HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and Rice Owls look to build early-season momentum when they meet in a non-conference women’s basketball game Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Middle Tennessee (2-1) arrives in Houston looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, a 63-54 defeat at Tennessee Tech on Tuesday. Yu Han Lin led the Blue Raiders with 17 points in the loss, while Macie Phifer added 13 points and Alayna Contreras scored 12. The Blue Raiders opened the season with wins over Tennessee State and Saint Louis.

Rice (1-1) is coming off a strong 70-56 road victory against crosstown rival Houston on Tuesday. Victoria Flores and Hailey Adams each scored 16 points to pace the Owls, with Aniah Alexis contributing 12 points. Rice opened its season with a 79-65 loss at South Dakota State.

The game tips off at 2:00 p.m. CST and is the first of a challenging two-game road swing for Middle Tennessee, which hosts Tennessee next Thursday. Rice continues its own tough non-conference slate with a trip to Princeton next Wednesday.