2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Owls, led by third-year head coach Lindsay Edmonds, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as first year members of the American Athletic Conference.

2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball
AAC Tournament Champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	19–15 (9–9 AAC)
Head coach	Lindsay Edmonds (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Lakevia Boykin Nick Grant Danyelle Grant
Home arena	Tudor Fieldhouse
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 American Athletic Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Tulsa	13	–	5		.722			25	–	10		.714
North Texas	13	–	5		.722			23	–	9		.719
Temple	13	–	5		.722			20	–	12		.625
UTSA	10	–	8		.556			18	–	15		.545
South Florida	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Charlotte	9	–	9		.500			16	–	15		.516
UAB	9	–	9		.500			18	–	14		.563
Memphis	9	–	9		.500			13	–	17		.433
East Carolina	9	–	9		.500			19	–	14		.576
Rice †	9	–	9		.500			19	–	15		.559
SMU	8	–	10		.444			14	–	16		.467
Florida Atlantic	6	–	12		.333			11	–	19		.367
Wichita State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	22		.313
Tulane	3	–	15		.167			12	–	20		.375
† 2024 AAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Owls finished the 2022–23 season 23–9, 13–7 in C-USA play to finish in third place.^[1] As the #3 seed in the C-USA tournament and receiving a first-round bye, they were upset by #6 seed UTSA in the quarterfinals.^[2] They received an at-large bid into the WNIT, where they defeated BYU in the first round,^[3] before falling to Oregon in the second round.^[4] This was the Owls' final season as members of Conference USA, as they moved to the American Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2023.^[5]

Roster

2023–24 Rice Owls women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown F 1 Malia Fisher 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Hebron Christian Academy Dacula, Georgia G 2 Emily Klaczek 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr UAB Hoffman Estates, Illinois G 4 Pace Rickard 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Grand Rapids Christian High School Grand Rapids, Michigan G 5 Destiny Jackson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Mansfield Timberview High School Mansfield, Texas G 11 Dominique Ennis 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So King's Christian Collegiate Fort Erie, Ontario G 12 Layla Conley 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr John Marshall Harlan High School San Antonio, Texas G 14 Maya Bokunewicz 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr State College Area High School State College, Pennsylvania G 20 Hailey Adams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Fr Tom C. Clark High School San Antonio, Texas G/F 23 Kennedy Clifton 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Bishop Ireton High School Upper Marlboro, Maryland G 24 Ashlyn Zhang 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Flintridge Preparatory School South Pasadena, California G 30 Jazzy Owens-Barnett 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Frisco Liberty High School Plano, Texas G 32 Trinity Gooden 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Choctaw High School Midwest City, Oklahoma C 33 Fatou Samb 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr California Houston, Texas C 35 Sussy Ngulefac 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Samford Lilburn, Georgia C 44 Shelby Hayes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Cedar Park High School Cedar Park, Texas	Head coach Lindsay Edmonds (Appalachian State) Assistant coach(es) Lakevia Boykin (Wake Forest) Nick Grant (Baylor) Danyelle Grant (Utah State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 15, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023* 7:00 pm		Angelo State	W 101–47	–	26 – Klaczek	8 – Samb	5 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse  Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 70–38	1–0	14 – Ennis	10 – Fisher	3 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse (622) Houston, TX
November 9, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Abilene Christian	W 69–58	2–0	13 – 2 Tied	6 – Fisher	3 – Klaczek	Moody Coliseum (1,040) Abilene, TX
November 12, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at TCU	L 42–67	2–1	11 – Ennis	5 – Samb	2 – 3 Tied	Schollmaier Arena (1,788) Fort Worth, TX
November 16, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia Tech	L 75–78	2–2	13 – Jackson	7 – 2 Tied	3 – Klaczek	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,088) Houston, TX
November 19, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Saint Mary's	W 73–62	3–2	26 – Bokunewicz	9 – Fisher	5 – Fisher	Tudor Fieldhouse (541) Houston, TX
November 25, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	L 56–67	3–3	12 – Jackson	7 – Hayes	2 – 3 Tied	William R. Johnson Coliseum (751) Nacogdoches, TX
November 29, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas Southern	W 74–44	4–3	25 – Ennis	7 – Hayes	5 – Ennis	Tudor Fieldhouse (591) Houston, TX
December 2, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 84–56	5–3	14 – Ennis	9 – Fisher	5 – Hayes	Dugan Wellness Center (824) Corpus Christi, TX
December 9, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		No. 23 Gonzaga	L 72–80	5–4	16 – Jackson	6 – Hayes	3 – 2 Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,367) Houston, TX
December 16, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Prairie View A&M	W 85–59	6–4	14 – Owens-Barnett	8 – Hayes	5 – Gooden	Tudor Fieldhouse (765) Houston, TX
December 20, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Houston Rivalry	L 63–71 OT	6–5	16 – Ennis	10 – Fisher	4 – Jackson	Fertitta Center (1,033) Houston, TX
AAC regular season
January 3, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Wichita State	W 76–64	7–5 (1–0)	17 – Ennis	8 – Adams	3 – 2 Tied	Fertitta Center (424) Houston, TX
January 7, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at SMU	W 65–63	8–5 (2–0)	17 – Jackson	10 – Fisher	7 – Jackson	Moody Coliseum (985) University Park, TX
January 11, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Charlotte	L 54–61	8–6 (2–1)	14 – Fisher	12 – Jackson	2 – 2 Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (697) Houston, TX
January 14, 2024 12:00 pm, ESPNU		South Florida	W 67–64	9–6 (3–1)	23 – Fisher	13 – Fisher	6 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse (893) Houston, TX
January 17, 2024 10:00 am, ESPN+		at East Carolina	W 80–67	10–6 (4–1)	19 – Ennis	10 – Fisher	7 – Jackson	Williams Arena (5,552) Greenville, NC
January 20, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tulane	W 61–44	11–6 (5–1)	16 – Ennis	6 – Bokunewicz	5 – Jackson	Devlin Fieldhouse (982) New Orleans, LA
January 24, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Tulsa	L 65–70	11–7 (5–2)	17 – 2 Tied	9 – Klaczek	3 – Ennis	Reynolds Center (1,768) Tulsa, OK
January 27, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Memphis	L 66–73	11–8 (5–3)	20 – Jackson	12 – Adams	3 – 2 Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (841) Houston, TX
January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		SMU	W 69–60	12–8 (6–3)	19 – Ngulefac	9 – Adams	7 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse (804) Houston, TX
February 3, 2024 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Atlantic	L 63–68	12–9 (6–4)	16 – Jackson	7 – Ennis	3 – Owens-Barnett	Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (484) Boca Raton, FL
February 7, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at South Florida	W 69–59	13–9 (7–4)	21 – Owens-Barnett	7 – Ennis	4 – Jackson	Yuengling Center (3,005) Tampa, FL
February 10, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Tulsa	W 78–66	14–9 (8–4)	17 – 2 Tied	12 – Adams	4 – 2 Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (814) Houston, TX
February 14, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		East Carolina	W 75–57	15–9 (9–4)	22 – Fisher	9 – Adams	5 – Owens-Barnett	Tudor Fieldhouse (623) Houston, TX
February 17, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at UAB	L 74–87	15–10 (9–5)	20 – Fisher	8 – Adams	6 – Jackson	Bartow Arena (927) Birmingham, AL
February 20, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Memphis	L 74–79 OT	15–11 (9–6)	21 – Ennis	6 – Ennis	5 – Fisher	Elma Roane Fieldhouse (881) Memphis, TN
February 25, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Temple	L 66–75	15–12 (9–7)	24 – Fisher	9 – Jackson	6 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,109) Houston, TX
March 2, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		North Texas	L 54–63	15–13 (9–8)	13 – Ngulefac	10 – Klaczek	7 – Jackson	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,071) Houston, TX
March 5, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at UTSA	L 52–60	15–14 (9–9)	30 – Fisher	12 – Fisher	2 – 3 Tied	Convocation Center (1,252) San Antonio, TX
AAC tournament
March 10, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(10)	vs. (7) UAB Second Round	W 71–56	16–14	20 – Fisher	9 – Ngulefac	4 – 2 Tied	Dickies Arena (1,483) Fort Worth, TX
March 11, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(10)	vs. (2) North Texas Quarterfinals	W 61–59	17–14	16 – Jackson	10 – Fisher	6 – Jackson	Dickies Arena (1,602) Fort Worth, TX
March 12, 2024 8:00 pm, ESPN+	(10)	vs. (3) Temple Semifinals	W 60–57	18–14	17 – Fisher	5 – 3 Tied	4 – 2 Tied	Dickies Arena (1,520) Fort Worth, TX
March 13, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPNU	(10)	vs. (9) East Carolina Championship	W 61–41	19–14	15 – Ngulefac	11 – Ngulefac	4 – 2 Tied	Dickies Arena (2,682) Fort Worth, TX
NCAA Tournament
March 22, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN	(14 A2)	at (3 A2) No. 8 LSU First Round	L 60–70	19–15	15 – Jackson	5 – Fisher	5 – Gooden	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,957) Baton Rouge, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[6][7]