FRISCO – Postseason play in the 2019 Air Force Reserve C-USA Championships came to an end for North Texas women's basketball in a 61-43 loss to 24^th-ranked and top-seeded Rice Wednesday in the quarterfinals at The Star.
 
Madison Townley and Terriell Bradley each scored a team-high 11 points, and Townley grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Mean Green (15-15, 7-9 C-USA). UNT and Rice (26-3, 16-0 C-USA) each recorded 20 field goals, but the Owls hit five 3-pointers compared to one from the Mean Green. Rice also sank 16 of 19 from the free throw line while North Texas was 2 of 6. UNT forced 17 Rice turnovers and turned those into 20 points.
 
"Tough game for us," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "For the most part our team got the shots we wanted. If we could have put the ball in the hole a little more and kept them off of the line, we would have had a chance in the end. Super proud of my team as always and how we fought."
 
Rice connected from deep on the first offensive possession of the game and retained the lead throughout. Deja Terrell made a move in the paint for a bucket as UNT trailed, 11-8, with three minutes to play in the opening period. Trena Mims then entered the contest and made an immediate impact by draining an elbow jumper and a pull-up 3 to keep North Texas within three points.
 
A 3-pointer by C-USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike stretched the Rice lead to 26-17 six minutes into the second quarter before Callie Owens made a jumper in the lane and Townley converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 26-22 with 38 seconds to play before the half. 
 
Terrell provided valuable minutes in the post as All-Defensive pick Anisha George was saddled with foul trouble. Terrell scored twice in the paint in the opening minutes of the second half to cut a double-digit Owl lead to 34-28 at the 7:26 mark. Rice knocked down a 3 and a layup to push the margin to 39-28 three minutes later and held an 11-point advantage until the end of the quarter.
 
Bradley scored the first UNT points of the final period on a layup as the Mean Green trailed, 49-36. Four straight Rice points handed the Owls their largest lead of the contest at 58-38 with 4:17 to play. 
 
The Mean Green conclude the season with an overall mark of 15-15.