Hawkins leads bid for shot at crown

Maya Hawkins had big aspirations when she arrived as a freshman at Rice three years ago.

The senior from Mansfield wanted to play for championships, and the 5-6 guard will get her chance. By beating Idaho of the Big Sky 86-80 on Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse, the Owls will play for the Women’s Basketball Invitational title at home at 4 p.m. Sunday against North Carolina Greensboro (20-14).

“I wanted to compete, I wanted to win games,” Hawkins said. “Never would have thought that I would have a chance to win a championship. It’s an amazing opportunity.”

Hawkins is a major reason the Owls (21-13) took out Idaho (19-15), a prolific 3-point shooting team that is second nationally in 3-pointers made with 354. Hawkins had 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“We wanted to attack the basket and she did that to start the game and had a lot of success, and that opens opportunities to shoot from the perimeter,” second-year Rice coach Tina Langley said. “Maya shoots the ball well. So we’re happy she can get to the rim or shoot the 3. She made great decisions.”

The Owls, who led by as many as 11 points in taking a 44-43 halftime edge, were 34-of-66 from the field — 10-of-23 on 3-pointers. The Vandals were 31-of-57 — 12of-32 on 3-pointers.

Nicole Iademarco had 17 points and six rebounds for Rice. Wendy Knight added 14 points. Rice outrebounded Idaho 40-22, 14-2 on the offensive end. Mikayla Ferenz had 26 points to pace Idaho.