Rice women claim WBI title with victory over UNC-Greensboro

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Maya Hawkins can't dream up many better ways to end her college career.

A team-high 17 points in Rice's 74-62 win over UNC-Greensboro to win the Women's Basketball Invitational? Check.

Becoming the 17th player to surpass 1,000 career points in program history? Done.

Leaving the Rice women's basketball program with something it can build on for years to come? That matters most of all.

"This is the foundation," Hawkins said. This is the beginning and I think that we're just headed in the right direction – Rice women's basketball is. We're leaving behind a program that's headed toward excellence. So to be able to come back and see our legacy started here winning the WBI championship is going to be something me and (Jasmine Goodwine) can be really proud of."

On Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice cut the nets for the first time since winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in 2005. It's also the program's first postseason title in anything outside a conference tournament in 11 tries.

Hawkins, the tournament MVP, led but Shani Rainey and Goodwine had 13 apiece, Lexie Ducat had 12 and Wendy Knight had 10.

Rice Owls guard Maya Hawkins (3) is swarmed by teammates after being named tournament MVP after the Women's Basketball Invitational Championship Game between the UNC-Greensboro Spartans and the Rice Owls at Tudor Field House in Houston, TX on Sunday, March 26, 2017. less Rice Owls guard Maya Hawkins (3) is swarmed by teammates after being named tournament MVP after the Women's Basketball Invitational Championship Game between the UNC-Greensboro Spartans and the Rice Owls at ... more Photo: Tim Warner/For The Chronicle Photo: Tim Warner/For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Rice women claim WBI title with victory over UNC-Greensboro 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

Only in her second season, head coach Tina Langley joked that one of the few coaching fails during this WBI run was teaching players how to cut the nets for the first time. Langley is thankful for the three seniors in Goodwine, Hawkins and Adaeze Obinnah laying the foundation for something bigger in the future.

"It was different right?" Langley said looking at Goodwine and Hawkins beside her in the postgame press conference. "Spring break came and we didn't get one. And we ended up understanding how exciting that is and how fortunate we are to be one of those teams that gets to keep playing."

A 24-11 advantage in the third quarter was the most crucial part of the game.

Rice started well with a 15-8 lead thanks to Hawkins' hot streak. She had 12 of her points on 5-of-6 shooting with two 3-pointers by the seven-minute mark in the second period.

But UNCG finished the half on a 30-15 run for a 38-30 halftime lead. Hawkins tipped her cap to the Spartans for that stretch. They were here for a reason, too.

Rice's 7-0 run to start the second half recouped momentum, but the Owls didn't actually take the lead back until Rainey's free throw after she was fouled on a fastbreak.

That slight opening of a window was enough. They took a 49-48 lead with 1:44 left in the third to a 62-52 lead with 4:32 to play.

Rainey suffered a knee injury with six minutes left in regulation and had to be carried off the court. Her 13 points and those free throws were key.

Rainey was in the trainer's room watching the game through FaceTime. After the game, an emotional Rainey made her way back to the court on crutches and surrounded by perhaps the biggest ovation of the night, was able to climb the ladder and cut a piece of the net.

"The fans are like family," Rainey said. "They've been with us since day one. I wasn't even crying because my knee hurt. It just caught me off guard. To have everybody who's been with us since day one be there and see us to the very end truly means the world to us."

There may not be many times where basketball in general has been as healthy as it is now at Rice.

The Rice men (23-12) and women (22-13) combined for 45 wins this year – the most ever between the programs in Rice history. The women now add a trophy.

"Starting in 2014 when we changed the men's program around and changed the culture there and then the next year changing out the women's program, we felt like this was a moment that we'd get to," Rice athletics director Joe Karlgaard said. "We just didn't know how fast it'd happen. We have even higher heights to reach from here."