Hawai'i played without one of its top players and was routed by host No. 18 Louisiana Tech, 91-52, in its final regular-season Western Athletic Conference women's basketball game yesterday.

Rainbow Wahine starting junior center Brittany Grice was suspended by coach Jim Bolla for "a violation of team rules and policies."

Bolla did not say what rule Grice violated, but said, "it was something that was cumulative. It wasn't any one particular thing."

Grice declined comment through a spokesman. Her suspension was a big blow to the Rainbow Wahine, who are scheduled to arrive at the WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev., today. Grice's status for the tournament is "still up in the air" and her suspension is "day-to-day," Bolla said.

Despite the loss, Hawai'i (18-9, 9-7) finished the regular season in third place, its best showing since the 2001-02 season. Louisiana Tech (23-4, 15-1) won its fifth consecutive WAC regular-season title.

Yesterday, Hawai'i trailed 47-23 at halftime, and fell behind by as many as 43 points in the final moments of the game.

"I think we came out scared, and they came out really hot," said Bolla, who compared the aura of Louisiana Tech's Thomas Assembly Center to UCLA's Pauley Pavilion with its championship banners and All-America awards. "We didn't rebound. We turned the ball over. We did all the things we can't do against these kind of teams. They capitalized on it."

Louisiana Tech completed a sweep of Hawai'i this season. The Lady Techsters won a 71-66 overtime game in Honolulu on Jan. 12.

Hawai'i lost for the first time in six games, and dropped its 20th consecutive game to a ranked opponent, and suffered its worst loss since March 1991 when it fell, 99-59, at Long Beach State.

Hawai'i sophomore forward Tanya Smith replaced Grice in the starting lineup and finished with a team-high 11 points, and eight rebounds. Amy Sanders added 10 points.

Louisiana Tech's Tasha Williams had 10 points, 11 assists and 10 steals. Aarica Ray-Boyd scored 25 points. Ty Moore added 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Margaret DeCiman had 12 points.

The Rainbow Wahine shot just 34 percent (19 of 56) for the game; the Lady Techsters shot 45 percent (36 of 80). Hawai'i also committed a season-high 33 turnovers.

"We need to make adjustments, and people need to pick up the slack," Bolla said. "Tonight, we didn't get that done. We were just completely overwhelmed."

Bolla said Grice will remain with the team, but won't be allowed to practice until she is reinstated.

"Officially, all we're saying is she's suspended right now," Bolla said. "It's day-to-day, and hopefully when we get to Reno, we can get some things resolved one way or the other."

Grice is considered one of the team's leaders and is an all-WAC academic honoree.

She leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.7 per game, and blocks at 2.56 per game. She was third in scoring at 11.8 points per game.

Last month, Grice missed Hawai'i's 63-50 victory at Utah State, after she returned home to Redondo Beach, Calif., to visit her mother, Dianne, who is undergoing cancer treatments. Grice had played in 76 consecutive games and made 55 straight starts until then.

Hawai'i is seeded third in the WAC Tournament, which starts Tuesday and concludes Saturday. The Rainbow Wahine will play No. 6 seed Boise State (14-14, 6-10) Wednesday.