BOX SCORE
HOUSTON – Despite senior guard Latia Williams' 12th career double-double, the Prairie View A&M women's basketball team dropped their 2012-13 season opener to Rice University by a margin of 57-42 on Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Lady Panthers struggled with their shooting in their season opener as they shot only 28.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the free throw stripe. Friday's performance wasn't the type of showing third-year PV head coach Toyelle Wilson expected as Rice avenged last season's loss to the Lady Panthers.
“We didn't play with any intensity as we were outworked and outhustled,” stated Wilson. “Rice's players showed up and no one showed up for us. We had a lot of forced turnovers and we couldn't score in the half court. We shot 30 percent in the first half and 28 percent for the entire game.”
Williams scored Prairie View's first bucket of the season to take a 2-0 lead at the 19:09 mark of the first half. Rice followed with a basket to tie the contest and claimed its first lead (4-2) of the night following a jumper from Jessica Kuster.
Both teams traded buckets from that point as Rice would extend its lead to as much as six points on several occasions within the first nine minutes. Down 14-8 at the 10:51 mark, Prairie View A&M drew to within 14-13 with 8:32 remaining following a brief 5-0 surge which featured a three-pointer from sophomore point guard Jeanette Jackson and a layup from Williams. However, that would be the closest Prairie View A&M would stay within the Lady Owls as Rice broke the contest open by outscoring Prairie View A&M 15-6 to close out the half ahead 29-19.
Prairie View A&M would draw to within nine points (33-24) early in the second stanza as senior guard Kiara Etienne nailed a three-pointer with 17:02 left on the clock. The Lady Panthers forced a turnover on the ensuing possession but failed to capitalize on the momentum with consecutive missed baskets. Rice scored the game's next four points to push its lead back to double-digits and held on from there as PV would not get any closer than 10 points the remainder of the outing while Rice led by as much 20 points late in the second half.
Williams, the 2012-13 SWAC Preseason Player of the Year, led the Lady Panthers with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes of action on Friday night. Etienne followed with nine points while sophomore forward Larissa Scott chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
With only a few days until the team's next contest, Wilson said several things need to happen if the Lady Panthers aspire to reverse their fortunes.
“To improve as a team, we must work harder in practice, come out focused, play with more intensity and and hit our shots.”
The Lady Panthers will return home for their only non-conference home match-up of the season as they'll host Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the Baby Dome.
