2018–19 Rice Owls women's basketball team
Intercollegiate basketball season
The 2018–19 Rice Owls women's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season . The Owls, led by fourth year head coach Tina Langley , played their home games at the Tudor Fieldhouse and were members of Conference USA . They finished the season 28–4, 16–0 in C-USA play to win the C-USA regular season championship. They also won the C-USA women's tournament to earn an automatic trip to the NCAA women's tournament which was their first trip since 2005. They lost in the first round to Marquette in an overtime thriller. With 28 wins, they finished with the most wins in school history.
On February 18, 2019, the Owls entered the AP Top 25 at No. 25. It was the Owls' first time being ranked in the AP Poll in program history. Rice won the Conference USA tournament championship game over Middle Tennessee , 69–54. Nancy Mulkey was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[ 1]
Roster
2018–19 Rice Owls women's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
1
Tayler Bennett
5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Jr
St. Anthony HS
Long Beach, CA
G
2
Sydne Wiggins
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
So
Harrison HS
Powder Springs, GA
G
5
Lauren Grigsby
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sr
Dekaney HS
Spring, TX
G
10
Jasmine Smith
5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Fr
The Kinkaid School
Cypress, TX
G
11
Haylee Swayze
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Fr
Purcell HS
Purcell, OK
G
13
Erica Ogwumike
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
RS Jr
Cypress Woods HS Pepperdine
Cypress, TX
G
20
Shani Rainey
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
RS Sr
Lovejoy HS
Fairview, TX
C
21
Arianna McCurry
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Fr
Roseville HS
Roseville, CA
G/F
22
Nicole Iademarco
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
RS Sr
The Woodlands HS Arizona State
The Woodlands, TX
C
23
Alexah Chrisman
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
So
McAuley HS
Lawrenceburg, IN
C
24
Temi Alao
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
RS Fr
Allen HS
Allen, TX
G
25
Kendall Ellig
5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
RS So
Liberty Christian School
Flower Mound, TX
F
30
Olivia Ogwumike
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
RS Sr
Cypress Woods HS Pepperdine
Cypress, TX
C
32
Nancy Mulkey
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
RS So
Cypress Woods HS Oklahoma
Cypress, TX
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule
[ 2]
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 7, 2018 *6:00 pm
at No. 20 Texas A&M
L 54–65
0–1
Reed Arena (4,043)College Station, TX
Nov 11, 2018 *4:00 pm
at UCLA
L 50–59
0–2
Pauley Pavilion (1,353)Los Angeles, CA
Nov 17, 2018 *2:00 pm
at Little Rock
W 79–65
1–2
Jack Stephens Center (818)Little Rock, AR
Nov 20, 2018 *7:00 pm
Texas Southern
W 76–71
2–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (529)Houston, TX
Nov 23, 2018 *2:00 pm
Georgia State
W 66–49
3–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (383)Houston, TX
Nov 25, 2018 *2:00 pm
McNeese State
W 93–65
4–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (380)Houston, TX
Dec 1, 2018 *2:00 pm
New Orleans
W 67–56
5–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,621)Houston, TX
Dec 8, 2018 *3:00 pm
at Prairie View A&M
W 68–58
6–2
William Nicks Building (240)Prairie View, TX
Dec 15, 2018 *4:00 pm, ESPN3
SMU
W 66–52
7–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,152)Houston, TX
Dec 18, 2018 *7:30 pm
vs. North Carolina Carolinas Challenge
L 50–71
7–3
Myrtle Beach Convention Center Myrtle Beach, SC
Dec 20, 2018 *7:30 pm
vs. Coastal Carolina Carolinas Challenge
W 56–52
8–3
Myrtle Beach Convention Center Myrtle Beach, SC
Dec 29, 2018 *1:00 pm
at Incarnate Word
W 74–63
9–3
McDermott Convocation Center (247)San Antonio, TX
Conference USA regular season
Jan 3, 2019 6:00 pm
at Southern Miss
W 58–47
10–3 (1–0)
Reed Green Coliseum (982)Hattiesburg, MS
Jan 5, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Louisiana Tech
W 61–51
11–3 (2–0)
Thomas Assembly Center (1,073)Ruston, LA
Jan 10, 2019 7:00 pm
UTSA
W 85–54
12–3 (3–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (679)Houston, TX
Jan 12, 2019 2:00 pm
UTEP
W 76–42
13–3 (4–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (661)Houston, TX
Jan 19, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3
North Texas
W 64–52
14–3 (5–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (774)Houston, TX
Jan 24, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+
at Middle Tennessee
W 60–47
15–3 (6–0)
Murphy Center (4,053)Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 26, 2019 2:00 pm
at UAB
W 55–43
16–3 (7–0)
Bartow Arena (635)Birmingham, AL
Jan 31, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Charlotte
W 61–51
17–3 (8–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (502)Houston, TX
Feb 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3
Old Dominion
W 48–42
18–3 (9–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (737)Houston, TX
Feb 7, 2019 6:00 pm
at Western Kentucky
W 68–46
19–3 (10–0)
E. A. Diddle Arena (1,347)Bowling Green, KY
Feb 9, 2019 11:00 am
at Marshall
W 79–67
20–3 (11–0)
Cam Henderson Center (1,042)Huntington, WV
Feb 14, 2019 7:00 pm, beIN
FIU
W 76–44
21–3 (12–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (654)Houston, TX
Feb 14, 2019 2:00 pm
Florida Atlantic
W 63–35
22–3 (13–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (755)Houston, TX
Feb 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 25
at North Texas
W 59–47
23–3 (14–0)
The Super Pit (751)Denton, TX
Mar 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 24
Louisiana Tech
W 78–42
24–3 (15–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,606)Houston, TX
Mar 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 24
at UTSA
W 72–46
25–3 (16–0)
Convocation Center (579)San Antonio, TX
Conference USA Women's Tournament
Mar 14, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN+
(1) No. 24
vs. (9) North Texas Quarterfinals
W 61–43
26–3
The Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX
Mar 15, 2019 5:30 pm, Stadium
(1) No. 24
vs. (4) Western Kentucky Semifinals
W 64–57
27–3
The Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX
Mar 16, 2019 4:30 pm, CBSSN
(1) No. 24
vs. (3) Middle Tennessee Championship Game
W 69–54
28–3
The Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX
NCAA Women's Tournament
Mar 22, 2019 *1:00 pm, ESPN2
(12 C) No. 24
vs. (5 C) No. 18 Marquette First Round
L 54–58 OT
28–4
Reed Arena College Station, TX
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
C=Chicago Region.
All times are in
Central Time .
Rankings
Regular Season Polls
Poll
Pre- Season
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Final
AP
RV
RV
RV
25
24
24
24
21
Coaches
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
Legend
Increase in ranking
Decrease in ranking
No Change
(RV)
Received Votes
(NR)
Not Ranked
See also
2018–19 Rice Owls men's basketball team
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons