Flavell, Tamilo shine for Hawai’i despite season-opening loss at Oregon

The schedule was supposed to be challenging.

It’s absolutely living up to that billing at first glance.

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team opened the 2026-27 regular season on Monday, falling 87-54 in Eugene against Oregon despite career-best performances from sophomore guard Bailey Flavell and junior center Ritorya Tamilo.

Flavell turned in a college-best 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting while knocking down 9-of-12 free throw attempts in the loss by the Rainbow Wahine while Tamilo towered above the Ducks with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Hawai’i scored six of the game’s opening eight points, but Oregon quickly caught fire from beyond the arc to spark a 22-2 run and open up a 28-10 lead by the end of the opening quarter. Turnovers torpedoed the Rainbow Wahine after the strong opening, giving the ball away eight times while only making two of their final nine shots from the floor in the frame.

The second quarter saw more success for the visiting Rainbow Wahine as Tamilo and Flavell found their groove on the way to the lone 10-minute stretch won by Hawai’i. The group outscored Oregon, 23-19, in the second frame as Tamilo scored 10 of her 14 points while grabbing four rebounds and blocking three more shots. Flavell kept cooking offensively as well, chipping in eight points in the stanza.

Oregon turned up the heat again in the third, outscoring Hawai’i by 14 points as the Ducks converted at a 53% clip from the field out of the break. The Rainbow Wahine committed five more turnovers and made four total shots in the frame, allowing the deficit to double from 14 to 28 by the start of the fourth.

The scoring slump continued through the final 10 minutes for Hawai’i, who shot 24% from the floor after halftime as the team continued to adjust to a new read-and-react system against a strong Ducks squad. The Rainbow Wahine defense clicked back into gear for the fourth frame, holding Oregon to 5-of-20 shooting in the last quarter.

Oregon saw four players finish in double figures, led by Mallory Heyer’s 16 points and seven rebounds while Ehis Etute turned in a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double in the victory. Ducks guard Katie Fiso, who was named to the 2026-27 preseason watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award (best point guard in the country), diced up the Rainbow Wahine in her team-high 30 minutes of work as she scored 14 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed four rebounds for the hosts.

Despite a lopsided final score, Hawai’i showed plenty of positive flashes to start the season on the road against an NCAA Tournament team from last year.

Tamilo looked like a player primed to take a step into full two-way stardom under first-year head coach Khalilah Mitchell, setting career highs in rebounds and blocked shots while making a Power 4 program become hesitant to attack the rim with her patrolling the paint. The 6-foot-5 junior center also drilled her seventh career 3-pointer and looked stronger making moves around the rim as she finished two points shy of her college highwater mark.

Flavell, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, picked up where she left off with a new career high in points and got to the free throw line more than she did in any single game during her first collegiate campaign as she went to the charity stripe 12 times. She also scored at an efficient rate against the multiple Oregon defenders sent her way, connecting on 7-of-11 tries from the floor.

Liz Udeze, who played at Mt. San Antonio College last season, had seven points and three rebounds off the bench in her Rainbow Wahine debut. The 5-foot-6 guard showed off an impressive handle of the basketball and looked like a true playmaking guard with quality court vision and a creative layup package.

Hawai’i returns to action on Thursday, wrapping up a season-opening two-game road trip with a matchup against San Francisco. It’ll be the season-opener for the Dons, who are coming off a 19-win season and a WNIT appearance. USF had two players selected to the all-West Coast Conference preseason team heading into the 2026-27 campaign and were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.