FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 10 Rice took a big lead in the first quarter and never looked back, winning its first American Women’s Basketball Championship with a 61-49 win over No. 9 East Carolina.
 
Rice (19-14) limited East Carolina (19-14) to one field goal in the first quarter, taking an 18-3 advantage. The Owls led, 34-17, at halftime, and pushed the lead to as large as 21 in the third quarter.
 
As a No. 10 seed, Rice became the lowest seed to win the American Championship. East Carolina was the previous lowest seed to win, at No. 3, in 2023. Rice won its first conference tournament since 2019 when the Owls were in Conference USA.
 
Sussy Ngulefac led the Owls with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Destiny Jackson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Malia Fisher recorded 13 points and eight rebounds and was named the Championships’ Most Outstanding Player after averaging 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds throughout the tournament. Ngulefac and Jackson joined Fisher on the All-Championship Team.
 
Danae McNeal led the Pirates with 14 points and was joined on the All-Championship Team by teammate Tatyana Wyche, who broke the tournament record for blocks with 13 total after blocking three in the final.
 
Rice will learn its next opponent on Sunday, March 17 with the NCAA Tournament Selection Show airing at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
 
2024 American Women’s Basketball Championship Schedule
First Round | Saturday, March 9
Game 1: No. 13 Wichita State 64, No. 12 Florida Atlantic 50
Game 2: No. 14 Tulane 68, No. 11 SMU 62
 
Second Round | Sunday, March 10
Game 3: No. 9 East Carolina 65, No. 8 Memphis 63
Game 4: No. 5 South Florida 69, No. 13 Wichita State 62
Game 5: No. 10 Rice 71, No. 7 UAB 56
Game 6: No. 14 Tulane 65, No. 6 Charlotte 52
 
Quarterfinals | Monday, March 11
Game 7: No. 9 East Carolina 75, No. 1 Tulsa 71
Game 8: No. 4 UTSA 58, No. 5 South Florida 56
Game 9: No. 10 Rice 61, No. 2 North Texas 59
Game 10: No. 3 Temple 76, No. 14 Tulane 72 (3OT)
 
Semifinals | Tuesday, March 12
Game 11 – No. 9 East Carolina 55, No. 4 UTSA 54
Game 12 – No. 10 Rice 60, No. 3 Temple 57
 
Final | Wednesday, March 13
Game 13: Championship: No. 10 Rice 61, No. 9 East Carolina 41

All-Championship Team
Malia Fisher, Rice – Most Outstanding Player
Destiny Jackson, Rice
Sussy Ngulefac, Rice
Danae McNeal, East Carolina
Tatyana Wyche, East Carolina