Feb. 15, 2007
Box Score
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU women's basketball team buckled down on defense and smothered the Rice offense enroute to a 64-50 victory over the visiting Owls Thursday evening at Moody Coliseum on the campus of SMU. With the win, SMU improves to 15-10 overall (7-6 C-USA) while Rice drops only its second game in its last eight contests and now posts a record of 15-11 (8-5 C-USA).
In the first half, both teams struggled to find its respective shooting ranges. On many occasions, SMU played down to the final seconds on the shot clock - thanks in part to Rice's packed-in defense. SMU tried to run the ball on Rice, but could not convert often enough. SMU was outrebounded by Rice, 23-19, but the Owls turned the ball over three more times than SMU. Rice collected eight points off SMU turnovers and also eight points off of second chances. SMU's Janielle Dodds scored 12 first-half points as the Mustangs went into the intermission with a slim 29-25 lead.
In the second half, Rice scored the first four points of the half and tied the game at 29-29 at the 16:30 mark. But SMU implemented its transition game and caught the Owls off guard. SMU built up a lead to as many as 15 points (48-33) with over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Rice tried to cut into the Mustang lead but was unsuccessful in its attempt. The Mustangs shot better from the field in the second half (40%) while the Owls shot a mere 25.8% field goal percentage in the half.
Dodds led all scorers with 22 points - her fifth game this season with 20 or more points. She added nine rebounds and four blocked shots, just missing a double-double. Freshman Delisha Wills added 14 points and posted a career-high three blocked shots. Rice's Lauren Neaves topped the Owls with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She was the only Owl to score in double figures.
The Mustangs close out their home portion of the 2006-07 regular season Saturday afternoon with a contest vs. Houston at 2:00 p.m. The Cougars (7-16, 4-9 C-USA) lost to Tulsa Thursday night by the score of 81-73.
