1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WKU | 15 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 57 |
RICE | 17 | 8 | 18 | 21 | 64 |
Ogwumike rallies No. 24 Rice women, top W Kentucky 64-57
FRISCO, Texas -- Erica Ogwumike scored 19 of her 22 points in the second half as No. 24 Rice rallied to its 20th straight win Friday night, a 64-57 win over fourth-seeded Western Kentucky in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament.
The Owls advance to the championship game to play No. 3-seed Middle Tennessee which beat second-seeded UAB 75-65. Western Kentucky (18-14) had its four-game win streak come to an end.
Oguwmike scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Owls (27-3) into their first title game since 2007. A win would tie Rice with the 2007-08 UTEP team for the longest winning streak in the nation and tie Quinnipiac for the second-longest current streak behind Baylor's 23-game winning streak.
Nancy Mulkey added 10 points and three blocks, putting her three behind Lauren Neaves single-season school record, for Rice. Ogwumike also had 12 rebounds and four assists.
After a tight first quarter, Western Kentucky hit five-straight 3-pointers, the last three by Arame Niang, to take a 10-point lead. The Owls cut it to five at the half and scored the last five points of the third quarter to go up 43-31.
Ogwumike, the conference's Player of the Year, scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter, the last six at the foul line and the 13-0 run gave the Owls a 51-41 lead. She added two more free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup, the last coming with a minute left and keeping the lead at nine. After that spurt of 3-pointers in the second quarter, when they made five in six possessions, the Lady Toppers were 1 of 15 the rest of the game, finishing 6 or 21.
Alexis Brewer had 17 points for the Lady Toppers (18-14) and Niang had 15 points. Western Kentucky, which lost the regular-season meeting by 22, is just the second league team to lose to the Owls by single digits this season.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Mark Zentz
- Metta Roberts
- Brian Garland
2023-24 Conference USA Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Middle Tennessee | 16-0 | - | 30-5 |
Florida International | 11-5 | 5 | 21-12 |
Liberty | 11-5 | 5 | 18-16 |
Louisiana Tech | 7-9 | 9 | 14-19 |
Jacksonville State | 7-9 | 9 | 12-17 |
Western Kentucky | 6-10 | 10 | 15-17 |
New Mexico State | 6-10 | 10 | 13-18 |
UTEP | 6-10 | 10 | 12-19 |
Sam Houston | 2-14 | 14 | 7-22 |
2023-24 American Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
North Texas | 13-5 | - | 23-9 |
Tulsa | 13-5 | - | 25-10 |
Temple | 13-5 | - | 20-12 |
South Florida | 10-8 | 3 | 19-14 |
UTSA | 10-8 | 3 | 18-15 |
East Carolina | 9-9 | 4 | 19-14 |
UAB | 9-9 | 4 | 18-14 |
Rice | 9-9 | 4 | 19-15 |
Charlotte | 9-9 | 4 | 16-15 |
Memphis | 9-9 | 4 | 13-17 |
SMU | 8-10 | 5 | 14-16 |
Florida Atlantic | 6-12 | 7 | 11-19 |
Wichita State | 5-13 | 8 | 10-22 |
Tulane | 3-15 | 10 | 12-20 |