Hawai’i holds off Louisiana-Monroe in Bank of Hawaii Classic opener

HONOLULU – Home, sweet home. 

The Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine finally returned to action after a near-two-week layoff, grounding the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in the first game of the 2024 Bank of Hawaii Classic on Friday, 69-64, behind 20 points from Lily Wahinekapu. The victory extended the Rainbow Wahine home winning streak to 12 games, dating back to last season.  

Wahinekapu added five rebounds and five assists to go along with her team-high 20 points, hitting a key step back jumper with 38 seconds to play to give UH some needed breathing room to close out the win. Freshman center Ritorya Tamilo continued to be a dynamo to start her Rainbow Wahine career, reaching double figures for the third time in three games as she tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and five blocks in 27 minutes of work. 

Much to the delight of about 1,200 screaming keiki there to celebrate “Education Day” for the program, Hawai’i (2-1) jumped out to an early 16-11 lead through 10 minutes behind a pair of makes from long distance behind Wahinekapu. With a strange 11 a.m. start time, the added energy from the local elementary school students provided the lift for UH to get off the ground early. 

“You know, 1,200 screaming kids made it a really fun day today,” Hawai’i head coach Laura Beeman said in gratitude to the local schools that came out. “I thought they really came through to give us the energy to start the game and then [again later] in a very tight third quarter when we kind of lost some intensity, it was nice to hear them.” 

Wahinekapu continued her hot shooting from distance into the second quarter, pushing the Rainbow Wahine lead to 12 with her third triple of the opening half and forcing UL-M to call for timeout with 5:51 left before the break. Tamilo helped keep the advantage in double digits heading into halftime with six points of her own, adding a pair of steals and blocks to lead a Hawai’i defense that held Louisiana-Monroe to 36 percent shooting from the floor. 

It looked like Hawai’i was going to run away with it to begin the third after Tamilo tapped away a steal and Daejah Phillips raced down the floor and pushed the lead to 16, forcing another timeout by the Warhawks with 6:08 left in the frame. The break in the action proved important for the visitors, settling in and outscoring Hawai’i 20-6 over the final six minutes of the quarter to head into the fourth only trailing by a pair, 52-50. 

Wahinekapu and Phillips provided separation on the scoreboard to begin the final frame while Tamilo again was a defensive nightmare to challenge in the paint for Louisiana-Monroe, recording her fifth and final block to maintain a six-point lead with 4:14 left in regulation. 

Still, UL-M would not relent. The Warhawks outscored the Rainbow Wahine, 11-6, over the next three and a half minutes as Meloney Thames’ tough finish pulled Louisiana-Monroe back within one with 47 seconds to play and forced Beeman to call timeout.

With a big bucket needed, it would again be Wahinekapu being asked to make a play for Hawai’i. Following the timeout, that’s exactly what she did. 

The senior guard worked her way to the middle of the floor and drove towards the foul line before she stepped back and calmly cashed a midrange jumper to the delight of the keiki and fans in attendance for the rare Friday matinee game, giving Hawai’i a 66-63 lead with 37.9 seconds to play. 

After UL-M split a pair of free throws, Wahinekapu split a pair of her own before Phillips snatched the miss out of a crew of players and swung the ball to MeiLani McBee to ice the win with a couple makes from the line, 69-64. 

Louisiana-Monroe was led by Jakayla Johnson, who poured in a game-high 25 points for the Warhawks. The senior guard drilled 4-of-11 tries from long distance and went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, causing issues all afternoon for the Hawai’i defense. 

Daejah Phillips was the third and final Rainbow Wahine player to eclipse double figures on the day, pouring in 13 points and six assists in the victory. The starters carried the load for Hawai’i, scoring 59 of the 69 total points by the team. 

Hawai’i returns to action on Sunday, taking on defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington in the final day of the Bank of Hawaii Classic. It will be the first meeting between the Rainbow Wahine and the Eagles since 2000, when UH beat EWU in Mānoa, 81-59.