Oklahoma's All-America center Courtney Paris made the most of her 24 minutes against the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team yesterday.

Paris had 18 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks despite missing nearly the entire first half because of foul trouble as the No. 3 Sooners overpowered the host Rainbow Wahine, 76-56, to win the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic.

A crowd of 330 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i (1-1) keep the score close in the first half, only to see the Sooners (3-0) take control minutes after intermission.

"It was definitely a reality check," Hawai'i senior center and co-captain Brittany Grice said.

It was Hawai'i's 21st straight loss to a ranked team.

Oklahoma was Hawai'i's highest-ranked opponent since it hosted No. 3 Connecticut in a 65-48 loss Nov. 26, 1995.

"We just need to regroup," said Hawai'i senior guard Janevia Taylor, who scored a team-high 12 points. "We got outhustled. I know they got a bunch of offensive rebounds (21)."

The Sooners and senior guard Chelsi Welch picked up the scoring for Paris in the first half. Welch scored all of her 14 points in the first 20 minutes.

"The coolest part of our team is, when someone is in foul trouble, you can sit because we have so much depth," said the 6-foot-4 Paris, who is the daughter of William "Bubba" Paris, a former All-Pro for the San Francisco 49ers.

In the second half, a well-rested Paris and her 6-3 twin sister, Ashley, kept the pressure on.

Hawai'i trailed 33-21 at intermission, but the Sooners went on a 20-13 run with the Paris twins combining for 18 of those, mostly on point-blank shots.

"After you sit on the bench a little bit, you're ready to get going and make something happen, and get your blood flowing," Courtney Paris said. "I was definitely pumped up to get back in there."

The Sooners pushed their lead to as many as 26 with just under five minutes left in the game.

Hawai'i newcomer Iwona Zagrobelna hit two 3-pointers late but that only cut the deficit to 20.

"We tried everything," Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla said. "We took the ball inside, we challenged them. We just couldn't get a score."

Ashley Paris finished with 14 points and Amanda Thompson added 11.

Courtney Paris shot 7 of 18 from the field with two assists and three steals.

Paris also showed her quickness in the second half when she drove baseline around several defenders and scored on a reverse.

Grice said she was impressed with Paris, whom ESPN's Nancy Lieberman called a "female Charles Barkley."

"She's legit," Grice said. "She has the WNBA body already."

Likewise, Paris had a few raves for Hawai'i.

"They have some great post players, and they have some girls who can really shoot," Paris said. "One thing we noticed about them yesterday when we were watching them beforehand was how hard they worked. That's admirable. We knew tonight we would have to play hard to compete with them. That's what we focused on."

Up next for Hawai'i is the three-day Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic starting Friday.