DALLAS – No. 24 Rice junior Erica Ogwumike was voted the 2018-19 Conference USA Player of the Year just one season removed from winning the league’s newcomer superlative award. The guard, who was honored as the Preseason Player of the Year, became the backbone of an Owl team that made history this season by becoming just the third team in C-USA history to rattle off a perfect 16-0 league slate. Rice also appeared in the AP Top 25 for the first time with C-USA Coach of the Year Tina Langley at the helm. The C-USA Player and Coach of the Year accolades are presented by Ready Nutrition.

Ogwumike is the only player in C-USA to rank inside the top 10 in scoring (16.1), steals (1.7) and rebounding (10.8), which leads the league. The Cypress, Texas, native and First Team All-C-USA selection sits 16^th in the nation with 16 double-doubles and 11^th in defensive rebounds per game (8.0). Her defensive rebounding average is the second-best clip by a guard across the country. Ogwumike was twice named C-USA Player of the Week in 2018-19 and lifted the Owls to clinch their first-ever C-USA Regular-Season Championship and second conference title in history in February.

Langley has guided her Owls to unprecedented success this year. Rice, who clinched the No. 1 seed for the C-USA Championship, enters the postseason riding a school-record 18-game winning streak. The run is the second-longest in league history behind UTEP who accomplished the feat in 2007-08. The squad’s 25 wins are the most since joining the league in 2005 and Rice is one of just seven teams in NCAA Division I to go undefeated in conference play. The Owls reached the 20-win plateau for the third year in a row under Langley, product of a scoring defense that ranks sixth in the country. The Owls’ three all-conference picks announced on Monday were the most honored during the team’s tenure in the league. Ogwumike and sophomore Nancy Mulkey were both named to the first team, which marked the first time the school had garnered two first-team nods. 

The 2019 Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championships presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, tip off on Wednesday, March 13th. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ConferenceUSA.com.

Player of the Year
Erica Ogwumike, Rice
 
Coach of the Year
Tina Langley, Rice
 
Coaches Circle
Tony Kemper, Marshall
Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee
Nikki McCray, Old Dominion