Tag: Kiki Rice

Lauren Betts, two other UCLA players named to Naismith women’s midseason list

Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, and Charisma Osborne all named to Naismith midseason list.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team lost to Oregon State but defeated Oregon in a tough weekend up north. The Oregon State loss was a heartbreaker on a buzzer-beater, and they proceeded to fall out of the top 10 in the latest rankings.

However, there is some good news for UCLA as three players were named to the Naismith Women’s College midseason list. All of Lauren Betts, Charisma Osborne, and Kiki Rice were named to the watch list.

Betts is arguably UCLA’s most important player, and she was the leading scorer in the Bruins win over Oregon, which gave them their 20th victory of the season.

Osborne just wrote her name into the UCLA record books against Oregon State, and Kiki Rice recently received her very own Jordan shoe, so each player is doing big things for the Bruins.

The Bruins enter the week 20-5 and have a tough home game against No. 18 Utah on Thursday night.

UCLA star Kiki Rice receives her own Jordan shoe design

Kiki Rice shows off her new Jordan shoe design amid a monster year for the Bruins.

UCLA’s sophomore standout Kiki Rice made headlines in 2022 when she became the first to sign an NIL deal with Jordan.

Recently, Jordan unveiled Rice’s first player edition shoe. The Air Jordan 38 Low shoe titled “Cherry Blossom” is a tribute to her hometown of Washington, D.C. The 2022 Gatorade National Player of the Year, Rice, has already made her mark in Westwood.

Racking up awards in her freshman campaign, including a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection, Rice has played big minutes for the Bruins this season. Fourth in scoring on the team with 12.4 points per game, Rice adds five assists, five rebounds, and nearly two steals a game to her stat line.

With the Bruins rolling right now, ranked ninth in the nation, it is the perfect time for Rice’s shoe to drop. And based on Rice’s production on the court and UCLA’s successes this season, their game to sign a high school athlete in 2022 to a deal could not have gone more perfectly.

Be on the watch for Rice’s “Cherry Blossom” shoes this weekend as the Bruins take on Arizona and Arizona State.

College hoops stars Isaiah Collier and Kiki Rice join ‘Beats Academy’ in new NIL deals with Beats by Dre

Isaiah Collier and Kiki Rice are “always on it” and in “super mode” in new Beats by Dre NIL deals.

Turn the Beats up! Isaiah Collier and Kiki Rice are joining Beats by Dre.

Beats by Dre isn’t afraid to connect with the best athletes. They already partner with 15 college football players, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Florida State’s Jordan Travis, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.

Per Jeremy Crabtree of On3, the electronics company is back with two more athletes to add to its impressive roster: former 2023 No.1 recruit and USC freshman Isaiah Collier and former Gatorade Highschool Player of the Year and UCLA Bruins sophomore Kiki Rice.

In the latest videos promoting their NIL deals, Collier shows how his Beats allow him to be “always on it,” and Rice shows how hers help her go “super mode” to reach the top.

Women’s NCAA Tournament: Sooners head west to face Portland at UCLA host site

Heading west, the No. 5 seeded Sooners will face Portland in the opening round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners are in the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. It’s the first time they’ve made back-to-back tournaments since the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Oklahoma was a four-seed a year ago, in Jennie Baranczyk’s first at Oklahoma. This season, they’re a five-seed, just missing an opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

In order to make the sweet 16 for the first time since 2013, Oklahoma will have to overcome a strong trio of teams out in Los Angeles.

Here’s a look at what Oklahoma will be up against in the opening round of the Women’s NCAA tournament.

Oregon WBB recap: Poor shooting and turnovers dooms Ducks vs UCLA

Oregon had to get hot from the field to shoot 42 percent for the game and it cost them as the Bruins win 82-74.

Sometimes the game of basketball can be broken down into the simplest of things. When Team A shoots a lot better than Team B, Team A is going to win the majority of the time.

That was the case inside Matthew Knight Arena as No. 10 UCLA shot the lights out and Oregon did not as the Bruins defeated the Ducks 82-74.

Oregon falls to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action. UCLA improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in Pac-12 play.

For the game, the Bruins shot 46 percent from the field, including 9-of-24 from three-point land. The Ducks were just 6-of-17 from long range.

Turning the ball over 20 times didn’t help Oregon’s cause either.

UCLA locked down Oregon on the defensive side of the floor and concentrated mainly on Te-Hina Paopao and Grace VanSlooten. The Ducks’ offense was out of whack for a lot of the game and even with a late rally, Oregon had dug itself too much of a hole to come all the way back.

Q&A: Colin Sahlman, Kiki Rice named 2022 Gatorade Athletes of the Year

With championships and records under their belts, Colin Sahlman and Kiki Rice were named the 2022 Gatorade Athletes of the Year.

After announcing winners for individual sports in each state, Gatorade has named its best of the best. On Tuesday, Kiki Rice and Colin Sahlman were named the Gatorade Athletes of the Year.

Over Rice’s four years at Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.), she helped the girls basketball team rise to an unbeatable group. She was the point guard for the 30-0 Quakers, who went undefeated and won the State Champions Invitational, a season in which Rice averaged 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game as a senior.

She was named co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and played on the gold-medal-winning U18 national team in the FIBA U18 Americas.

Sahlman continues the legacy of Newbury Park High School track and field dominance. Look in the record book and you will see his name splattered across the pages.

His 5,000-meter time of 14:03.29 set a national high school record. His 3,200-meter time of 8:33.32 set a national high school record. His mile time of 3:56.24 is the third-best in prep history, and his 1,500-meter time of 3:39.59 is fourth-best.

Sahlman will race at Northern Arizona University next season while Rice will head across the country to play basketball at UCLA.

They ended their high school careers at the pinnacle, with championships and recognition as the Gatorade Boys and Girls Athlete of the Year.

Following the announcement, USA TODAY High School Sports participated in a Q&A with the two athletes that centered on sports, the classroom, community service and get-to-know-you ice breakers. Answers are below and have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: Congratulations on being named the Gatorade Athletes of the Year. Has it been a goal for either of you?

Rice: Yes, it has been. It has been one of mine.

Sahlman: Definitely, for sure. Seeing my teammate [Nico Young] get it two years ago kind of motivated me to try to get it this year.

What’s your best high school memory?

Rice: From a sports standpoint, I’d say one of them would definitely be winning the national championship this past year with my high school team. My freshman year, we started [the season] off, and we definitely weren’t nationally ranked. We weren’t even winning our league. And to now to be national champions, to be playing on ESPN, it was a moment of huge growth and I was super proud of where we got.

Sahlman: Pretty much the highlighted memories that I can think of are athletic achievements. It’s just been non-stop. My favorite memory would be winning the Running Lane National Championships this last year with my team. We went 1-2-3-6 for our top four and it was just cool to share that with them. To have the top three runners in the nation on the same team was pretty cool.

What are your favorite subjects in school?

Rice: My favorite subject is history.

Sahlman: My favorite class I took was a photography class my sophomore year.

What are your go-to karaoke songs?

Sahlman: I don’t do karaoke (laughs).

Rice: I’m not a huge karaoke person either, but maybe “Free Mind” by Tems.

Sahlman: I’m not really a huge music guy, I don’t know.

If there was a movie based on your life or career, who would play you?

Sahlman: Younger Leonardo DiCaprio.

Rice: Maybe Zendaya.

If there was a zombie apocalypse, who would be three pro athletes you would want on your team?

Sahlman: I’d pick some big football players (laughs).

Rice: (also laughs) Conor McGregor, LeBron James and Alex Morgan.

Sahlman: I’d probably have to go with Shaquille O’Neal, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and … I’ll go with Clay Matthews.

I’m surprised you didn’t just go with your teammates and run away from the zombies.

Sahlman: You said professional athletes! I would choose my brother. My brother’s crazy. … He’s an animal.

What are three words to describe your style on the track/court?

Rice: Energetic, competitive and attacker.

Sahlman: I’d have to go with fearless, determined and passionate.

Is there a charity or cause that either you’re involved in or you’d like to get involved with down the road?

Rice: One group that I work with is SportsMom Foundation, a local charity in Washington, D.C. and the DMV area. It’s a charity that helps serve underprivileged minorities, black girls, basically have access to training and basketball equipment and helps fund AAU teams because those are really expensive. It’s something that I donated the money we got for winning the award to.

Sahlman: I’m not currently part of a charity, but if I were to join, it would be animal shelters. I’m a big dog lover, animal lover, so if I were to help with anything it would definitely be that.

If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Rice: I would say to get out of my comfort zone a bit and take some risks. Don’t be afraid to fail.

Sahlman: I wouldn’t say anything to my younger self. I motivated myself through all these years. I developed the character that I am today. I would just let him make the same decisions I did and just be that person.

Kiki Rice, Dariq Whitehead win 2022 Naismith High School Player of the Year

Dariq Whitehead and Kiki Rice have been named the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Players of the Year.

Montverde Academy (Fla.) senior forward and Duke commit Dariq Whitehead and Sidwell Friends School (Washington D.C.) guard Kiki Rice have been named the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Players of the Year.

Whitehead helped Montverde — ranked sixth in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25 — to a 21-4 regular-season record with 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocks per game. He joins R.J. Barrett, Cade Cunningham and Ben Simmons as the fourth Montverde player to win the award.

“I am humbled and honored to become the fourth Montverde Academy player in the last eight years to receive the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award,” Whitehead said, per release. “I want to thank Coach Boyle and the rest of my coaches along with my teammates, as well as Dr. Kasey Kesselring and the rest of the Montverde Academy community for helping to make this happen.” 

Rice, a UCLA commit, averaged 16 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game this season. She is the first McDonald’s All-American in Sidwell Friends School program history.

“This is a dream come true,” Rice said. “I am so honored to be recognized with the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy by the selection committee from a group of finalists that I personally know to be outstanding players. I am thankful for my family, teammates and coaches because I know without a doubt that without them this would not have been possible.” 

The Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy for Player of the Year was first presented in 1987. The winners are selected by a group of basketball journalists from around the country who form the Naismith Awards national high school voting academy.

“In a highly competitive and thrilling basketball season, Kiki and Dariq were the most outstanding players in the nation and incredibly deserving to be honored with the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy as Players of the Year,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “They both have proven to be exceptional basketball players, and we wish them well as they continue their careers at the next level.”  

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