The Rice Bulldogs came tearing into Friday's matchup with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Malakoff by a score of 63-56. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Saniya Burks was her usual excellent self, scoring 48 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. That makes it 19 consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Rice's points. Chloe Perry was another key contributor, scoring six points.
Rice's victory was their 15th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. As for Malakoff, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 24-3.
Rice will head out on the road to square off against Blooming Grove at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Blooming Grove will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Texas Rankings (they are ranked 764th, while Rice is ranked 185th). As for Malakoff, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Mildred at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
