HUNTSVILLE – A big third quarter was too much to overcome for the Sam Houston women's basketball team on Thursday night, falling to Rice, 74-64, at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 
Courtney Cleveland put up another big night with 24 points to go with eight rebounds and Kaylee Jefferson added 12 points and eight boards; however, the Owls (5-3) got a huge night from Ashlee Austin to pace them as she finished with 30 points.
 
Things were tight after one half of play, with Rice up just 22-21. But the third quarter was a whole other story with the Owls outscoring the Kats 32-24 in the period, paced by a 15-for-18 output at the foul line to pull ahead.
 
Cleveland almost single-handedly kept the Kats in it during that quarter, pumping in 16 of her 24 points in that 10-minute span. It looked as though the Owls would take a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter before a 6-0 spurt in the final 23 seconds from the Kats ended the quarter, including a steal and bucket from LeAndra Echi just before the buzzer.
 
Five straight points from Braylyn Dollar, including a 3-pointer, had the Kats within just three points with six minutes to play in the game; however, Austin scored each of the next eight Rice points to push the lead back to a comfortable margin before the final media timeout, a margin the Owls would hold onto until the finish line.
 
Sam Houston will now close out non-conference play on Monday at home with a game vs Arlington Baptist at Johnson Coliseum.