Flavell’s late heroics help No. 4 Hawaii stun top-seeded UC Irvine

Fabulous freshman to the rescue.

Behind late heroics from Big West Freshman of the Year Bailey Flavell, the No. 4-seeded University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team stunned top-seeded UC Irvine (26-6) in overtime of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Championship semifinals on Friday afternoon, 67-63.

Flavell paced the Rainbow Wahine with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including the game-tying three with 7.7 seconds to play in regulation and a go-ahead jumper with 1:28 left in overtime that ultimately proved to be the game-winner for UH.

“Proud of our group,” head coach Laura Beeman said following the win by Hawai’i. “We have three kids that were in double figures and three people that were at nine [points], and it’s really hard to beat a team that plays team ball.”

Senior forwards Imani Perez and Saniyah Neverson were the other two UH players to eclipse double digit points as Perez scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds in a team-high 41 minutes of work while Neverson chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Rainbow Wahine.

Freshman guard Teyahna Bond scored nine points and dished out five assists off the bench for Hawai’i (22-10) while redshirt junior guard Jovi Lefotu added a critical nine points of her own, including an 8-0 run to close the third quarter that helped send the Rainbow Wahine into the final 10 minutes of regulation leading by 10.

Sophomore center Ritorya Tamilo, the 2026 Big West Sixth Player of the Year, tacked on nine points, three boards and three blocks in 22 minutes off the bench, helping Hawai’i hold UC Irvine to 29% shooting overall.

“This is who we have been all year long, even when we were 0-5 to start the [Big West schedule],” Beeman said after her young team after reaching the program’s third Big West Championship game in the last five years. “This group never stopped working, they never stopped believing, they never stopped next play mentality.”

Hawai’i started quickly behind a trio of 3-pointers from Imani Perez, taking a 20-16 lead over UC Irvine after 10 minutes of play. It was the third straight game that the Rainbow Wahine offense was able to post a 20-spot in the opening quarter and the second time in 13 frames against the Anteaters that UH eclipsed 20-plus points in a single period.

The UC Irvine offense started to rev up in the second quarter behind Big West Player of the Year Hunter Hernandez, who scored nine of her game-high 33 points in the frame and hit a triple to put UCI up by a point over Hawai’i with 2:18 left. UH closed with a 10-0 run, seeing Bond and Tamilo take turns with personal five-point flurries to send the fourth-seeded Rainbow Wahine into the locker rooms leading 39-30 over the Anteaters.

Hernandez continued on the hunt for UCI when play resumed in the second half, attacking for six more points in the third quarter before Big West Newcomer of the Year Jada Wynn drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Anteaters within two with 2:46 left in the frame.

Looking to slow down the UC Irvine momentum, the Rainbow Wahine turned to Lefotu and saw the redshirt junior turn back the clock to flashes of her ‘Iolani stardom as she drilled back-to-back triples of her own and ripped off eight straight points to send UH into the fourth quarter leading by 10.

“I know in the first half I was rushing some or forcing some shots that weren’t there,” Lefotu said when asked about what sparked her finish to the third frame. “Just trusting my shot going into the second half, just doing what the defense was giving me.”

Wynn and Hernandez helped UCI storm back in the final frame of regulation, combining for 15 of the team’s 18 points in the fourth, draining a trio of triples to help push the Anteaters ahead by three with 12 seconds left to play.

In need of a big-time bucket, Beeman and her staff turned to their big-time player.

Flavell, the leading scorer for the Rainbow Wahine and second consecutive winner of the Big West Freshman of the Year award for the program, stepped to the moment and calmly cashed in a 26-footer from behind the arc to tie the game at 60 with 7.7 seconds remaining, forcing an extra period to decide a winner in the rubber match between UCI and UH.

For the second time in as many days, the Rainbow Wahine defense suffocated an opponent in overtime as UC Irvine only mustered three points in the extra period, taking a 63-62 lead midway through the frame before failing to score again.

Flavell again provided the punch for UH, hitting a tough turnaround jumper over the outstretched arms of UCI’s Lauryn Madsen to put the Rainbow Wahine in front for good with 1:28 to play.

Jovi Lefotu split a pair of free throws to make it a two-point lead for Hawai’i and Flavell sank two from the charity stripe with six seconds left to put the game out of reach and send the fourth-seeded Rainbow Wahine back to the Big West Championship game for the first time since 2023.

UH’s reserves played a major role in the win, outscoring the UC Irvine bench, 31-7. Despite committing double the number of turnovers as the Anteaters, the Rainbow Wahine were only outscored on points off giveaways by two.

Hernandez and Wynn were the lone two UCI players to score in double figures on Friday, seeing Hernandez go for a game-high 33 points while Wynn added 18 along with four assists.

Hawai’i will take on No. 2-seed and Big West regular season co-champion UC San Diego on Saturday at noon HT / 3 p.m. PT in the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship game with the conference crown and an automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Tournament on the line.

“The bottom line is our glue has been celebrating each other, our glue has been their mental toughness and next play mentality,” Beeman reminded ahead of the conference title game. “That’s not going to change … The message is the same. Go do Hawai’i basketball, go be who you are. If they do that, we’ll be okay.”