Finally healthy, Rice proving to be a force

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

The sequence went like this: Offensive rebound, layup. Offensive rebound, layup. Offensive rebound, layup. That was a small stretch of three consecutive possessions during Tuesday's game between the Nevada Lady Tigers and the Joplin Lady Eagles.

Junior Lindsay Rice was the driving force behind the fourth-period run, pulling down the offensive boards and sticking the put-backs.

The 5-11 post is making the most of her time on the court nowadays, seeing as she is actually getting to be on the court at all. Coming off two surgeries for tearing the same ligament in her left knee -- which led to her missing a combined 30 games the past two seasons -- Rice is playing better than ever.

Averaging a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game coming into the contest, Rice was dominant on the glass Tuesday as her team rolled to a 53-31 victory, improving to 5-0 this season. While the rebounding statistics for Tuesday's game were unavailable, Rice certainly reached her average and might have doubled it.

More impressively, the third-year varsity player scored a career-high 19 points, leading all scorers and serving notice to future opponents that the Lady Tigers have yet another offensive weapon to contend with.

Considering seniors Afton Baldwin and Amanda Wilson are capable of dropping 20-30 points on any given night, and fellow junior Jordan Webb can also push past the 20-point mark from time to time, Rice gives Nevada a fourth legitimate scoring option.

Will any of the other Southwest Conference schools have so many places to get points from?

Moreover, Rice has been active on the court. Her quickness is improved, she hasn't been afraid to mix it up in the paint or on the floor. Seeing as her wingspan is greater than that of any other Nevada player, she is a presence inside, allowing the Nevada defense to play ultra-aggressive on the perimeter, knowing the possibility of a clean shot getting off by someone penetrating is pretty slim.

Nevada head coach Brent Bartlett has seen the improved play and said it's as simple as Rice being truly healthy for the first time in almost two years.

"I attribute that to her knee feeling better," Bartlett said. "She kept it secret last year that her knee hurt (before re-tearing the ligaments)."

One thing that also helped Rice have confidence in her knee was her playing volleyball this fall. With all the agility drills and lateral movement required in volleyball, Rice had to build strength in her knee and it also undoubtedly made her believe that it could hold up in basketball.

Now that she is playing pain free and able to not hold back on the court, she's becoming the equivalent to human Windex, cleaning the glass on both ends of the floor.

"She has a knack for the ball," Bartlett said. "But it's effort. Effort makes things happen. She hustles to be in the right place (at the right time)."

More importantly, it's as if Rice is improving with every game. Bartlett sees the improvement as well.

"Lindsay, over the last three games, she has been rebounding with a passion and a vengeance and it's fun to watch," he said.

It's also just another reason why the Nevada Lady Tigers are undefeated.