HOUSTON – HCU women's basketball begins year two under head coach
Drew Long this coming Monday night across town at Tudor Fieldhouse for an 8:25 p.m. tip-off against the Rice Owls.
The Huskies are coming off a 2025-26 season that was Long's first after being hired to be the sixth head coach in program history in April of 2025. Year one saw HCU improve its win total from the previous season by two while doubling the win total in Southland Conference play from three to six.
HCU returns seven letterwinners from last year's team, including fifth-year Jordan Jackson, who averaged 8.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in her first year with the Huskies in 2025-26. Senior Hannah Fields is back with 85 games and 51 starts to her name as a Husky with career averages of 3.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg, while fellow senior
Tove Caesar saw a jump in production last season when she led the team with 63 assists and averaged 5.8 ppg. Junior
Madison Hurta will look to continue building on the second half of her sophomore year that saw her average 8.1 ppg and knock down 27 threes across a 16-game stretch. Sophomores
Sidney Carr and
Dasia Hyams combined to average 8.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg with 76 assists and 61 steals as true freshmen.
Rice is coming off a 2025-26 campaign that finished with a 29-6 record, a regular season American Athletic Conference title and a berth to the WBIT that saw the Owls reach the second round of the tournament. The Owls were picked to win the AAC title in the conference's preseason voting, with senior guard Victoria Flores tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year. Fellow guard Hailey Adams was named Preseason Second Team All-Conference. Flores averaged 12.2 ppg with 95 assists and 57 steals in 33 starts last year, while Adams filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 8.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, and team-highs in both assists, with 118, and blocked shots, with 57.
The Huskies and Owls faced off last season with Rice earning a 62-42 victory on Dec. 20. The matchup will also be streamed on ESPN+.
