Hawaii 59, Rice 36

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Karena Greeny led three double-figure scorers with 12 points as Hawaii beat Rice 59-36 in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference women's tournament Friday. <br><br>The

Friday, March 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Karena Greeny led three double-figure scorers with 12 points as Hawaii beat Rice 59-36 in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference women's tournament Friday.

The third-seeded Wahine (23-6), beaten twice by the Lady Owls during the regular season, won their sixth straight to advance to Saturday's championship game against either Louisiana Tech or Tulsa.

No. 2-seeded Rice (21-8) was just 13-of-60 from the field and hurt their chances of gaining an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament.

Hawaii took a 35-17 halftime lead as the Lady Owls sank only 5 of 25 shots in the first half. They then scored only three points in the first 12 minutes of the second half as Hawaii built a 51-22 advantage.

Janka Gabrielova scored 11 points and Christen Roper added 10, all in the first half, for Hawaii. Rice, losing for the first time in six games, was led by Johnetta Hayes' 14 points.