Western Kentucky Lady Toppers at Rice Owls
· CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP - SEMIFINAL
57 - 64
Ogwumike rallies No. 24 Rice women, top W Kentucky 64-57
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.
How can I watch Lady Toppers vs. Owls?
- TV Channel: Lady Toppers vs Owls 2021 College Basketball, week 19, is broadcasted on .
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Recent Plays
| 4th 0:00 |  |
End of Game | 57 - 64 |
| 4th 0:02 |  |
Erica Ogwumike Defensive Rebound. | 57 - 64 |
| 4th 0:02 |  |
Whitney Creech missed Jumper. | 57 - 64 |
| 4th 0:07 | |
Western Kentucky Timeout | 57 - 64 |
| 4th 0:08 | |
Dee Givens Defensive Rebound. | 57 - 64 |
Statistics
 WKU |
RICE |
|
|---|---|---|
| 22-55 | FG | 23-47 |
| 40 | Field Goal % | 49 |
| 6-21 | 3PT | 6-18 |
| 29 | Three Point % | 33 |
| 7-9 | FT | 12-14 |
| 78 | Free Throw % | 86 |
| 26 | Rebounds | 33 |
| 6 | Offensive Rebounds | 5 |
| 20 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 11 | Assists | 17 |
| 7 | Steals | 3 |
| 0 | Blocks | 3 |
| 12 | Turnovers | 16 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 12 | Total Turnovers | 16 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 15 | Points Off Turnovers | 12 |
| 6 | Fast Break Points | 2 |
| 22 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 14 | Fouls | 9 |
| 10 | Largest Lead | 11 |
Game Information
Location: Frisco, TX
Capacity:
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Tech | 17-1 | - | 26-7 |
| Florida International | 12-6 | 5 | 21-12 |
| Missouri State | 11-7 | 6 | 23-13 |
| Liberty | 11-7 | 6 | 18-13 |
| Sam Houston | 11-7 | 6 | 18-13 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-7 | 6 | 17-16 |
| Jacksonville State | 9-9 | 8 | 16-16 |
| Kennesaw State | 6-12 | 11 | 13-17 |
| Delaware | 6-12 | 11 | 13-19 |
| UTEP | 5-13 | 12 | 13-17 |
| New Mexico State | 5-13 | 12 | 9-21 |
| Western Kentucky | 4-14 | 13 | 8-21 |
2025-26 American Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 17-1 | - | 29-6 |
| East Carolina | 14-4 | 3 | 22-10 |
| South Florida | 13-5 | 4 | 20-12 |
| Tulsa | 11-7 | 6 | 19-12 |
| North Texas | 11-7 | 6 | 19-14 |
| UTSA | 9-9 | 8 | 18-16 |
| Temple | 8-10 | 9 | 15-17 |
| Charlotte | 8-10 | 9 | 14-18 |
| Florida Atlantic | 7-11 | 10 | 14-18 |
| Tulane | 6-12 | 11 | 11-20 |
| Wichita State | 5-13 | 12 | 8-23 |
| UAB | 4-14 | 13 | 11-19 |
| Memphis | 4-14 | 13 | 10-21 |