HOUSTON – Despite playing without its leading scorer and rebounder, the ULM women's basketball team played Rice even for nearly three quarters, but the Owls used a 17-2 run to open the second half to claim a 63-47 win over the Warhawks. ULM senior forward Gabriella Cortez, who averages 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, didn't make the trip to Houston to rest the knee she injured in the second half of Monday's game at Louisiana Tech.
 
The Warhawks took a 6-5 lead in the first quarter on a three-pointer from Jessica Harris. ULM tied the score at 8-8 on a layup by Tan Walker; however, Rice scored the final seven points of the first quarter to build a 15-8 advantage.
 
The Owls extended their lead to nine at 25-16 on a three-pointer from Nicole Iademarco with 2:23 left in the second quarter. ULM answered with a three-pointer from Carissa Moody and a layup by Whitney Goins to cut its deficit to 25-21 at halftime.
 
Rice (7-2) opened the second half with a decisive 17-2 spurt to move out to a 45-23 lead on Wendy Knight's three-pointer with 4:54 left in the third quarter. Moody scored the next six points, completing a three-point play and hitting a trey, as the Warhawks pulled back to within 42-29. ULM played the Owls even over the next four minutes and trailed 47-31 after three quarters.
 
Rice led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.
 
"I thought we competed well the entire game, but unfortunately, the first five minutes of the second half did us in," ULM head coach Jeff Dow. "Teams are going to go on runs, but we can't allow anyone to go on a 17-2 run at the start of the third quarter, especially on the road against a talented squad like Rice. From that point on, we actually outscored them, but that was too big of a hill to climb.
 
"A major issue again was the free-throw disparity in the second half. Tonight, Rice shot 14 and we shot three. On Monday, Louisiana Tech shot 22 to our two. Rice is a veteran team that won 22 games last year, so there's some consolation in playing them essentially dead even for 35 of the 40 minutes."
 
ULM's bench outscored Rice's reserves, 33-19, as Moody and Walker combined to score 24 points. Moody connected on 3-of-6 three-point field-goal attempts en route to a season-high 13 points, while Walker hit 5-of-6 shots from the field and contributed a season-best 11 points.
 
"We were pleased with the production we got off the bench from Tan Walker and Carissa Moody tonight," Dow said. "Arsula Clark (six points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals) gave us a spark again tonight, but unfortunately, she was in foul trouble in both halves."
 
Early in the fourth quarter, Harris went down with an apparent knee injury.
 
"Hopefully, we get some good news regarding Jessica Harris' knee, but it doesn't look she's going to be able to play anytime soon," Dow added.
 
Three players scored in double figures for Rice, led by Knight who posted a game-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point arc. The Owls also got 13 points from Erica Ogwumike and 10 from Iademarco.
 
ULM (2-6) opens a two-game homestand against New Orleans on Sunday, Dec. 17, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.