Thursday night was no typical road game for Nancy Mulkey.

Mulkey, a 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore and the starting center for Conference USA-leading Rice, felt right at home at E.A. Diddle Arena for the Owls’ 68-46 win against Western Kentucky.

That coming-home feeling started when Mulkey and her team arrived in town Wednesday, and no wonder – for three years, Bowling Green was her home and Diddle Arena a gym she knew well. Her last high school game for Greenwood came during the 2012 Region 4 tournament at Diddle. Then a 6-6 eighth-grader at Drakes Creek Middle School, Mulkey was the Lady Gators’ starting center during a 24-9 season that ended with a first-round regional loss to Glasgow.

“It’s awesome to be here,” Mulkey said after Thursday’s game. “I was waiting for the schedule to come out, wondering if we were going to play at Western. So when the schedule came out and I saw we were going to play at Western, I was really excited. I used to live here and just the environment, I love everyone. Just getting the opportunity to see everyone again, I was very excited.”

Back when she called Bowling Green home, Mulkey’s mother Dolores served as an assistant coach for Greenwood’s varsity team. When Mulkey and her family moved to Cypress, Texas, following the end of her eighth-grade year, it also marked the end of playing for her mom and the start of a rapid ascent to a top-ranked high school prospect.

By her senior year at Cypress Woods High School, Mulkey was one of the most sought-after players in the country. Already 6-9 by then and the nation’s tallest prep player in the 2016 class, Mulkey was a USA Today preseason All-American.

Mulkey signed with national power Oklahoma, and her freshman season in 2016-17 offered more than a glimpse of her potential as she played in all 33 games (18 starts) for the Sooners and averaged 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

But after that season, Mulkey decided to transfer and soon heard from her old Cypress Woods teammates, Erica and Olivia Ogwumike, who wanted her to check out their program at Rice.

“Academics are very important to me,” Mulkey said. “And second, the culture of basketball – what kind of culture does the team have, the coach, the coaching staff, the players. So it all played a role in it.”

Rice coach Tina Langley said Mulkey proved a tireless worker during her redshirt transfer year, putting in extra hours in the weight room and improving her conditioning. She sharpened her game too, improving her back to the basket skills to become an even more complete player.

Mulkey immediately earned a starting job for the Owls to open this season and has been a mainstay as Rice has staked a claim as the best team in Conference USA. Entering Thursday’s game against the Lady Toppers, Mulkey was averaging 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.77 blocks per outing.

“I don’t think people really realize how skilled she is,” Langley said. “I mean, she can really do so much on the offensive end of the floor and the defensive. You see the shot blocks, but she’s got great footwork, great hands, good with the ball. She can do everything and that’s an incredible asset to have night-in and night-out.”

Mulkey had strong game against WKU, finishing with eight points to go along with 10 rebounds and five blocks. Her presence in the paint also largely contributed to the Lady Toppers’ worst offensive night of the season.

Langley has grown accustomed to Mulkey’s game-changing presence in the middle.

“Off the court and on the court, you’ll never find a better person,” Langley said. “She’s so team-oriented and willing to do whatever she needs to do. I’m just blessed to be her coach. And she’s going to be a pro. We’re really excited about her future.”

After Thursday’s game, Mulkey emerged from the locker room to find a throng of well-wishers there to greet her. Among them was Todd Tolbert, her former head coach at Greenwood. Wearing a Western Kentucky sweatshirt, Tolbert admitted he was hoping to see Mulkey have a great game.

“I just enjoyed getting to come see Nancy play,” Tolbert said. “She played for me for two years. Her eighth-grade year she started varsity and just was an awesome player – made me a real smart coach for a year.”

For Mulkey, the reception was somewhat surprising – but not really.

“I didn’t even know half of these people were coming,” Mulkey said. “To come out of a locker room after a huge win, just to see the support is awesome. It’s just great.”{&end}