March 3, 2007

TULSA, Okla. - Just about everything went Rice's way in the matchup of Interstate 10 rivals at the Conference USA women's tournament.

Box Score

Game 9 Quotes

Junior Valeriya Berezhynska grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, the second most in C-USA Tournament play, and scored 16 points as Rice knocked out top-seeded Tulane on Saturday with a 64-52 semifinal win.

The fourth-seeded Owls (19-12) moved on to the championship game for the second consecutive year. If coach Greg Williams' club can win Sunday's finale, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., Rice will clinch its first trip to the NCAA Women's Tournament since 2005.

Rice will face either No. 2 seed UAB or No. 3 seed East Carolina in the championship. The Blazers and Pirates meet in the other semifinal game, which was scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Lauren Neaves also scored 16 points and Krystal Frazier (11 points) and Kadie Riverin (10 points) also finished in double figures for the Owls. Nikki Luckhurst had 15 points and Ashley Langford had 10 for the Green Wave. However as a team, Tulane shot 31.3 percent from the floor, which included going 3-for-11 from 3-point range.

Tulane (25-6) now heads back to New Orleans to wait and see where they're going in the NCAA Tournament.

Neither team found much rhythm in the first half, and Rice had a 28-26 lead at the break. Berezhynska was all over the glass, though. The 6-4 junior came off the bench to grab 13 rebounds in just 13 minutes of playing time in the first half.

In the second half, the Owls took a 38-32 lead when Neaves converted a tough layup and a three-point play with 14:37 remaining. That started a 12-0 run capped by Frazier's 3-pointer from the left wing with 10:44 showing.

Tulane's Jami Montagnino led another charge by hitting a second-chance layup as the Green Wave got within nine. Tulane's guards also forced several turnovers down the stretch. But Berezhynska hit three straight free throws and then a putback that pushed the Owls' lead out to 14.

Even though Green Wave players were far from home, they had plenty of musical support. A high school pep band from Sapulpa, Okla., was on hand to play school fight songs. They even wore white Tulane shirts to show their support.