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SANTA BARBARA, California (Ticker) -- No. 13 seed Rice survived a pair of missed 3-pointers and halted fourth-seeded Santa Barbara's 26-game winning streak with a shocking 67-64 West Region opening-round victory in their first NCAA Tournament contest. The Owls (22-9) set a school record for most victories in one season, previously achieved in 1981-82 and 1997-98. They will face No. 5 seed North Carolina in the second round on Monday. Rachelle Rogers nailed a pair of free throws to bring the Gauchos (30-4) within 65-64 with 82 seconds left. Marla Brumfield restored Rice's three-point lead on a jumper with 23 seconds later. Brumfield missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 24 seconds to play, giving Santa Barbara a chance. But Erin Buescher, the school's second all-time leading scorer, missed a 3-pointer and Brumfield grabbed the rebound. With a second attempt to ice the game, Brumfield missed another front end with 12 seconds left. Nicole Greathouse had an open 3-pointer but it bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 16 subregional sites in 1995, Rice became the fourth road team and second in as many nights to pull off a first-round victory. No. 11 seed UAB recorded a stunning 80-79 overtime triumph against Oregon on Friday in the West Region. Montana upset San Diego State in 1995 and Harvard stunned top-seed Stanford two years ago. It was the Gauchos' first home loss in 17 games this season and came before a crowd of 5,824. The doubleheader that also featured North Carolina against Rice sold out in 90 minutes. Kim Smallwood scored 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting and Brumfield added 16 for the Owls, who shot 51 percent (31-of-61) overall and 56 percent (19-of-34) in the second half. Kirra Jordan was 7-of-13 from the floor for 15 points. Greathouse had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Buescher added 16 and 16. Buescher closed her career with 1,697 points and Kristi Rohr, who added 13 points, leaves atop the list with 1,720. The Gauchos shot just 34 percent (18-of-53) and fell in the first round for the second straight season.
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