SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team hit a season-best 13 three pointers but came up short against Rice on Saturday afternoon, falling, 63-74, at the McDermott Center. 
 
NOTABLES

• Junior guard Imani Robinson led the team with 16 points.
• She splashed home three shots from long distance (3-8), matching her career high in made threes for the second consecutive outing (also Dec. 7 at UMASS).
• Robinson also led the team on the glass, pulling in five rebounds.
• The preseason all-Southland Conference selection is starting to come into her own on offense, averaging 16.5 points on 38.2 percent shooting in her last two games.
• She has now scored in double figures four times this season, and twice in as many games.
• Freshman point guard Macy Ray shined in her first collegiate start, recording new season highs in points (13), assists (nine), steals (four), three pointers made (three), and minutes (36).
• Ray was decisive with the ball all game, recording nine assists to just one turnover.
• She chose the right moments to shoot, going 4-7 (57 percent) from the field to lead the team in field goal percentage.
• This was her second double-digit scoring performance of the season, and her second in as many games (11 on Dec. 7 at UMASS).
• Ray also led the team in fouls drawn with three, while only committing two herself.
• Sophomore forward OIivia Noah stretched the floor with great confidence, pouring in 12 points on a career-best four made threes (4-7).
• She paced a UIW bench that contributed a season-high 24 points.
• UIW continued to crash the offensive glass well, besting Rice (19-9) in the category. Senior guard Gabbi Bowie and freshman forward Starr Omozee led the team with three offensive rebounds each.
• As a team, UIW set a season-high mark, shooting 13-29 from three (44.8 percent).

HOW IT HAPPENED
QTR 1 (16-13): The Cardinals came out of the gates with tremendous energy. They implemented a ferocious full court press, forcing six Rice turnovers. It was the energy on defense that allowed for an 8-0 Cardinals run halfway through the frame to give UIW the lead (16-13) after 10 minutes. Robinson led the team with five points, while Ray delivered three assists.

QTR 2 (31-34): Rice established itself down low in the second quarter. Nancy Mulkey amassed five blocks by herself in the frame, forcing much of UIWs offense to be found on the outside. The Cardinals held their own, draining three triples, courtesy of Ray (2-2) and Robinson (1-2), but Rice shot 4-5 in the paint, while making three threes of its own, to retake the lead (34-31).

QTR 3 (49-60): UIW came out of the break firing once again, cutting the lead to just one point off a Noah three with 6:05 remaining in the quarter, but the Owls' tremendous size in the paint finally took its toll. Rice scored 18 points in the paint to grow its lead. The Cardinals would not go away, making three point shots in critical moments to keep the game within reach; Rice held a 60-49 advantage heading into the fourth. Noah, Robinson and Bowie each scored six points in the frame.

QTR 4 (63-74): Both teams cancelled each other out in the fourth. UIW cut the lead to nine with 6:50 to play, but Rice responded with a 5-0 run to keep the game in hand. Ray put a bow on her first collegiate start with six fourth-quarter points, including a momentum grabbing and-one off a strong move to the basket. Rice held on to top the Cardinals (74-63) in the final game before Southland Conference action starts on Wednesday.

HEAR FROM COACH SMITH
"Very proud of the effort we gave. We did a better job shooting the ball and getting good looks at the basket. Macy played very well. 9 assists and 1 turnover against a very good Rice team is excellent. Olivia and Alexis did well against Mulkey, but there's just so much you can do legally when you are trying to defend 6-9" and I thought they battled hard."

UP NEXT
UIW begins SLC play with a road trip through Louisiana. The Cardinals face McNeese on Wednesday in Lake Charles, with a tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. (CT), before jumping over to Thibodaux to face Nicholls on Jan. 5 in a 1 p.m. tip.

FOLLOW ALONG
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