The SMU women’s basketball team will look for its sixth straight win tonight when the team hosts the Rice Owls. SMU (19-6, 9-3) is in second place in the conference, while Rice (10-16, 3-9) is second to last.

Last time the two teams met in Houston, it took the Mustangs an overtime period to defeat the Owls. The game came down to the wire with the Mustangs winning 70-68 in the last seconds.

In its last game, SMU crushed the UAB Blazers by 33 points. Senior forward Sharee Shepherd set a record with nine steals, and senior guard Katy Cobb led the balanced Mustangs with 14 points.

Prior to heading into tonight’s game, the Mustangs are currently riding a two-game winning streak in Moody.

The Rice Owls, on the other hand, have won only one conference game on the road against Tulane on Feb. 14.

Janielle Dodds and sophomore forward Delisha Wills have led the Mustangs scoring attack from the post. They are the only two players averaging double figures for the Mustangs with 14.6 and 13 points per game, respectively.

With only four games remaining in regular season play, including tonight’s game, Dodds needs only 59 points to break into record books for most career points at SMU.

Jillian Samuels is also on track to setting two new records after hitting her 105th career three pointer. Samuels currently has 54 this season to put her in fourth place in school history.

The Owls’ Valeriya Berezhynska came off the injured list two weeks ago after missing their first eight conference games of the season. She has made a significant impact so far and was awarded with the C-USA Co-Player of the Week award for her play.

Berezhynska led the Owls in her first game back, which was against the Mustangs, by posting 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. She accomplished this in limited time, only 14 minutes, considering it was her first game back.

While Berezhnska poses a threat, the Mustangs are steam rolling over opponents with double-digit wins and up-tempo basketball. The season overall, and especially their play at the end, leaves the Mustangs in the hunt to make the NCAA tournament.

The last four conference games remaining are important for the Mustangs, considering they could mean the difference between the No. 2 seed and the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Houston Cougars and the UAB Blazers trail the Mustangs by only one game.

The game will take place tonight at 7 in Moody Coliseum.