WBB fall to USF in the AAC Championship Final

By Diego Palos Rodriguez     3/13/25 12:47am

Despite making it to the AAC Championship final for the second year in a row, the Rice women’s basketball team was unable to capture their second-straight title, losing to the University of South Florida 69-62. This was also the second year in a row that the Owls started the tournament in the second round, being ranked tenth and ninth in the conference, respectively.

“No one ever wants to come in second place, so definitely [a lot of] disappointment and a lot of upset young ladies in the locker room,” head coach Linsdey Edmonds said. “But no one expected us to be back in this place again this year. No one expected us to be here last year. I think it just speaks volumes for our culture, our program, who we are, what we're about and how we do things. And I'm proud of that.” 

USF took an early lead that they held onto for the rest of the game. The Bulls started the game off on a 10-2 run that was fueled by long-range shots and strong defensive play. While senior center Sussy Ngulefac led the Owls in both offensive rebounding and scoring early in the game, it was not enough to cut the tie the game by the end of the first quarter and the Owls trailed by six. 

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Senior forward Malia Fisher, who led the team in scoring this season, exited the game during the first quarter after being elbowed by a USF player and returned with a face mask .

“When I came back, obviously I saw that we were down, so my mindset was just try to do everything I can for my team to get back in the game, and unfortunately, we came up

short,” Fisher said. 

The Owls started the second half trailing by eleven points and maintained that margin heading into the fourth quarter. Despite a better performance in the third quarter, the team was hindered by a poor shooting display from the three point line, finishing the game 2-16, with the team’s only three-pointers coming late in the fourth quarter.

“We definitely struggled from the three point line tonight, that's not something that we've done since we've been here this week,” Edmonds said. “I don't know if it was legs or fatigue or what the case may be, I thought we got good looks. The shots just didn't fall.”

The Owls were ultimately able to cut the lead to just five points with six minutes left in the game, but were unable to keep that momentum to finish off the game. This was the first loss in Rice’s AAC Championship history, going 7-0 since they joined the AAC last year.

Students gathered at the Pub to stream the game and support the Owls in their championship run. One of these supporters, junior Lindsey Frost, said that she attended most of the basketball games this season and was proud of the team’s performance.

“They had an amazing run and they did a great job,” Frost said. “I'm disappointed [in the result], but I know we'll come back strong next year.”

This was the last AAC game for five graduating Owls: Fisher, Ngulefac, guard Emily Klaczek, guard Maya Bokunewicz, and guard Trinity Gooden. According to Ngulefac, aside from the success that the team has had, one of the biggest things she’ll remember from the program is the relationships that she made during her time at Rice. 

“It's a family atmosphere [that] you don't get everywhere, and you don't take it for granted,” Ngulefac said. “Like some people say, the sun will come up tomorrow and we'll be fine. But the biggest thing we're leaving with is the relationships that we built.”

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