SMU’s Catherine Campbell attempts a basket in the Mustangs’ 73-47 victory over UCF. (Christina Parrish)
The SMU women’s basketball team hosts in-state rival Rice tonight at 7 in its final weekend of home games this season. This is the 57th meeting between the Owls and the Mustangs, with the series tied 28-28.
SMU is coming off a 65-48 victory over conference opponent Marshall and has a 6-6 record in Conference USA play this season. The Mustangs are 14-10 overall and have a 4-2 record at home. The last time these teams met on Jan. 25, Rice won the game 80-69.
Rice’s last two victories were on the road, making the team’s record 15-10 overall and 8-4 in conference play. The Owls are 3-3 on the road coming into Dallas.
Senior Lauren Neaves leads the Owls with an average of 19.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. The forward is ranked third in the league for scoring and has earned 11 double-doubles this season.
Fellow Owl Tiffany Loggins posted her third double-double of the season as well as a career-high 11 rebounds in Rice’s win over UCF on Sunday. The junior also contributed 14 points when the Owls beat the Mustangs earlier this season.
Missing from the Rice roster is post Valeriya Berezhnyska, who is out with a leg injury. The junior, who has missed the Owls’ last six games, averages 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Mustang Janielle Dodds scored 14 points in SMU’s victory over Marshall in addition to her five rebounds. The junior is ranked 83rd nationally in free-throw percentage and is currently 10th on SMU’s all-time scoring list with 1,245 career points.
Also contributing to the record books is freshman Delisha Wills, who is second in the league in both scoring and rebounds. The forward is also fifth in the league in field percentage.
Teammate Jillian Samuels is sporting a 34.2 percent success rate in three-pointers this season, making 41 out of 120. The freshman also averages 8.2 points per game.
The Mustangs begin the close of their season with the match-up against Rice. SMU continues play on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it hosts Houston at Moody Coliseum.
Janielle Dodds leads the Mustangs in points and rebounds and is a big part of SMU’s recent success. (Lindsey Perkins)
