Another different starting lineup.

Austin, Bellamy, Jackson, Crosthwait, and Ennis.

Fisher in sweats I think.

Make a statement and bench somebody. Don't care if we've only played a minute. Ennis has failed to get two rebounds because of a lack of hustle. WKU already has 3 OREBs.

Edmonds goes to Owens-Barnett after WKU grabs a fourth long OREB. Rice up 5-4 early.

Rice leads 12-4. All points scored by Austin and Bellamy. Both doing a big job sealing in the paint. And much better urgency on offense.

Unspeakably bad defensive execution on a SLOB at the 5 minute mark. Rice leads 14-7 at the U5.

WKU can't guard Bellamy right now. She's scoring 1v1 and when doubled. But the issue with this team is that WKU is only in this game because of Rice mistakes. They hit a 3 from a SLOB when two Rice players fell asleep, we carelessly turned it over and gave them a free layup, and then we fell asleep on the weakside. It's 18-11 Rice with 7 of WKU's points being self-inflicted.

Rice hands WKU free points on two straight possessions after Hayes can't get a DREB and Clifton commits a frustration foul after missing a shot. Then Ennis travels. Really promising start to the quarter gradually being derailed by old ghosts.

Rice leads 22-16 at the end of the first. I've mostly touched on the negative but plenty of positives. Really big quarter from Bellamy, who simply looks too physical for WKU. Question is how WKU will adjust and then how Bellamy responds. Should have some perimeter shots open the rest of the game, if we can find the shooters.

Ennis with the "fall down in transition, get up, and hit a 3 when the defense forgets about you" strategy. As old as time.

Clifton with an OREB and putback, then Bellamy follows suit. Lead back up to 11 for Rice.

Owls are 10-20 from the field, 4-14 without Bellamy.

Clifton is an incredibly funny shooter. She'll go stretches of 3-4 shots (mostly midrange) when everything looks pure. Then she'll have games where she has trouble hitting the rim. Very up and down from her today.

Might be called for a flagrant here. Though if I'm the refs, I see the missed call prior to the one on Clifton and keep it as a common foul. Which is what they do.

A second straight game in which we're getting embarrassed on the defensive glass. And it's not down to size or strength. WKU just wants these rebounds more. They're fighting for better positions and they're fighting harder for the ball. Four WKU points over the last two possessions off of OREBs.

32-31.

A 32-21 lead evaporates in two minutes because of rebounding and turnovers. 10-0 WKU run in a blink.

Great part of mid-major basketball is guessing whether there's a camera angle that shows an alleged flagrant. 50/50 here.

WKU has just had a player ejected from the game. I wish I could say for what but I swear I haven't seen a camera angle that shows the infraction. All I know is that Crosthwaite slid across the floor like she was a curling stone.

34-31 Rice. Bellamy is getting swarmed by 3 defenders on every touch now. Needs to be quicker with her decisions.

Rice leads 37-32 at the half. It should be more, but the way the 2nd quarter was going, I thought we might be losing. Big Q is whether we adjust to WKU's defensive aggressiveness. They're swarming the ball right now, almost daring us to make the right pass without turning it over. If we play calmly and with composure, there should be plenty of open looks in the 2nd half.

Really good movement by Crosthwaite there, seeing that Bellamy was trapped and making the cut. And well found by Bellamy. Rice up 44-34. WKU timeout after an Austin 3.