By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Rice Owls women’s basketball coach Lindsey Edmonds stood in the foyer of the UTSA Convocation Center Saturday afternoon, smiling and taking selfies with friends.

A crowd of her program’s supporters lingered in the building where the Owls had just defeated the Roadrunners, 65-55. It was clearly a group of people basking in the glow of a 14-game winning streak, a 19-3 record overall and a 9-0 mark in the American Conference.

Edmomds shrugged off a reporter’s question about how it felt to be riding such a streak and to be unbeaten in conference play at the halfway point of the schedule.

“Our logo for this year, our theme, is TNT,” Edmonds said. “Which is, today, not tomorrow. And I think we just want to take advantage of every day. Every opportunity that we have, we want to be the best versions of ourself.

“I’m not really concerned or worried or even thinking about records or streaks,” she added, “because I’m thinking about how we can be the best version of ourselves today. We were able to come up here and get a win on the road at a place that’s really, really hard to win.

“So, I’m proud of that.”

Rice’s Victoria Flores led her team offensively, scoring 33 points. She was efficient on every level, making eight of 10 shots from the field, four of six from 3-point range and 13 of 14 at the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, a determined defensive effort by the Owls held the Roadrunners to 29 percent shooting and to five points below their season average as a team. As the Roadrunners fell to a 10-10 record on the season and to 5-4 in conference, they were shut down on seven of 36 from the field in the second half.

At one point in a decisive third quarter, the Roadrunners misfired on 12 shots in a row. It’s arguable that the Owls were successful because they were able to expose weaknesses in an offense that sometimes seems too dependent on only a few reliable shooters.

“We have to help them,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I’ve been saying that. If I had the answers, trust me, I would help them. But we’ve got to figure out how to help those players, and they have to sometimes be comfortable with moving the ball, because they’re not getting the looks they get on certain days.”

As the second half of the conference schedule looms, the Roadrunners are healthier than they were a few weeks ago, but they still have five scholarship players out.

“I know Karen Aston and I know she is an incredible coach,” Edmonds said. “I know that she is coaching them up. I think they’re a tough team. I think they have qualities instilled in them by Karen. Again, they’re going to win a lot of games.

“They’re tough … and they’re stingy on the defensive end. I think she’s still going to do a great job despite having the injuries.”

Guards Damara Allen and Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners offensively, combining for 21 points. Allen finished with a team-high 11 on four of 14 shooting. Hardaway’s 10 points came on a three of nine effort.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe, UTSA’s offensive leader, shot three of 11 from the field and finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

A late spark in the game came from freshman guard Adriana Robles, who scored nine off the bench. Robles was four for seven, the only UTSA player to shoot better than 50 percent in the game.

Idara Udo, in her second game back after sitting out more than six weeks with an injury, had a tough day. The 6-foot-1, low-post forward missed all seven shots from the field and scored two.

Records

Rice 19-3, 9-0
UTSA 10-10, 5-4

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

First half

In a battle of heavyweights within the American, both the Owls and the Roadrunners pushed the pace in the first half.

Rice took a 31-28 lead at intermission, with Flores scoring 14 points and senior center Shelby Hayes adding nine. The Owls had an advantage with a 12-4 lead in points scored off turnovers.

Notable

UTSA entered the season as the defending conference champions. Last year, the Roadrunners finished 26-5 and 17-1 in the American. The Owls had a hand in dashing their NCAA postseason dreams by beating them 62-58 in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. After Saturday’s loss, Aston told reporters that she wasn’t thinking about last season.

Flores, a junior from Duncanville, was the talk of the game played in front of 1,172 fans. But Rice forward Hailey Adams also played a major role in the victory. The 6-foot-1 junior from Clark High School produced 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals. She also scored five points, including a big shot in the fourth quarter.

“Hailey Adams does Hailey Adams things, that no one else on our team can do,” Edmonds said. “She fills up the stat sheet in a way that’s really, really impressive. She didn’t make a ton of shots tonight, but she made one in the fourth quarter that was crucial.

“We really needed it in the worst way, and she stepped up and shot that shot with confidence.”