Sports

After stretch of tough luck, Quincy Olivari’s shots are falling

Quincy Olivari got hit by a car once. Two summers ago, Rice’s now-junior guard was biking in Hawaii when a driver ran a stop sign and sent him flying onto the pavement. But according to Olivari, while he couldn’t dodge the car, he did dodge a proverbial bullet.

MBB hosts UNT with chance to prove they’re one of C-USA’s best

Currently in third place, the Rice men’s basketball team will have a chance to prove they belong among Conference USA’s best this weekend when they host the University of North Texas on Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse. 

Even after cold-streak, WBB’s rebuild is still ahead of schedule

Rice’s women’s basketball team got off to a ridiculous start this year. The Owls won their first nine games, their best-ever start to a season in program history. They weren’t just beating up on an easy non-conference schedule either. The Owls beat a pair of power-five teams in Texas A&M University and Texas Christian University, in addition to a win over the American Athletic Conference’s University of Houston (although admittedly all three  of those higher-profile teams are having down years).

T&F indoor season gets off to fast start at UH meet

For the first time this year, both of Rice’s track and field teams were in action on the same weekend, competing at the University of Houston’s Robert Platt Invitational. The meet was the first of the indoor season for Rice’s men’s team and the second for the women’s team, which sent a few competitors to UH the previous weekend. Five Owls took gold over the weekend, and seven others medaled.

Ashlee Austin discusses her journey from bench to brilliance

If you watched any Rice women’s basketball games in the past two years, you’ve seen No. 22 with pink highlights hitting shots and making plays. But if you saw Ashlee Austin as a freshman, you would be shocked to see the transformation that the forward from Johns Creek, Georgia has gone through: from the last seat on the bench to the face of Rice women’s basketball.

Quiet confidence: Travis Evee wants the last shot

In Rice’s Jan. 14 home victory over conference rival University of Texas at El Paso, junior guard Travis Evee took the last shot and did not miss. With seven seconds on the clock and the Miners leading by one, Evee got the inbound pass from sophomore guard/forward Cameron Sheffield, drove the length of the court, jumped off his right foot just inside the three-point line and floated the ball in. The buzzer rang, and the game ended. Evee ran to hug his coach and celebrate.

Evee beats the buzzer as MBB bests UTEP in chaotic final minute

If momentum really is as powerful a force in sports as countless armchair coaches and talking heads would claim, someone forgot to tell Rice junior guard Travis Evee. Up by five with 30 seconds to go, the Owls men’s basketball team allowed a quick basket, turned the ball over, allowed another layup, turned the ball over once more and committed a foul with six seconds remaining to give the University of Texas at El Paso a chance to take the lead with two free throws. The Miners’ Tae Hardy hit both free throws, and Rice, now trailing by one, appeared on the verge of a collapse of somewhere between normal and epic proportions. But Evee told “uncle Mo” to sit down, driving the length of the court to sink a left-handed floater as time expired to give the Owls a whiplash-inducing 83-82 win.

1-18-2023 Sports Cartoon: "Owl-American"

Crosthwait’s career-high leads women’s basketball past UTSA

The Rice women’s basketball team came back from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter to defeat the University of Texas at San Antonio on Monday night by a score of 78-76. Their second straight win against Conference USA opponents, the Owls are now 3-4 in conference play and have a 12-4 record overall. The Owls were led offensively by senior guard Katelyn Crosthwait, who scored a career-high 23 points against the Roadrunners while also tying the school record for threes scored in a game with seven.

Swimming sweeps SMU meet in preview of new-look AAC

Over the weekend, the Rice swim team traveled to Dallas for their first meet of 2023 against three American Athletic Conference foes. Across the two days of competition, the Owls swept the meet, defeating Tulane University 247-68, the University of North Texas 254-93 and Southern Methodist University 171.5-161.5. Following the sweep, head coach Seth Huston was really pleased with how hard the team fought.

JT Daniels’ transfer highlights Bloomgren’s best asset: his ambition

A year and a half ago, in an interview, Rice’s head football coach Mike Bloomgren told me about his proudest memory from his days as Stanford University offensive coordinator. On the back of a New Year’s Day 45-16 thrashing of the University of Iowa in the Rose Bowl, the Cardinal ended the season ranked No. 3 in the country. Bloomgren thought that ranking was significant since Stanford had also cracked the top-four in that year’s U.S. News and World Report college rankings, meaning that his players had gotten the rare chance to play for a world-class football team while receiving a world-class education.

1-11-2023 Sports Cartoon: "Owl-American"

Men’s basketball drops overtime heartbreaker to LA Tech, snaps win streak

When junior guard Travis Evee’s shot from near half-court found the net at the buzzer to send their game against Louisiana Tech University on Thursday night into overtime, Rice men’s basketball head coach Scott Pera said he thought his team had been given new life.

Women’s basketball falls short against LA Tech, drops to 1-3 in conference

The start of the new year did not go according to plan for the Rice women’s basketball as they fell on Thursday to Louisiana Tech University 79-74. In their fourth Conference USA matchup this season, the Owls fell behind early, and their second half comeback fell short, dropping them to 1-3 in conference play.  Following the loss, head coach Lindsay Edmonds said she was disappointed with the Owls’ early deficit, which proved too much to overcome.

Rice lands transfer QB JT Daniels, a former 5-star, to cap highest rated recruiting class in years

Quarterback JT Daniels, a former five-star recruit who has started 29 games across stints with the University of Southern California, University of Georgia and West Virginia University, will transfer to Rice. Daniels joins an incoming class that ranks No. 80 in the NCAA according to 247Sports’s composite rankings, as of the start of the early signing period on Wednesday. According to head coach Mike Bloomgren, Daniels is one of the best quarterbacks he’s ever recruited going back to his time as offensive coordinator at Stanford University.

Rice’s defense gored by Southern Miss in LendingTree Bowl loss

Rice’s 38-24 loss to the University of Southern Mississippi in the LendingTree Bowl on Saturday was listed on ESPN as NCAA Football: Rice vs. Southern Miss. But according to the Owls’ head coach Mike Bloomgren, the broadcast could have just as easily had a different name. “The Frank Gore [Jr.] show,” Bloomgren said. “We know how impressive Frank is, what a great athlete, what a great runner he is, and I thought he was phenomenal.”

Thresher staff bowl game predictions, featuring a special guest

In honor of Rice’s first bowl game appearance in eight years, we’ve collected predictions from our staff and one very presidential guest.

MBB loses OT thriller to No. 7 Longhorn’s on day of UT coach’s arrest

Late in the first half of Monday night's game against the No. 7 seed University of Texas, it looked like Rice volleyball might not be the only Owls to defeat a top-ranked Texas team. Up 33-23 with under two minutes remaining in the first half, the Rice men’s basketball team looked poised for their first win over a top-10 opponent in 40 years. That dream was for naught, as the Longhorns won a tight overtime battle, 87-81. After the game, head coach Scott Pera said he was disappointed in the outcome but proud of his players and their fight. 

Bloomgren returns as head coach for 2023 season

Mike Bloomgren will return next season for his sixth as the head coach of Rice football, an athletic department official confirmed Saturday. While Bloomgren’s initial five-year contract was set to expire this year, the official said that he is under contract for the upcoming year after signing an extension in 2020. The total length of the extension is unknown.

Volleyball loses heartbreaker to Baylor in second round, ending season and NCAA tournament run

Rice volleyball’s season came to a close on Friday, as the No. 5 seed Owls lost a five set thriller to No. 4 seed Baylor University in the second round of the NCAA tournament (25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 25-14, 11-15). The loss ended the Owls tournament run and hopes at their first Sweet Sixteen berth in program history. After the game, head coach Genny Volpe was proud of her team despite the loss.