Owls see WBI as chance to improve

Rice’s measured steps forward include postseason basketball for the first time since 2012.

The Owls are set for a Women’s Basketball Invitational first-round match up against Lamar at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Rice finished 18-13 in coach Tina Langley’s second season after winning just nine in her first year. It’s the program’s most wins since 2010-2011. The Owls had a decent go in the Conference USA tournament, too, defeating UTSA in the first round and nearly knocking off No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee State in the quarterfinals, losing 61-59.

So, Rice, just as most teams do, views this tournament as a hopeful precursor to bigger and better days.

Langley said the benefit of the extra practice time for a team with just three seniors is real. The Owls are still searching for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.

“We even talked to our freshmen about that the other day,” Langley said. “This is a whole other season for us, really. Getting the opportunity not only for your games but for the extra practice time and the one-on-one individual workouts. All the stuff you can do to continue to improve your game individually and then, of course, us as a team and as a program.”

A victory would be the Owls’ first postseason win of any kind since 2006, when they were in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.