."

Crosthwait added, "I agree with Maya. I think we kind of slowed down with them a little bit at times in the game."

The Owls dominated the boards 56-19 and made 37 of 69 field goals while the Steers made 10 of 49 field goals.

NEXT:

Rice begins the 2022-23 college basketball regular season on Thursday, November 10, at home versus Stephen F. Austin. Tip is set for 7 p.m., on CUSAtv.

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