Mustangs Fall 73-63 To Rice In Regular-Season Finale

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Fall 73-63 To Rice In Regular-Season Finale
SMU faces UTEP in first round of C-USA Tournament

March 3, 2011

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU senior Haley Day posted a double-double in her final home game, but it wasn't enough lift the Mustangs over the Owls as Rice won, 73-63, in Moody Coliseum Thursday night.

Day scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, and fellow senior Raquel Christian added 10 points. Alisha Filmore scored 14 points to lead SMU (14-15, 7-9 Conference USA).

The Owls improved to 18-12 overall, 10-6 in C-USA, led by 10-time C-USA Freshman of the Week Jessica Kuster, who scored 23 points with 13 rebounds.

The Mustangs trailed by just three at halftime, 32-29, shooting 40.0-percent in the first 20 minutes. SMU held Rice to just 35.3-percent from the field, but Brianna Hypolite made a two-point bucket at the buzzer for the three-point advantage.

SMU held Kuster to just four points in the first half, but she broke loose for 19 points in the second half to lead the Owls. Hypolite finished with 21 points, and Morgan Mayse added 13.

Filmore hit six of SMU's 22 field goals, and the Mustangs finished the game shooting 36.1-percent from the floor. The Owls went 24-of-61 (39.3-percent) from the field, but made 16-of-21 shots from the free throw line.

The Mustangs finished the season eighth in the conference, and will play ninth-seeded UTEP at 8:30 p.m. CT in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament Wednesday, March 9, in El Paso, Texas.