HOUSTON, TX – The Tigers ended the road trip with a game at Rice, the two teams battled back and forth for the majority of the game before the Owls pulled away to win 81-73. The Tigers stayed close the entire game and even held multiple leads heading into the fourth quarter. 
 
The Tigers once again jumped to an early 7-5 lead in the first quarter thanks to Madelene Ennis opening the game with six points. The Owls bounced back quickly taking a seven-point lead into the end of the quarter 20-13. 
 
In the same way Ennis took over the first quarter, Cecilia Holmberg took over the second quarter. Holmberg scored seven points in the quarter and added a steal which helped the Tigers briefly retake the lead over the Owls. Rice quickly bounced back, taking a lead of as many as eight before the half as the Tigers trailed 40-35. 
 
Coming into the third quarter the Tigers offense came to life, scoring 19 points and outscoring the Owls by six which was enough for the Tigers to take a lead heading into the fourth. Holmberg hit a three to tie the game again for the Tigers, before Anaya James hit clutch free throws to give the Tigers the lead with one quarter to play. 
 
The fourth started well for the Tigers, building their biggest lead of the game with just under eight minutes to play. The Owls were not ready to go down without a fight though, battling back with 12 free throws and two three-point shots to retake the lead in the final five minutes of the game for the 81-73 win. 
 
Anaya James bounced back with a 19-point performance to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Elizabeth Elliott, Cecilia Holmberg, and Madelene Ennis all reached double digits in scoring, 11, 14, and 10 respectively. Ennis led the team with nine rebounds and Holmberg had two steals. 
 
The Tigers are back on the road following Thanksgiving, heading to Oregon State on December 1, with an 11 AM tip-off.